Athlone’s Dean Crowe Theatre will play host to a very special night of music on Friday January 30 when five top folk acts from the town take to the main stage and bar performing a mixture of ballads and folk songs, both traditional and contemporary.
Proceeds from the event will be donations to the South Westmeath Hospice and there will also be a raffle with some amazing prizes including vouchers for local businesses and a Shannon Cruise.
The exciting line-up features The Two Tommies (Remembrance ), The Skillet Pot (reunion ), The Driftwood Manor, and The Blaggards who will all perform in the main auditorium, while Hickory Wind will provide entertainment in the bar following the main concert.
A number of well-known names will be performing on the occasion including The Two Tommies (Remembrance ) who will pay tribute to the late Tommy Henshaw and Tommy O’Connor, two local musicians who performed as The Two Tommies for many years. They are perhaps best known for the song, ‘Athlone Town’ which is still regularly played in sessions across the region.
Skillet Pot is a lively collective of local musicians featuring Paul Fogarty and brothers David and Billy Henshaw - on guitar, fiddle, and banjo respectively. This is a rare appearance by a band who are highly respected on the Midlands scene and their reunion will be eagerly awaited by many.
The Driftwood Manor mix Irish traditional music and folk with a range of other influences and have released three albums since 2008 on a number of labels. The Athlone band is centred around Eddie Keenan and Neil Fitzgibbon.
Over the past two years, The Blaggards have quickly become one of Athlone’s most popular bands and have enjoyed enthusiastic responses from audiences across the country. The band can be found performing regularly in a number of Athlone venues. Tommy Berry (banjo, vocals ), Mike Dempsey (bouzouki, vocals ), and Niall McHugh (guitar, vocals ) perform a raucous mix of folk ballads with the three vocalists providing an almost Clancy Brothers-esque appeal to listeners.
Performing in the bar after the main concert will be Hickory Wind. For many years, the band have been firm favourites with Athlone audiences and are renowned for their excellent musicianship and exceptional repertoire of country songs. The band features Alan O’Neill (guitar and vocals ), Sammy Rohan (double bass ), and Mick Moylet (electric guitar ) and will be bolstered on the night by Dave Clancy on pedal steel guitar and Jimmy Higgins on drums. Higgins will be familiar to many for his work with the likes of The Stunning and Christy Moore.
MC on the night will be Joe McCaul and Athlone’s award-winning Poetry In The Park will also be performing on stage over the course of the evening.
This will be an exceptional night of live music in the The Dean Crowe Theatre. Tickets are priced at €10 and can be purchased from the Dean Crowe box office on (090 ) 64 92129 and through concert organisers.
