Indigo Fury: Rory Lavelle, Graeme Arthur, Mike Parke and James Nicholl.
A massive line-up is on show at Ruck ‘N’ Roll at the end of the month, and Ryan Smith spoke to committee member, Collette McMorrow, about one of the biggest dates in Enniskillen’s music calendar this year…
IF THERE is a type of event that this page should be promoting with all its heart, then Ruck ‘N’ Roll is certainly one of them.
The festival began last year – following both a love of local music, and a need to fundraise at Enniskillen Rugby club – and takes place on June 29 and 30.
Collette McMorrow, one of three main committee members, recalled its origins.
“We knew the club was in need of money and the three of us had a wee chat in the club bar one night about whether or not it was feasible to run a festival at the site. We decided it was, and so that night Ruck N Roll was born. There were purely selfish reasons as well, as we are all big supporters of local, live music.”
She added: “We all have strengths in different areas, which works fantastic for us and for Ruck N Roll.”
Last year, Collette described, the sun was ‘splitting the stones’, and the bands and performers were ‘amazing’.
And this year?
“We’re excited. Sometimes it’s actually hard to contain the excitement when we start chatting about it at meetings.
“We’re confident. There was a lot of positive feedback after last year, not just within the county, but further afield as well! In fact, we have some of last year’s Belfast based bands coming down again to perform this year.
“We’ve tried to put a good mix into the line up and we’re really please with who we have on the bill this year, there should be something to suit everybody, from funk and soul, to good old fashioned rock and roll.”
Sound is being provided by John Moffatt of Oaks Recording studio.
“Without people like that, events like this would be incredibly hard to pull off.
“Ticket sales have been steady. Generally there is a lot of interest which is good news for us. This year we introduced a limited number of evening tickets which are nearly sold out.”
The full day tickets for Saturday are priced at £15 per person and gates open at 12.30pm, with the first band at 1pm.
The evening tickets are £10 and that includes admission from 7pm until close. Ruck N Roll is a strictly over 18 event.
Sunday is a free event, we will be serving breakfast at the club from 10am, it’ll be a much more relaxed and music will kick off around midday.
Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket can find out about ticket selling sessions through the Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ercrucknroll. Alternatively, ring Leona on 07973393183.
“Go on the reviews from last year,” Collette concluded, “If you enjoy a few pints, plenty of banter, good company and the best of live music there’s no other place for you to be on June 29. You wont be disappointed.”
Who’s playing?
Main Stage:
The Velour Fog
My Sunday Hat
Indigo Fury
Bunny and the Banned Its
Nerdmore
I’m not Maggie
Nijinsky
Rocket Propelled Gorillas
Droids
Dutch Schultz
Yellow Car No Return
Acoustic Stage:
Alex Wolfe
Caolan Jones
Luke Burns
Atticus Finch
My Pyrrhic Victory
Caimin Oshea
Michael Smith
Philthy
Window Seats
Chocolate Love Factory
My Sunday Hat
The Velour Fog
Dutch Schultz