Dear Reader –
More about this week’s title shortly, but we certainly kept the Theme Night spirit alive last week. A magical five nights from start to finish, and a huge thanks to everyone who made it so - musicians and audiences alike.
*All hyperlinks in bold.
The Big Thing
I loved every minute.
The incredible energy brought to the stage by the likes of Tabby, Jamie and newcomer Cuan Durkin.
The horn section outdoing themselves on White Christmas.
The gong!
Sinéad Conway getting out of her pyjamas to fill a late gap at the end of the show on Wednesday night.
And the way the half-capacity audiences seemed determined to make as much noise as if we were playing to a full house.
There were so many highlights, but I have to pick out the moment at the end of Sunday night’s show when aunt and niece Aileen and Cara stood singing the words ‘is love alive’ to each other as if there was no-one else in the room.
Watch the below video and the answer to that question is clear.
Where else but Sligo?
We found a way for New Zealander Chris Baillie to join us for the shows even though he lives on the other side of the world. He may no longer be living in Sligo, but is very much with us in spirit.
One of his legacies was the donation of his famous golden jacket and the suggestion that it goes to the person who best embodies the spirit of each Theme Night once the run of shows is finished.
Previous winners include Luke Devaney, Therese O’Loughlin, Maev Gallagher, Rory Maitland and Sinéad Maguire, and there was great anticipation as we gathered briefly in the foyer of the Hawk’s Well post show on Sunday.
Realistically, there was only going to be one winner this time, and if I’m honest, she had it sown up long before the curtain ever went up on the shows.
Because the work done behind the scenes in the weeks preceding the show to make it happen was immense. From COVID risk assessments to an ever-changing budget to the huge task of reassigning tickets when the new 50% capacity rule came in. Not to mention her in-show jobs of playing violin and stage management.
Marie O’Byrne - you are such a deserving winner of the Golden Jacket. You’re simply a star and we are blessed to have you here in Sligo as part of our Theme Night gang.
What’s New?
To thank you for reading this letter each week, there is a special offer of 50% off all Theme Night albums, books, t-shirts and hoodies TODAY ONLY. Order here by end of today (Dec 21) and if you’re in Sligo I promise to get your purchases to you before Christmas. Use the code THEMENIGHT28 at checkout for 50% off all purchases. Available today (Dec 21) only.
**Note - Hoodies not available until Jan 2022.
This two-line blog was published on Saturday by Seth Godin and couldn’t have been more appropriate for the week we had.
“Markets often persuade us that we don’t have enough. Communities remind us that we do”.
A small bit of sad news to finish. Our upcoming gig in Vicar St on Feb 17 has been called off. A casualty of the pandemic unfortunately. All ticket-holders will be refunded. I hope to announce Theme Night #29 early in 2022, but we’ll let the dust settle for a while before doing so. As always, you as a weekly letter reader will hear any news in this regard first.
Finally…
Seamie O’Dowd has written a Christmas song! And it was a huge hit all week at the shows.
Have a listen below, or head to Seamie’s Bandcamp page where you can download it in aid of Focus Ireland.
Till next time - Kieran.
