Hello everyone, I hope you are all happy and well. I’ve not written to you for a few weeks now but I’m back in action again.
I have a busy couple of months coming up and I’ll be telling you all what I’ve been up to every Monday so make sure and purchase your weekly copy of the Donegal News to keep up to date.
Over the past few weeks I have managed to attend a few concerts and events which has been great fun.
Some of you may have heard of the Summer Concert Tour which has been touring all over Ireland for the past few weeks, and those of you who were lucky enough to see one of the concerts will agree that it was an absolutely fantastic show.
I managed to see the show in Galway which started with the lovely girls from Enniskillen - The Benn Sisters who kicked off the show with a bang covering their latests hits including “Good Girls Gonna Go Bad”, then we danced along to the great Shaun Loughrey, unmistakeable voice of Frank McCaffery and the star himself Ray Lynam.
The second half of the show was filled with as much talent as the first including a note perfect performance from Sandy Kelly and the Derryman himself Kieran McGilligan.
But much to my surprise while I was sitting enjoying the show, James McGarrity very kindly asked me up to the stage to sing a couple of songs which was fantastic and the crowd were so full of life, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The show ended on a high with The New Voice & Image Of Country Music – Nathan Carter singing his well known hits including one of his latest singles ” Where Do You Go To My Lovely” and of course the song he does best ”The Games People Play”.
It was a great night had by all and it was my first time performing in Galway since my appearance on Glor Tire so it was great to be back.
Since I moved to Letterkenny seven weeks ago, I’ve not had much time to spend with my family as I’ve been so busy.
But over the past few days my mum and dad have been here visiting which has been nice. We even managed to get out and about over the weekend to a few gigs it was great!
On Friday night we went to see Mike Denver in The Milford Inn Hotel and as usual, Mike put on a great show. The place was jammed and the dancefloor never emptied from start to finish which is a great sign.
Mike was even kind enough to ask up a few singers who were there to enjoy the night including Jason McGilligan – who has a great voice and is doing very well at the minute with his own band around the country, he also asked up Nathan Carter, as well as myself.
It’s lovely when even the biggest stars in Ireland take the time to give the newest acts to the scene a chance and it was really nice of Mike to ask us up to sing.
I would also like to say a big hello to the Wonder Woman herself Máire Rua and her daughter Mary-Theresa and also Angela Gethins who looked like they had a great night at Mike’s concert as well, it was really nice to see them again.
On Saturday we decided to take a trip to a place my mum and dad attend a lot which is McBride’s in Castlefin. I had heard a lot about McBrides but I had never been there myself so I decided to join them for the craic.
We met up with my aunt and uncle, Kathleen and Mark from Castlederg who also class McBride’s as their topspot.
I knew there would be music on but I had no idea who it would be, but when we arrived I was pleased to see it was my good friend John Farry who was the entertainment for the night.
McBride’s were a great support to me while I was on Glor Tire, so it was great to meet the people who took the time to vote for me and I was happy I got the chance to sing them a few songs to show my gratitude.
After McBride’s, we headed to The Riverclub also in Castlefin where my good friend Robert Mizzell and his Country Kings where playing.
As usual there was a great crowd in and there was a great buzz around the place. It was great to see Robert and all the band as I havent seen them for a while with me being so busy and I’m glad their still doing a great job.
Sunday brought a surprise to everyone, as it was Father’s Day we decided to take my dad out for lunch which was lovely.
After lunch we decided to go a drive to Falcarragh as it was a lovely day. While passing through Kilmacrenan, we noticed a lot of cars parked and there was a stage set up with instruments all ready to go and a lot of people walking around.
So we decided to stop and see what was happening, we hadn’t heard of any festival or anything happening so we were curious to find out what was going on.
Before we knew it the music started and it was a gentleman I had met a few months ago called Eddie Gallagher who was singing and playing guitar.
The next thing everyone started jiving and waltzing along to the music in the street. It was a great sight, the sun was beating down and everyone was in great spirits.
Next thing I knew my name was being called over the microphone, “there’s a young girl down there who was a finalist in Glor Tire, her name is Lisa McHugh, maybe she’ll come up and sing a few songs for you”.
Of course, I was delighted that Eddie recognised me and invited me up to sing a few songs. I always enjoy performing for audiences all over, but it’s even better when it’s spur of the moment and everyone has such a good time.
I hope everyone who was down in Kilmacrenan had a great day and I really hope to see some of you again very soon.
I have a busy couple of months coming up and I’m really looking forward to it. One of the dates I am especially looking forward to is on Friday, July 2, it’s a big Summer Country Concert in the Mullaghduff Community Centre in the Rosses.
The show starts at 8pm and we will have a host of local artists to entertain you in the first half before I will be on stage with my good friend Brian Kerrigan to get you all singing along and dancing.
Tickets are €10 each and I really hope you will all come out to support not only myself, but all of the local artists who work hard at what they do and deserve all the appreciation they can get.
As well as Mullaghduff, I have another tour with Crystal Swing coming up over the next few months. Due to the massive success with the first tour, we are bringing it back to a venue near you very soon.
All of my tour dates for July and August have been updated on my website, www.lisa-mchugh.com, please feel free to have a look and if there are any near you, I hope you will come along. I’d love to see you! Until next week, be safe and take care and I hope you all like my latest single “I’m A Little Bit Lonely” and are still requesting it on your local radio stations.
Watch this space
For One Night Only: the two youngest stars of Country Music will perfom at The Ostan Loch Altan Hotel, Gortahork. More details will be revealed very soon.