Drumlinia set to take centre stage

Events run from October 20 to 27.

There’s a common phenomenon known as the second album curse/syndrome, where artists often struggle to replicate their initial success. Not so with the Drumlinia Music Industry Week, which founder Don Mescall says has only gotten “bigger and even better” than before.

Don has spent the past week doing the rounds on national and regional media. He appeared on Marty Whelan’s morning spot on Lyric FM last week, and later on Virgin Media’s Six O’Clock Show.

What Don has found is the Cavan festival, organised in partnership with the Cavan Arts Office and Cavan Institute, is beginning to “break consciousness” further afield, and is well on its way to being regarded as one of Ireland’s biggest and most important creative industry events.

“I have people contacting me now and speaking to me about Drumlinia. There is an awareness now, people who’d love to contribute. We’re talking Grammy award-winning songwriters. Maybe not now for 2024, but certainly for next year, and maybe even the year after that. This was always the goal, to make it a Cavan centred event, but recognised on a national level. When the like of Mary Kennedy are Tweeting something about Drumlinia and it’s getting thousands of responses, you know you’re really on to something.”

Master classes

Mary will be one of more than a dozen experts in their respective fields of interest providing a workshop or masterclass at venues across Cavan Town on Friday, October 25, tickets for which are available from the Townhall Arts Centre website.

Hers is on TV presentation, but others include Peo Hedin (production/ sound engineering), James Shannon (guitar), Bazil Meade (choir), Michele Busdraghi (composition), Sharon Vaughn (songwriting), Lil Lontcheva (percussion), and Viktor Boyko (trumpet), John Keane (radio presentation), and Deirdre Barry (animation).

They happen less than 24 hours after some of the biggest names in the music and media landscape share their career knowledge and insight as part of Industry Day at Cavan Townhall Theatre on Thursday, October 24, from 10:30am to 4pm.

MC for the event is Cavan’s Louise O’Reilly, while IMRA’s Willie Kavanagh will chair Q&As before lunch and also at the end of the day.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says Don for people serious about forging a career for themselves in creative arts.

“The wonderful thing about the creative arts is it keeps on creating. Last year was about music and songwriting, and this year we have everything from film and TV production to animation and more.”

Speakers include John Saunderson of Nottinghill music publishing group; Head of International/Executive Producer at ShinAwil, Mary Callery; Director and Marketing and Memberhip Manager at IMRO, Keith Johnson; two time PJ O’Connor Award winning writer and director Philip Doherty; actor and director Rex Ryan; and National Director of Music Generation, Rosaleen Molloy.

Featured on the day too as part of the showcase for new music will be upcoming Cavan band, Mirrorglass.

Spaces are limited and booking is essential through Townhall Arts Centre, Cavan.

“You won’t ever get these people in the same room together again. What’s incredible is its happening right here in Cavan. Why? Because this county makes things happen!”

He credits the drive of the Cavan Arts Office, and its inspirational head Catriona O’Reilly, as being instrumental in that regard. “Drumlinia wouldn’t have happened without her and her team. I had a little dream, and they had the foresight to make it work.”

Daniel at the Cathedral

The festival opens with the sold-out concert with Daniel O’Donnell at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick and Saint Felim (October 20) with the Cavan Cathedral Choir under the direction of Thomas Hanley, and hosted by TV presenter Mary Kennedy. It closes with Frances Black and her band at Cavan Townhall (October 27), but features much more including two interactive children’s music shows Pstryk! workshop and a debut for a play written and directed by Don, titled ‘Rebecca & The Magical Bridge’. Pstryk! will be staged on October 22; while Rebecca & The Magical Bridge is on October 23, both at Townhall Arts Centre.

Listening rooms

One event that award winning singer/songwriter Don is most excited about is the The Listening Rooms (October 26) - a series of spaces dedicated to singer/songwriters to play a 20-minute set to audiences at various venues set across the county town from 11am to 4pm that day.

“The concept harks back to the early acoustic performances in the 60s in the Greenwich Coffee Houses in New York, such as the Cafe Wha? on McDougal Street and Gerde’s Folk City,” explains Don, with the morning sessions followed by a Listening Rooms Concert at Cavan Townhall at 8pm.

Another new addition (tickets €12), the concert will feature 2023’s trail finalists, as well as a special appearance by Sharon Vaughn and Don himself.

“I can’t walk around Cavan right now without people stopping to talk about Daniel at the cathedral, or that they’re excited about seeing Frances perform. Or that they’re going to the industry day and can’t believe the likes of Sharon Vaughn, who wrote ‘My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys’ is going to be there, and that she’s actually going to perform. It’s pretty epic stuff, isn’t it?”

If year one was about getting the festival started and up off the ground, year two was always about setting in place a foundation from which to build in future.

Don already has one eye set on 2025, saying now is the time for sponsors to come on board to be part of something that he believes will stand to Cavan and to generations of talented people to come.

“It’s about creating opportunities,” he says. “It’s not just for musicians and other creatives, or for the students at Cavan Institute who benefit through learning, but there are opportunities for local hospitality as well, for bars and restaurants, for more gigs, for promoters.

“This is now in its momentum phase, but it needs people’s support for it to work.”

Don reveals that he had interest from national TV in filming the Daniel O’Donnell concert at the Cathedral, and believes that is only a “stepping stone” for what’s to come. He recalls the success of the Cavan International Song Contest when it was a thing, and says: “We know it worked before. The [Song Contest] was renowned the world over. It was a huge event, that happened in Cavan, and who knows, wouldn’t it be amazing to one day raise the phoenix from the ashes?!”