One of the most talked about gigs in Mullingar all year was an appearance upstairs at Number 1 last month from highly rated singer-songwriter Peter Doran. Respectful, pin-drop silence greeted each song, with Peter leaving an impressed audience hanging on his every word – a glorious reminder of the days when people used to listen to original music at gigs and not treat it as something in the background or something to film on your phone.
So good was the reaction to the show, Peter is returning this Thursday, 18 September for another intimate show in which he hopes to ease an appreciative, listening audience into his superb new album, his fourth, entitled ‘Outlines’.
Effortlessly cool, Peter’s music is steeped in the ‘troubadour’ tradition, starting with just one man and his guitar before veering off where his mind takes him. Thursday’s show is also the first in a batch of gigs that will ultimately see Peter supporting Mick Flannery around the country.
Flannery is bringing Peter with him to sold-out shows in Dundalk, Clonakilty, Clonmel and Dingle, after which the Mullingar man is jetting to London for some shows.
Peter says that last month’s show upstairs at Number 1 was the best he’s played in Mullingar in a long, long time. “I was happy (and a little surprised) that so many people came out to hear original music. It was amazing. The upstairs room is a perfect setting for what I’m doing at the moment,” he says.
For this gig he will be joined by two “ridiculously talented” musicians – Nicky Brennan on electric guitar and Darren Sweeney on bass. “We’re having bags of fun playing together at the moment and the blend of musicianship, songs and voices is sounding pretty damn good right now,” says Peter.
Making an already tempting show all the better is that Paul Timoney will be opening the show. The artist, poet, performer, and story-teller is an amazing talent, also from Mullingar, and to watch him in full flight is a rare treat.
It all starts around 8pm at Number 1, Harbour Street, Mullingar.
