It's always a great pleasure to catch up with my old friends, the Dublin Legends and to hear once again their repertoire of songs, music and stories from over the years.  The beautiful Town Hall in Sutton Coldfield was the location for my latest encounter with them and it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, as Gerry, Sean, Paul and Shay (left to right in the accompanying photo) had us singing along, clapping our hands and appreciating their musical and vocal talents.  As well as the...

As someone who has followed the music of the Dubliners since childhood, it's always a pleasure to catch up with my good friend, Ged Graham's musical, which takes us through their amazing 50 year career.  There is a great atmosphere and I never tire of hearing the songs and stories that tell the remarkable tale of a group who did so much to broaden the appeal of Irish folk music, beginning in those halcyon days of the 1960's.  As the show goes on, we see and hear the musical...

As a lifelong admirer of the work of Johnny Cash, I was looking forward to seeing this highly acclaimed show and I was not to be disappointed. The whole evening was a great reminder of the lasting quality of Cash's songs and Clive Johns looked and (especially) sounded the part in bringing these to life and telling Johnny's fascinating  story. Clive was accompanied by a group of excellent musicians and Ashley Cavell, in the role of Cash's wife, June Carter, was a valuable asset, with her...

The annual production by the Birmingham Savoyards at the Old Rep is always something to be looked forward to and this year's was no exception.  I had watched excerpts from "The Sorcerer" before, but had never seen it live. The whole evening was a pleasure and as usual, combined the witty song lyrics of W.S. Gilbert with the melodic music of Sir  Arthur Sullivan, interspersed with hilarious comedy.  All the members of the cast fulfilled their roles well and it was particularly...

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At an early age, my late mother introduced me to the delightful light operettas of W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan. It's always a pleasure to attend the annual production by the Birmingham Savoyards and I am really looking forward to my first live viewing of "The Sorcerer" next week.  Watch this space for a review and if you can, get along to see it for yourself. 

Here I go again with another concert.  Saturday 24th February. 7.00 p.m.  St. Martin's Church, Walsall.  Colin McIlwaine presents "Five Nations."  An evening of traditional, contemporary and original folk songs from and about England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.  All proceeds of the Guiding organisations in the church.  Here's to a good evening. 

 The Birmingham International Tattoo is always an exciting and enjoyable event and this year's was no exception. My wife and I attended on the Saturday evening and were immediately impressed with the helpfulness of the staff who, on seeing my wife's wheelchair, swopped our tickets for ones with special disability access, thus ensuring an excellent view of the evening's events.  As always, the programme was interesting, varied and ran like clockwork.  The international flavour...

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the passing of one of my favourite singers, Luke Kelly of the legendary Irish folk group, The Dubliners. For me, he was one of the greatest singers and interpreters of a folk song who ever lived and it is sad that he left this world at the early age of 43, with so much left to offer.  I recently sang my own tribute song to him at Music Academy and I am pleased that my good friend, Chris Kavanagh and his group, The Patriots, are keeping Luke's great...

For some years now, it has been my pleasure to work with Chameleon Music Marketing/Prestige Productions in promoting and reviewing their excellent shows.  As we come to the end of 2023, I want to look back at these and to look forward to new events in 2024.  My good friend, Ged Graham, has been responsible for two of these shows. "Seven Drunken Nights-The Story Of The Dubliners" takes us through  50 years of Ireland's most famous folk group and is a great feast of nostalgia,...