Johnny and his ‘Golden Trumpet’ in Macroom

The ‘Man With the Golden Trumpet’, the inimitable Johnny Carroll, will return to the Briery Gap in Macroom on Friday night for what promises to be a magical night of music, craic and nostalgia.

Carroll, who is this year celebrating 55-years on the road, will be joined on stage by another veteran of the Irish music scene, legendary Galway singer and musician Dessie O’Halloran.

Johnny Carroll epitomises the old saying that ‘music knows no boundaries’ with he and his band playing styles to suit all tastes from jazz to traditional Irish using both vocals and trumpet.

Encouraged by his father, Carroll joined a brass band in his native Castlerea at the tender age of 12, before joining showband The Pioneer Aces and turning professional a year later.

Renamed The Premier Aces, the band went on to become a household name, topping the charts in Ireland and UK and going on to become one of the first Irish showbands to break the lucrative American market during their 13-years in existence.

Johnny then spent four-years with country outfit The Swallows and a further seven years with the pop oriented Magic Band before striking out on his own in the early 1980’s.

He has enjoyed a hugely successful solo career as well as belting out big-band sounds on his trumpet for a number of top Irish bands and carving a special niche as ‘ The Man With the Golden Trumpet’.

Carroll has released nine solo albums and because there is no language barrier for a trumpet player, these have sold well in far off places from Austria to Austin and from Norway to Namibia.

Innisboffin native Dessie O’Halloran emigrated to the UK in the 1950s and enjoyed great success as a singer on the Irish ex-pat circuit.

After moving back home in the 1980’s he joined the island’s elite céilí band, playing regular sessions across Ireland and performing alongside visiting musicians.

In 2001 he reached number four in the Irish charts with ‘Say You Love Me’, a track taken from Sharon Shannon’s ‘Diamond Mountain Sessions’ album.

Tickets for Friday’s gig, priced at €15, are available from the venue on 026 41793.