Alp Luachra performed in Clarke’s Bar on Friday night.

Local Live Performance Programme - huge line-up for December

Westmeath is in for a treat as it gears up for a series of live performances throughout December.

Building on the success and demand for the Live Performance Support Scheme 2021 (LPSS 2021), a further strand of the scheme has been made available to support venues, producers and promoters to run events up to the end of December. This programme is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Westmeath County Council.

The scheme aims to assist the live performance sector during these uncertain times to create employment opportunities over the Christmas period 2021 for artists, performers, technicians and support staff through the provision of a high-quality and innovative programmes of entertainment.

Events are scheduled for live indoor, outdoor and online streaming to be enjoyed by the public on site, at home and abroad.

Event organisers from around Westmeath have put forward a varied and exciting line-up to employ local artists and entertain local audiences through the month.

Kicking off the Local Live Performance Programme series of events last weekend was the first in the four-part series of Launch Parties by event organiser Tomás Nally. Local band Alp Luachra performed in Clarke’s Bar.

The Launch Parties are part of the preparation for the Westmeath Bachelor Festival next year, and additional gigs this month will take place in Smiddy’s Bar, The Chambers and Daly’s and will feature Paulie Martin and Friends, Some Ones Sons and Cronin.

Also performing last weekend was Robert Mizzell, in the Lumber Shack in Kilbeggan.

Events in December

Westmeath Bachelor Launch Party: Paulie Martin and Friends, Smiddy’s Bar, Mullingar, Friday 3rd

The Railway Rest Christmas Revue: Moate, Thursday 9th and Sunday 19th

Westmeath Bachelor Launch Party: Some Ones Sons, The Chambers, Mullingar, Friday 10th

Saint Sister: Dean Crowe Theatre, Athlone, Saturday 11th

Music Box Live: Canton Casey’s, Wednesday 15th

Westmeath Bachelor Launch Party: Cronin and Friends, John Daly’s, Mullingar, Friday 17th

The Blizzards: The Stables, Mullingar, Saturday 18th

The Sheerin Family Christmas Crackers Country Concert, Lumber Shack, Kilbeggan, Sunday 19th

Ray McLoughlin Jazz Quintet: The Stables, Mullingar, Monday 20th

Dr Mindflips ‘The Night Before The Night Before Christmas’: Rainwater Studios, Thursday 23rd

Mullingar Music Collective: Bobby and The Blunts and The Skamm, The Stables, Mullingar, Monday 27th

Mullingar Music Collective: Paulie Martin and Friends and Good Strangers, The Stables, Mullingar, Tuesday 28th

The Jealous Wall Short Story Performances: Belvedere, December 29th

Mullingar Music Collective: Cronin and special guests, The Stables, Mullingar, Wednesday 29th

Mullingar Music Collective: Flynn and Cody, The Stables, Mullingar, Thursday 30th

Goodbye Old, Hello New: Mullingar Arts Centre, Friday 31st

Event Organisers for this programme of live performances: Westmeath Bachelor Festival Launch Parties, Tommy Nally; Mullingar Music Collective, Marty Mulligan; Music Box Live, Frank Byrne; Saint Sister, Killian Collins, Dean Crowe Theatre; Goodbye Old, Hello New, Sean Lynch, Mullingar Arts Centre; The Sheerin Family Christmas Country Concert, Tom Sheerin; Robert Mizzell, Sharon Kelly; Dr Mindflip, Patrick McGlynn; The Blizzards, Brendan McEvoy; The Railway Rest Christmas Revue, Keith Allen; Dr Mindflip’s ‘The Night Before the Night Before Christmas’, Patrick McGlynn; The Jealous Wall Short Story Performances, Eimear Keating; Ray McLoughlin Jazz Quintet ‘Tessellations’, Ray McLoughlin.

LLPS project leader Kim Magee says event organisers have been working hard to bring their creativity to the fore, and their events to life.

“It has been exciting to hear about new and upcoming acts, live performance venues and recording studios. Westmeath is lucky to have such talent to produce and showcase these performances and projects in such a short turnaround time.”

Frank Byrne from Music Box Live said that following from the success of an online project during the pandemic, this project will culminate in an unplugged acoustic session with each group and individual showcasing their work and coming together for a final Christmas song to end the night. The genres in these six acts are diverse but include, rock and pop, trad, and ballads.

Wolfshire Productions will film the event on the night and it will be professionally recorded and streamed to social media for wider viewing.

Dr Mindflip are a music who have branched out into immersive theatre and regularly collaborate with local animators, educators, and filmmakers produces interactive movies, educational games, and other experimental projects.

Dr Mindflip will work primarily out of Rainwater Studio in Westmeath for this project and will perform two new Christmas songs with stories, chat, and games and present their programme via an intimate, informal live stream.

The Mullingar Music Collective

The MMC was formed in 2021 by music promoter and studio and venue owner Paddy Dunning and events producer and performer Marty Mulligan, with the intention of providing a network of support for the many acts in the music scene in Mullingar.

The aim of the MMC is to provide rehearsal space, pre-production time and the full use of the recording facilities at Grouse Lodge Studios to record an album of original material featuring seven different acts from Mullingar, culminating in the launch of the album, and seven different singles during a series of gigs at The Stables between December 27 and 30.

The Railway Rest Christmas Revue will produce a live performances of Christmas songs, poems and stories by a number of local performers, all with a Christmas theme in association with Studio 93, and Rainwater Studios.

The Local Live Performance Scheme aims to give a new lease of life to the live performance scene of Westmeath and this line-up of entertainment and projects will bring artists back on stage and in front of live audiences.

The Westmeath audience will be spoiled for choice and are encouraged to visit artists and event organisers websites and social medias for regular updates and information on these events. Further information will be advertised in the coming weeks.

All events will take place with most recent Covid compliance measures in place.