Thank you for the music
Performing online has helped these singers cope during the lockdown. They tell Leona O’neill how they’ve made the most of the free time — and about concerns for their industry’s future
NATHAN CARTER
COUNTRY music’s reigning king Nathan Carter says he’s made the most of lockdown to keep fit and tackle some DIY. He’s been making the most of downtime at his home in Enniskillen, along with his brother Jake and his girlfriend Karen.
“I’ve been trying to keep busy,” says the 30-year-old Liverpool-born singer, who had a huge hit with Wagon Wheel.
“I’ve got a pretty big garden and I’ve been busy tidying it up and painting fences and doing general maintenance work around the house, which is keeping me busy.
“I’ve also been writing a few songs, and I have some gym equipment in the house and am sticking to a daily regime of fitness.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly what Nathan has missed most is the buzz from performing in front of his legion of fans. “I really miss the live shows,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to getting back to that hopefully in the near future again.
“In the meantime we’ve found ways to reach our audience through Facebook live events. I did one with the band in the studio at the beginning of lockdown and more recently Jake and myself did a Facebook live event for local charities. It was good fun and raised some money. It’s not easy at times — it’s always a challenge when you’re working with dodgy Wifi. And I also recently have a new recording system which I am just getting to grips with, but I have a long way to go with it.”
Nathan has recorded a TV show, Keeping Er Country
At Home, which is available to watch on the BBC iplayer and which he says was “a lot of fun to record”.
But, like many musicians, the financial hit is proving difficult. “There is not really any feasible way to earn a living at the moment as a musician and we just have to wait for the storm to blow by,” he adds.
“Hopefully we will get back to work again soon.
“It’s tough for everyone in the music industry but the restrictions that are in place are totally understandable. I guess if everybody plays their part we will get back to doing what we do best sooner rather than later. Maybe we will get back to work in the autumn, perhaps even before that. We are trying to reschedule events and are hoping for a very busy 2021.
“We’re hoping that concerts will soon return, hopefully with attendances being allowed to sit as normal, but that could be some way off as yet.”
And what else would a singer/ songwriter with time on his hands do but pen some new music. “I released a song entitled #Stayathomestayalive, which is about social distancing,” he explains.
“I greatly enjoyed working on the track with a number of Irish artists including Johnny Logan and Brian Kennedy.
“In a situation like this you have to remain positive. The main thing is staying healthy and hopefully we will all come out the other side of this pandemic.”