Hal Ketchum joins the INEC Acoustic Club
THE man hailed as 'the most exquisite voice in country music' returns to Killarney for one show only on Friday, October 30.
Hal Ketchum burst onto the country music scene in 1991 ,when his very first single, Small Town Saturday Night, reached Number 1 in the US country charts.
Reared in the village of Greenwich in upstate New York, Ketchum hails from a family where singing and playing music was part of the daily diet for generations. He was exposed to country music as well as the symphonic classics.
An album he recorded with his own money and released on a small Austin indie label, Threadbare Alibis, caught the ear of Curb Records, which signed Ketchum and brought him to Nashville to record his major label debut, Past the Point of Rescue.
"The label dropped 'Small Town' in early 1991 as the first single. And it went to Number One on August 16 of that year. And suddenly I was a genuine hillbilly singer," Hal says with a chuckle.
His success prompted Curb to shift its base of operations from Los Angeles to Nashville, and CEO and owner Mike Curb refers to Hal as the label's "cornerstone artist".
He has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1994 and often hosts the 'Opry Live' show on GAC. In addition to being a master woodworker - which is how he made his living before music - Ketchum is also an accomplished painter who sold out his first show at the distinguished Penna Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Hal will be playing the INEC Acoustic Club on Friday, October 30 in association with Radio Kerry with Willie Kelly in support. Tickets cost €33.20 and are available from the INEC Box Office Tel 064 6671555 or visit www.inec.ie
