Castlebar Gospel Choir made an energetic appearance with Offaly singer-songwriter Mundy last weekend at his intimate gig at the TF Royal Theatre in Castlebar. While it was the latest leg of his solo tour, Mundy had a fantastic surprise for his fans on Saturday night last as Castlebar Gospel Choir made a wonderfully vibrant appearance to accompany him on some of his biggest hits.
Knowing how the night was going to progress, it was clear that the main man had a plan. The gig was always going to move towards a crescendo but few in the relatively small, but very avid, audience could have anticipated just where this musical journey was going to go.
Accustomed as he is to working with various musical contributors (Sharon Shannon, Shane McGowan, and Gemma Hayes ), it was interesting to see the excellent chemistry that existed between Mundy and Castlebar Gospel Choir. Such rapport does not always come easy and can often be detrimental to the music, but not in this situation as it was clear that Mundy enjoyed his experience with Castlebar’s own gospel greats! Infusing the gig with their own inimitable blend of musical passion, the choir belted out superb support on tracks ‘By Her Side’, the famous anthem ‘July’, and then provided a truly excellent turn on ‘Mexico’ by which time the crowd were all on their feet totally absorbed in the musical masterpiece taking place in front of them. By the time that Mundy and his new-found musical collaborators finished the night off with his now legendary ‘Galway Girl’ the crowd were euphoric.
