'Follow Me Up to Carlow' concert series returns with a fantastic line-up of acts

THE first Follow Me Up to Carlow concert since Covid-19 hit in 2020 will take place on Saturday night, 5 October, in Visual, Carlow. All proceeds from the gig will go to the County Carlow Hospice Charity.

This event has been put together by the hugely successful Follow Me Up to Carlow team of John Candy, Olivia Murphy Smith and Ollie Hennessy.

The team has helped to raise over €55,000 for various charities and clubs over the past seven years and is recognised as a winning combination of Carlow musical and variety entertainment.

The upcoming concert features songs and stories all performed by County Carlow artists, accompanied by a full professional band.

The line-up will include singer Mary Darcy of Two’s Company fame, versatile vocalist Nicky Kealy, the very popular Carlow Ukelele Players, Pat Ryan from Garryhill, formerly of the Carlow music duo Cúpla, The Duettes, rising star 13-year-old Holly Harmon and incredible baritone Maksym Lozovyi. Maksym from Ukraine is living in Carlow and is by now an adopted Carlovian. He will take to the Visual stage fresh from his hugely impressive singing performance at the recent Rose of Tralee Festival.

Performers will also include the Carlow Community Choir, which will be joined on vocals and piano by Jason Culleton, composer of a song of special significance.

The simple concept of the song, titled Hello! how are you?, was piloted by Carlow Mental Health Association (CMHA) some years ago. The song was subsequently adopted by Mental Health Ireland as a national initiative for the last few years.

Jason, a member of CMHA, wrote a song earlier this year with the title and theme of Hello! how are you? It was written for Mental Health Ireland’s National day of the same title.

When Ollie Hennessy, musical director of the Follow Me Up to Carlow concert series, invited the Carlow Community Choir to take part in the 5 October event, the choir’s musical director Mary Amond O’Brien contacted Jason, asking if he would perform his song on the night. The answer was ‘yes’, hence Jason’s involvement in the upcoming concert.

MC will be the incomparable John Candy, noted raconteur, Rambling House veteran and an individual with an unbelievable store of GAA facts, anecdotes and poems. Tickets (€25) are available at visualcarlow,ie or at the door on the night.