NEWS
Press Release via AS Written, October 2021
ROE PROMISES “SPECIAL” CANAL QUARTER RETURN
As ‘live’ music continues to make a long-awaited comeback, fans in the midlands are looking forward to welcoming country music star ALEX ROE back to the stage for this year’s CANAL QUARTER FESTIVAL on THURSDAY, October 21st.
The festival, organised by Hugh Lynch’s Bar in Tullamore, returns for the first time since 2019, and will see Clara’s country star Roe get the whole event underway before the legendary WOLFE TONES take to the stage later that evening. For Roe, the chance to return to the Canal Quarter Festival – essentially a hometown gig of sorts, given that he lives in nearby Clara – is one of the moments that helped him get through the difficult and often monotonous days of ‘lockdown’…
“Playing the Canal Quarter back in 2019, before the world went mad there for a while, that’s still one of the best memories of my career so far. It’s right up there with getting to the final of Glór Tíre and winning my first Hot Country award. I absolutely love being on stage anyway, and having an audience to play to, but when it’s a festival like this, that takes everything up another level as far as enjoying it goes. It’s just something else altogether. And that was before everything that’s happened since March of 2020. That’s how much it meant to me then, before we all realised that music – that doing what we love – could actually be taken away from us. So come Thursday night when I get a chance, at last, to finally do it again…it’s going to be amazing.”
“All over the lockdowns”, confessed Alex, “when none of us knew if we were coming or going, or when we might be able to feel like life was normal again, I’d often think back to nights like the Canal Quarter Festival and I swear, just remembering that kind of buzz would bring a smile back to my face. So I’m really delighted that Emmet asked me to come back and be part of things again this year.”
Alex continued, “Emmet and his team put on such a great event anyway, but this year is going to be extra special. It’s a moment that we’ve all been waiting for, to be able to do something like this again. It’s not just about someone like me as a performer. It’s about Emmet and people who put on these festivals and make them possible. It’s about the guys who’ll be setting up the stage. It’s about the people who are running sound and lights. And, of course, it’s about the fans who come along to take it all in, and who provide every event with its atmosphere, ya know. We’ve ALL been waiting for a chance to do this again. And I can’t wait to be back in the middle of it all. It’s going to be a very special night, and a very special weekend all round, I think.”
~ ALEX ROE performs at the CANAL QUARTER FESTIVAL on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21st. For more info on the full festival line-up and tickets, check out www.hughlynchs.com You can follow Alex at Alex Roe Music on Facebook.
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