Albums show how singers’ stars are rising

Two of the province’s most talented new country stars have just released new albums.

Owen Mac and Patricia Maguire have been making considerable progress, not just in terms of their live performances, but also in relation to their recording careers.

Owen staged his album launch at the Lodge Hotel in Coleraine on Wednesday night. It proved very successful.

This young man, whom I first encountered a few years ago when he appeared on one of my outside broadcast shows in Donaghadee after someone suggested that he should sing a song, has made huge strides since then and is now very much in demand for concert, cabaret and dance shows.

After that initial appearance on my show, he had 250,000 hits on Facebook hailing his singing, and he has gone from strength to strength since then.

Just how far he has come was reflected at Wednesday’s launch, where he was accorded a huge reception.

A measure of his popularity is that every day I get at least one request (if not more) to include some of his material on my programme, and I am always happy to do so.

Patricia

Maguire

(right),

from

Newtownstewart, has charted a steady course since she initially came to my attention when she was a participant in the popular TG4 Glor Tire television show.

She is a very talented singer and appears to be winning lots of new fans. She is in big demand to sing at weddings and functions.

People have maintained for some time that it is harder for a female to gain prominence in the country music and dancing sphere, but I have always held the belief that if a person is seen to have the ability and can marry this to a warm personality, they should have the recipe for success.

Obviously, the bar is being raised all the time, with some exceptional songs being written and recorded just now by several of our top-flight artists, so this means that the challenge for other performers to gain prominence is all the greater.

However, I think Patricia and Owen are well-equipped to meet this challenge.