Where it all began…

On December 22, 2011, upstairs in the wine bar in the now-closed Source, at the urging of friend and colleague Cathy Jordan, I invited a selection of singers and musicians from the area to join with me in creating a collaborative concert which we decided to call a theme night. 

The theme on this occasion was Christmas Songs, and was followed a week later by Theme Night #2 – which featured the music of Tom Waits.

The first ever Theme Night in the Hawk's Well Theatre was Theme Night #13 - Film Music. It was the brainchild of theatre director Marie O'Byrne - she suggested bringing the theme nights to the Hawk's Well, to team up with the Sligo Academy of Music Sinfionetta and also to form a Theme Night Choir. We took her up on all 3 suggestions, and the rest is history. The setlist for this night was incredible - from Ennio Morricone to Quincy Jones, from Toy Story to Forrest Gump - it had everything.

By now 31 theme nights have taken place, with almost 500 performers. Each show showcases different singers and features different artists and musical genres, such as Elvis, Burt Bacharach, Paul Simon, Stadium Anthems and Big Band (full list below). A select group of singers and musicians are invited to perform with a large house band and encouraged to put their own twist on whatever number they choose and it results in a varied and electric night’s entertainment.

The theme nights have taken place in various venues over the years, moving from Source to the then named Velvet Rooms, and since to the Knocknarea Arena, the Stephen St. Cultural Plaza, Dublin’s Vicar St, online for a while during COVID, but most regularly in their spiritual home - The Hawk’s Well Theatre.

The concerts have become joyous musical celebrations in the Sligo calendar and can feature up to 100 local artists onstage. They are unique...they are exciting...they are fun...and they are a genuine exposition of a musical community joining together to create something bigger than themselves.

Artists featured over the years include a who’s who of Sligo and indeed some national musical figures – such as Tabby Callaghan, Sinéad Conway, Niamh Crowley, Joe Hunt, Cathy Jordan, Sandy Kelly, Eddie Lee, Seamie O’Dowd and Steve Wickham.

But despite having all of these fantastic musicians involved, the strength of the gigs comes not from the individuals but from the collective - the community spirit engendered among the artists, and the magic that happens when new groups of musicians come together to create and play.