Farmers Bash Special – One Week to go

The hard work, long hours and dedication to her craft paid off as Cliona was nominated and won a host of 2016 awards in her first year.  These included RTÉ’s Irish Country Music Awards (ICMA) Best Newcomer, Irish Country Music Radio Newcomer, Tip FM Newcomer, Leinster Entertainment Newcomer, Mid Ulster District Council Civic Award in Recognition of Achievement in Arts and Music, Irish TV Best Newcomer.  In 2017 she was named Hot Country Most Promising New Act and this singing sensation has now been named Female Vocalist of the Year at the prestigious Irish Post Awards.

Philomena Begley
Described as the Queen of Irish Country, Philomena is no stranger to Irish Country having spent 56 years so far involved in music. “It was through the music of Hank Williams. We would listen to the American Forces Network (AFN) on our way home from dances in the wee small hours too and also had an album of Hank’s songs. It was a big change because you could be excommunicated from the Catholic Church for doing some of the slow Country songs which we started playing in the 1960s and 1970s. To be honest I though we would be barred out of some dancehalls forever because we played slow fox-trots and some tunes for jiving – it was almost a sacrilege to do so at that time.”

During 1975 Philomena joined forces with Irish singer Ray Lynam and later won the award as Europe’s Top Country Duo at the prestigious Wembley International Country Festival. One of their best duets “My Elusive Dreams” was a huge Irish hit and was name checked in the Shane McGowan penned song by the Pogues “A Pair Of Brown Eyes”. Philomena also had an Irish number one with her unforgettable rendition of “Blanket On The Ground”

She has recorded over twenty-five albums and the best of them are available in these four 2CD compilations. Taking from first beginnings in “Village in County Tyrone”, to leading her own showband in “Once Around the Dance Floor”, and further successes with the folk-tinged“Red Is The Rose” and big productions of “The Way Old Friends Do” you will hear all the best of Philomena’s recordings from 1968 to 2004, remastered for the first time for CD.  Throughout her recording career Philomena has wrung every ounce of emotion out of the lyrics and it  was noted in the March 2004 edition of  Europe’s biggest selling Country music magazine’ Country Music People, that she’s lost none of her vocal power and command of a Country lyric.

Rednex
Rednex is one of very few artists that has lasted on the charts for 15 years and sold more than 10 million records thanks to a dozen Top 10 hits. The project was created by fluke in 1992 and literally exploded into fame in 1994 just days after its first release – “Cotton Eye Joe”. It became a massive hit, went to No.1 at record speed in 15 countries and is today a party classic which has sent the band repeatedly touring the world.

The follow-up releases also achieved significant success, including 4 other million-selling releases, and led to Rednex, for example, spending more weeks (25) at top of the German singles chart than any other act of the last 30 years, thanks to hits such as “Wish You Were Here” and “Spirit Of The Hawk”.

Being alone in their own unique and homemade genre has also made them popular in other media as they have been featured with various songs in 3 major Hollywood-productions and 3 high-profile nationwide TV-commercials, all within in the last 15 years.

Who are the Grassmen?

Well country music and farming go hand in hand! Like onions in yer burger, sugar in yer tea…hmm that sounds like a song!

The Grassmen to quote their website are a “dynamic and fresh approach to agricultural entertainment.”

The company founders are keen cameramen as well as drivers and decided to experiment with a video camera from the corner of a field. The footage was uploaded onto Youtube, and to the teams surprise a large following soon developed.

Being tractor enthusiasts themselves and having spent many hours behind the wheel, the team wanted to take the style they had used on YouTube to the next level.  The only option was to get more input from the men on the job, so they called in favours from local contractors who provided the question and answer style narration as Gareth conducted a ‘one-take’ interview – hence they gave some very honest and unscripted answers.

The Grassmen have went from strength to strength and are big on charity having raised thousands upon thousands for charities far and wide.