Showband sensation and dubbed the ‘man with the golden trumpet’, Johnny Carroll, will perform at a A Night of Music for Galway Hospice in aid of the Galway Hospice in the Galway Cathedral on Thursday, November 10.
Also performing on the night are The Conquerors, Marc Roberts, Roscommon Solstice Choir, Eimear Reynolds, Frank Naughton and Sean Costello (Galway Tenors ).
Showband fans and all-round music lovers are encouraged to attend this special night, with all proceeds from ticket sales going towards the care provided to seriously ill adults and children at Galway Hospice. MC Tom Gilmore will narrate the evening and it will also feature the launch of CD, Whispering Hope by Johnny Carroll and Roscommon Solstice Choir. All proceeds from CD sales go directly to Galway Hospice.
For Carroll, this concert was a long time in the making, as fundraising for the hospice as well as playing in the Galway Cathedral had been something he has wanted to do for some time.
“It is something I have been meaning to do for a couple of years, I have always wanted to play my trumpet in the Cathedral and I have always wanted to record with a choir.
“The Galway Hospice is a cause very close to me, and close to many people in Galway and nearby, even if you are not affected personally, we all know someone who is,” said Carroll.
Carroll has been in the music business for over 60 years, starting off aged 13 with famous showband, The Premier Aces, which hails from Castlerea, Co. Roscommon. As a performing musician, Carroll has fine tuned his craft with shows all over the world, regularly travelling between the UK, the US and Canada to exhibit how he got the nickname, ‘the man with the golden trumpet’.
After The Premier Aces disbanded, Carroll went on to found The Magic Band, another successful Showband which wowed crowds throughout the 1970s. With the falling popularity of dancehalls in favour of discos and hotel events, The Magic Band went their separate ways, but Carroll continued to perform. As it stands, Carroll is one of the longest working musicians in the country who has continually worked in the industry without “doing anything else”.
“It wasn’t an easy thing, to go out with a trumpet and play as a solo, but I have been very fortunate,” said Carroll.
Now ‘semi-retired’ Carroll performs occasionally, usually in fundraising endeavours and is preparing to wow the crowds of A Night of Music for Galway in the show on Thursday, November 10. Doors open from 7:30 pm at the Galway Cathedral. Tickets are available at galwayhospice.ie/shop, at the Galway Cathedral Book Shop and by calling a member of the Galway Hospice fundraising team on 091 770868.
