Kerryman.ie - Entertainment RSS Feed

Motown masters to make Easter special

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:53:25 +0000

THE soulful melodies, harmonies and rhythmic bass synonymous with the music of Motown will resonate throughout The INEC and Gleneagle Hotel for one weekend only this Easter.

Comedy genius Rich Hall hits Tralee stage

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:53:25 +0000

IT'S a good time to be comedy fan in Kerry at the moment.

Just two weeks ago the brilliant Dara Ó Briain performed a great show in the INEC and now acclaimed comedian Rich Hall will entertain audiences with his amazing stand-up show at Siamsa Tire on this Friday March 12.

Star of the recent critically acclaimed BBC4 documentary, How the West Was Lost, Edinburgh fringe favourite and Perrier Award winner, Rich Hall is back on the road performing in his usual style as the grouchy, deadpan comic genius.

The master of absurdist irony, he particularly likes to lay into Americans and life across the Pond at every opportunity. As Rich Hall the stand-up, he has visited the Edinburgh Fringe Festival several times and performed at the major comedy clubs in Britain and across the world.

He is well known in the United States for appearing and writing on The David Letterman Show - for which he won an Emmy Award.

Rich Hall has been charming sell-out audiences each year at the Edinburgh Festival, on tours throughout the UK, at several festivals in Australia including Adelaide and Melbourne and at London's famous Comedy Store.

At the 2000 Edinburgh Festival, 'Rich Hall is Otis Lee Crenshaw' won the highly prestigious Perrier Award. Rich Hall's TV work includes; Rich Hall's Cattle Drive (BBC4), Rich Hall's Fishing Show (BBC4) plus numerous appearances on BBC2 panel show QI, hosted by Stephen Fry.

For Bookings and further information on Rich Hall's Show at Siamsa Tíre, contact 066) 7123055.

Crystal promises a great show for Killarney audience

KEVIN HUGHES — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:53:25 +0000

MUSIC legend Crystal Gayle has seen it all, what with a Grammy, several CMAs and a number of gold and platinum hit records, yet the Nashville resident says she looks forward to the simple comforts, like a pint of Guinness.

Performing in Killarney this Friday night, the raven haired star famed for songs like 'Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue' and 'Talking In Your Sleep' will take time out after the show to meet friends and fans and sample a pint of the black stuff.

"One of the highlights of touring is to get to meet up with people I haven't seen for a long time and get to do a few things like having a Guinness," she says ahead of the INEC show.

Playing just three dates in Ireland, Gayle will also travel to Castlebar and the Helix in Dublin but has left a few extra days on her travel itinerary to sample the local delights and will meet up with long term friend Philip Donnelly – The Clontarf Cowboy – who has written several songs for her. It's not her first time on these shores though.

"I started coming over to Ireland years ago but after I had my first child I didn't do as much travelling. I was there three years ago, though, and so I'm excited to get back over."

On that occasion she played the likes of Sligo's Yeats Country Music Festival and says it's the smaller venues that she looks forward to these days.

"It's nice to get back to these types of venues as they are more intimate. People feed better off you as they're more a part of the show."

She has come a long way from her roots in the Appalachian coal mining town of Paintsville, Kentucky. The youngest of eight children, Crystal was influenced by a wide variety of music growing up.

Having performed with the likes of Johnny Cash, Tex Ritter, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson and, of course, her sister Loretta Lyne whose story was highlighted in the 1980 film Coal Miner's Daughter, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Gayle was only a country and western star. She says she has a much broader range than that

"I really just like to call myself a singer. Music is more 'countrier' now than when I first started as it was more pop then. I never really cared for labels anyway and I listen to anything from folk, pop, rock and roll to gospel and country "

She has almost three dozen hit records to her credit including the likes of 'If You Ever Change Your Mind', 'The Woman In Me' and 'Livin' In These Troubled Times', so just what can Kerry expect when she takes to the stage with her long term band which includes sister Peggy Sue?

"I just have a good time on stage. There'll be some new things but we really want to bring a bit of laughter and smiles. People don't want to be preached at."

Crystal Gayle performs in the INEC on Friday, March 12.

All-star cast as INEC gets the Menopause

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:53:20 +0000

MENOPAUSE – The Musical, the international hit seen by over eleven million fans worldwide, returns to the INEC, Killarney for one night only on Sunday, March 14. With a fabulous cast starring three of Ireland's most versatile stars Adele King ('Twink'), Linda Martin and Flo McSweeney, Menopause – The Musical is a hilarious celebration of women and the change.

The scene is set when four women come together at a department store lingerie
sale with nothing in common but hot flushes, night sweats, memory loss,
plastic surgery…and a black bra!

An uplifting 90-minute production follows including innuendoladen versions of
pop classics from the ' 60s, '70s and '80.

Menopause – The Musical first opened in March 2001 and has since received
international acclaim during its nine year worldwide run. The brainchild of
writer Jeanie Linders, who is said to have written it "after a bottle
of wine and a hot flush", this musical has been credited with bringing
the topics of ageing and menopause to the forefront, but first and foremost
it is a celebration of memory loss and music, hot flushes and low tolerance
levels, humour and hormones.

So if you have put your mobile phone in the fridge recently, forgotten your
husband's birthday, or woken at 3am this morning, then this is the show for
you.

Tickets to see Menopause – The Musical at the INEC, Killarney on Sunday, March
14 cost €30 and are available form the INEC Box Office, Tel 064 6671555 or
log onto www.inec.ie

Stunning show comes to Siamsa Tíre

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:53:20 +0000

A BREATHTAKING new Sean Nós Show comes to Siamsa Tíre, Tralee this Friday. Fuaim Chonamara features some of the best traditional musicians in the country, along with five Sean Nós dancers from the Cunningham family. Their special guest on the night is the renowned West Kerry musician and singer, Seamus Begley.

The group has performed with Sharon Shannon, De Dannan and Altan and now the
talented Cunningham family from Connemara take centre stage themselves with
a spectacular new music and dance show, 'Fuaim Chonamara' (The Sound of
Connemara). The show contains a wealth of musicians and dancers from the
west of Ireland, including Brian Ó Cuinneagáin who will be joined on stage
by his sisters Irene, Ashline and Lorraine, and his brother Michael.

Fuaim Chonamara blends the old and the new, the contemporary and the ancient,
Sean

Mother's Day treat for opera music fans

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:53:20 +0000

TRALEE Soprano Miriam Murphy returns to Siamsa Tire for an all too rare one-off concert on Mothers' Day, Sunday, March 14, accompanied by Kerry School of Music Director, Aidan O'Carroll and a host of local guests.

Promising an evening of operatic and light music, and a little comedy, the event is being oragnised to raised funds for School of Music's Access Fund, which is used to assist students who are experiencing economic difficulties or who have special educational needs.

Having been encouraged by Sr Eileen in the Bon Secours to have her voice assessed at School of Music, Miriam was immediately accepted and within a year participated in a workshop with Ireland's leading voice teacher, Dr Veronica Dunne, herself a former prima donna. When Dr Dunne heard Miriam she immediately forecast a great operatic career for her.

Since those early days, the Caherslee woman has scaled the heights of the international operatic world winning the prestigious World Wagner Prize in 2006 and making her French, Spanish and American debuts and touring Japan in the past year alone.

Such is her success that her former teacher, Dr Veronica Dunne, has said that she may yet be regarded as Ireland's greatest operatic singer of all time.

Miriam's recent engagements include covering the role of Isolde Tristan und Isolde for the Opéra National de Paris and their Japanese tour, cover Kundry Parsifal for the Opéra National de Paris, Bastille and her debut in the title role Turandot for Bilbao Opera. Engagements this season include the Overseer in Elektra at Covent Garden, Verdi Requiem with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Gerhilde Die Walküre and cover Brünnhilde Siegfried for Seattle Opera.

Her Tralee appearance begins with a pre-concert reception at 7pm in the Siamsa foyer. The concert begins at 7.30pm and is followed by light food and entertainment at the Park Room of the Brandon Hotel.

Tickets are available from Access Fund committee members or from Kerry School of Music - 066-7125690 or Siamsa Tire - 066-7123055.

Nob Nation comes to the INEC stage

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:04:12 +0000

THE popular radio satire series Nob Nation takes to the INEC stage on March 5 for a show full of laughs at the expense of the great and good.

The radio comedy satire series and is broadcast six days a week on RTE 2FM (Gerry Ryan) and RTE Radio 1 with regular TVappearances on The Late Late Show, The Saturday Night Show and The Café.

A controversial thorn in the side of Government, sport and celebrity, Nob Nation has released three best-selling albums in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

The show's mimic Oliver Callan, from Inniskeen, Co Monaghan has sold out live shows across the country from Wexford to Monaghan and Dublin's Olympia Theatre with incredible array of hundreds of characters.

The show is being continually updated to poke fun at the affairs of the day in politics, sport, entertainment and beyond. Early booking advised.

Tickets on sale now. Contact the INEC Box Office for Information on 064-6671555.

Doors open at 7.30pm, show starts at 8.30pm. Tickets priced at €27.65.

Disintegration of a marriage explored in powerful production

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:04:12 +0000

RAIN, Rocks 'n Reeks theatre company presents 'Eden' by Eugene O' Brien in in Tech Amergin Arts Centre, Waterville, on Sunday March 7 at 8pm.

This award-winning play realistically portrays the disintegration of the marriage between Billy (played by Paul Mekitarian) and Breda Farrell (played by Hazel McLynn. Billy, a doting father, spends his time drinking and enviously watching the lives of his single friends, while secretly lusting over a younger woman, Imelda Egan.

The long-suffering and frustrated Breda yearns for the romance lost from her marriage and pins all her hopes of reconciliation on one big night out "cos she's made the effort and lost the weight"!

Mac's late bar is the venue and we see their story unfold as both characters pursue their opposing goals with the inevitable outcome.

In its everyday simplicity, hilarious storytelling and colloquial language, Eden is guaranteed to appeal to both theatre and non-theatre goers alike. Tickets €15 (€12 conc.). Booking 066 9478956 techamergin@eircom.net

Fans flock to Jedward

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:04:12 +0000

ANYONE still hoping to get a glimpse of X Factor sensations, Jedward, when they perform in Killarney this April will be sorely disappointed following confirmation that tickets for their show have already been snapped up!

The Dublin twins, due to play Killarney's INEC on April 15, were so popular among Kerry fans that over 1,300 tickets were purchased on Thursday last — the day the gig was announced.

By Saturday afternoon, the remaining 700 or so tickets were gone, making them one of the quickest selling acts to play to the INEC for some time.

The Killarney gig is one of several shows John and Edward Grimes will embark on this summer, following their unprecedented rise to fame following their appearances on X Factor

The duo, who caused a national sensation with their gravity defying quiffs and energetic performances on the TV series, have just celebrated their first single 'Under Pressure' going straight to number one in the Irish charts on downloads alone.

A night with Irish folk legends

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:58:15 +0000

THE Fureys and Davey Arthurwill be making their eighth appearance in Siamsa Tire on Saturday, March 6. The Fureys and Davey Arthur are responsible for some of the most stirring music ever to capture the public imagination.

Their folk based music has received standing ovations in some of the biggest
concert halls of the world and they credit their musical ability to their
parents, Ted and Nora, who were well known musicians themselves.

They encouraged their sons to play music from a very early age and there was
live traditional music in their house almost nightly.

Over the years some of their greatest admirers have ranged from the neighbours
they grew up with in Ballyfermot to the top sports people and politicians of
the world and have performed for leaders such as former Australian Prime
Minister John Howard, Irish President Mary McAleese and Pope John Paul.

Tony Blair has publicly stated that his favourite peace song of all time is
the Fureys 'Green Fields of France'.

The band was formed in 1978 literally by accident. George, Paul and Davey were
playing in Denmark with their own band called the Buskers and Eddie and
Finbar, while touring in Germany were involved in a road accident. When
George, Paul and Davey got news of the accident they immediately travelled
to Germany to be with their brothers.

They then decided that they should all be playing together and this was the
start of the Fureys and Davey Arthur.

Inevitably changes have occurred over 30 years. Their brother Paul died
suddenly in June 2002 and Finbar left the band in December 1996, however
George, Eddie and Davey Arthur continue to delight audiences worldwide.

The oldest of the brothers, Eddie Furey left home in 1966 and travelled to
Scotland at the time of the great folk revival where he met and shared
accommodation in Edinburgh with then unknown folk singers Billy Connolly,
Gerry Rafferty and Alex Campbell, now all famous in their own right. In 1969
with his brother Finbar, he was the special guest for the Clancys Brothers
and Tommy Makem throughout the USA and Canada.

In 1971 he moved to mainland Europe where he toured for seven years with
Finbar, building up a huge following particularly in Germany. Dave Stewart
from the Eurythmics has credited Eddie as teaching him his first chords on
guitar when they met up in the North East of England while Dave was still a
teenager.

he band became an instant success and had a string of hits including When you
were Sweet Sixteen, The Green Fields of France, Red Rose Café, The Old Man,
Steal Away, Her Father didn't like me anyway, Clare to Here and Leaving
Nancy.

www.thefureys.com

Get down to the INEC for Gilbert O'Sullivan gig

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:58:15 +0000

WATERFORD-BORN Gilbert O'Sullivan makes a welcome return to the INEC, Killarney on Saturday, March 20.

Hailed as one of the most popular singers of the 1970's, Gilbert shot to stardom in late 1970 with the No 1 hit single, Nothing Rhymed. In 1972 he made waves in the US market when his song, Alone Again (Naturally), topped the pop charts selling nearly two million copies and earning Gilbert his first Gold Disc.

Later the same year Gilbert scored his first British number one with his ballad, Clair, which also reached the Top 10 in the US. The follow-up, Get Down, secured his name among the music greats. In fact, his disc sales exceeded ten million in 1972 making him the best selling star of the year.

His success was officially recognised in 1973 when Gilbert was nominated for a Grammy Award for Alone Again (Naturally) in the Song of the Year and Record of the Year categories.

Gilbert made his long awaited return to live performances in the 1990s, playing regularly across Europe and Japan. He has since released a string of critically acclaimed albums and his latest album – Mums The Word is due to be released shortly.

Tickets to see Gilbert O'Sullivan at the INEC, Killarney on Saturday, March 20 cost €38.70. For further information or ticket sales Tel 064 6671555 or log onto www.inec.ie