BY HIS own admission, Trillick-born country musician, John Garrity, is in a much happier – and more confident place.

Earlier this year, John released his second album: ‘Second Time Round’, and, in just under two weeks, he’ll release a DVD at a packed show in the Westville Hotel.

This career milestone for John also marks a personal milestone for the young musicians.

Speaking to Country and Western Focus this week, John revealed that he is just two pounds short of losing nine stone, in close to just two years.

“It was actually the launch of the second time round CD, and I thought – getting a DVD wouldn’t be a bad idea,” John reflected.

“I’d lost about two stone at that point, and I decided to work on and get a DVD out for Christmas time. Losing more weight made me want to go on and get the DVD out for Christmas.”

For John, losing weight has helped his confidence grow.

“It is a confidence thing – and when you lose weight you become more confident. I’m two pounds of losing nine stone in the space of a year and a half to two years. It was very hard at the start. I was trying different things to lose weight – but as I started losing it I thought – the DVD will look good.”
He went on: “For me going out to do a gig now is no problem – easy things in life, when you’re a big person, are harder. Like the simple things of going to buy clothes.”

Now, John is upbeat and enjoying up to three nights of gigging a week.

“It’s going great – this weekend we’d three gigs. I’m happy – it’s going as good as I want it to be. Saturdays are gone for next year, and Friday and Sunday are filling up. Country music in Fermanagh – I don’t think it’s ever been as big. We’ve some of the top artists in country living in the county and that says something.”

The musician has put together a collection with ‘something for everyone’, which he’ll release at a special launch night on November 25 at the Westville Hotel.

“We’ve put 11 tracks from our two albums – and there’s also a brand new song that was only released as a single. It’s not on any album as of yet,” John explained.

“The DVD’s called ‘Any town in Ireland’ for the specific reason that that song was on my first album and the DVD is shot in different locations in Ireland.”

And, he is looking forward to the launch night in the coming weeks.

“There are a lot of people talking about it. We’ve four contestants who were on Glor Tire, four fantastic singers. We’ve a lot of local ones too – we’re getting a great response as it is.”