Celebrating Sligo Women in Music and Arts
October 4th
This week is Kieran Quinn's Theme Night !! Always a fun exciting week in the calender and full of talented women might I add !!As of last week Kieran and crew have set up their own Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages and there will be loads of new content in the coming days and weeks so go check them out here !Fair play to Kieran and co. on always putting on an epic show every time with new ideas and a great balance of male and female talent based in Sligo.One of the most surprisingly great Theme nights in my memory was the "Musical Theme Night" in September last year.I have to admit I'm not a huge musical fan but I can appreciate some of them and some of the great music they have produced.For the night I was part of a super ensemble including Gillian, Naoise, Jayne, Dave and Dermot performing "Alexander Hamilton", probably one of my favourite performances ever. I hope he releases a video of it at some point if the sound was good enough.. or it could be a great excuse to do it again !The night was so varied in terms of the types of performances and genres, it was all singing, dancing, acting and so energetic. It was probably Kieran's most challenging theme nights.Today I would really like to draw your attention to and celebrate some of the fantastic female talent we have in Sligo, some of whom you will see performing this week at Kieran's Theme Nights - if you're lucky enough to have a ticket :-) If you are there cheer as loud as you can, everyone has worked so hard !Niamh Crowley (violinist, string arranger - Sligo String Quartet),Marie O'Byrne (violinist, string arranger, she has moved away but we still claim her and she will be part of the Theme Night this year)Sarah Crummy (vocalist, pianist),Jane Tansey, Aileen Masterson, Maev Gallagher (singers, Kieran's in house backing vocalists),Sinéad Conway (singer, actor, vocal coach),Nichola Macevilly (singer, actor)Cathy Jordan (singer, guitarist, bouzouki player, bodhrán player)Sandy Kelly (singer)Laura Conway (singer, pianist, violinist),Marie Conway (singer, lawyer),Aileen Concannon (singer)Joy Feehily (singer, social media expert, teacher),Vanessa Byrne (singer, actor)Jessie Whitehead (singer, violinist, guitarist)Jayne Feehily (singer, dancer),Gillian Brennan (singer, yogi),Naoise Devaney (singer),Oonagh Monahan (singer)Emily Meades (singer, guitarist)Leah Davidson (singer)Siobhan O’ Farrell (singer)Aoife Anderson (singer)Joanne Stenson (singer)Aoife Grennan (singer, guitarist, unfortunately not living in Sligo anymore),Anna Houston (cellist, organiser of Informal Music Afternoons).Sarah Middleton (dancer, dance teacher, has helped out on various theme nights)Not to mention the talented Theme Night Choir conducted by Dave Flynn with a variety of great female and male voices from Sligo.I could go on but can you believe how many amazing women we have here in this county. We could form a super group !! Maybe we could do a Sligo Women in Harmony, we already harmonise together anyway ! ;-)If I haven't mentioned your name I apologise. (send me a DM and I'll include you).Of all the Sligo female talent some of us have already released music or have featured on albums on Spotify etc - Sandy Kelly, Cathy Jordan, Dervish, Sarah Crummy, Gillian, Naoise and Jayne, under the name "Corcra,", Emily Meades (on Kieran Quinns album "How Can I Keep From Singing"), Aileen Concannon (also on Kieran's album), Jessie Whitehead, Leah Davidson, me - LaGracia .I have also featured as a vocalist on Danny G's song "Believing", and on Discovery Gospel choirs Album "Look Up", "Gleoite É" and "Uthando".This week's Theme Night is "The Power of Love" and I will be performing a Diana Ross tune on Thursday and Friday night - it's a tough one with a lot of key changes, but I'm always up for a challenge! Hope to see some familiar friendly faces there.If you are a singer /actor / performer in Sligo please get in touch I would love to hear what you are up to and your career / performance plans. 