Dear Reader - we had a moment on Friday night!
The Big Thing
You may know that on each Teenage Theme Night we feature a graduate - someone who has been part of the shows previously but is still involved somehow in music.
So last weekend we welcomed back David Walsh, Ollie White and first up on Friday night were Beezies (cousins Anna, Ellie and Nicole Filan).
Last Tuesday, Nicole came out to rehearse the song she had chosen and I sent it round to the band on Wednesday morning.
Eddie Lee came back within an hour to say that his friend would love to play bass on it. I said oh great - but who is your friend?
So on Friday night Nicole sang Don’t Dream Its Over alongside current Academy members - her brother Patrick and his friend Lugh. And joining them also was Eddie Lee’s friend - founding bass guitarist and mainstay of the band who wrote the song - Crowded House!
Nick had a great time - smiling and grooving throughout and making sure all the younger performers felt at home on stage with him. He gets it - his daughter Lola is also a current member of the Academy - and so this was a real moment to cherish for all of us.
Where else but Sligo?
But Nick’s involvement wasn’t even the biggest story of the weekend - or even this song! What it was really about was Patrick and Lugh - two teenagers who made their Teenage Theme Night debuts on this song - and likewise for the other dozen or so teenagers who joined us for the first time this weekend.
We see this time after time with the teenagers - the hardest part is getting up the first time. After that what usually happens is that they are mad keen to get up again and wish they had got involved earlier. So well done to all the performers - it takes courage to do what you did and you all brought so much to our weekend.
A big thanks to the two people (pictured below) who put so much in behind the scenes to make it all happen - Éania McGarry and Mícheál Kearney!
What’s New?
And in case anyone is dreaming that it’s over (!) - it’s not - not yet anyway - preparations start this week for the big extravaganza in May in the Hawk’s Well Theatre. Teenage Theme Night #38 - with the Sligo Academy of Music Sinfionetta.
Finally…
Listen for the bass fill at 0:21…Such a buzz to hear it live last Friday night!
Till next time - Kieran.
