CROWD… Seany Mac
By Ryan Smith
I MUST CONFESS. Before 9.30pm on Monday night, I had never been to a country dance.
This might seem odd, seeing as I write about the genre every week. But, it’s true.
I’m a rock ‘n’ roll type of guy. And I always will be. But, I’m a fan of music in general, and my main interest in writing about country music has derived from a desire to support local country musicians – just as I have done for other bands and singers that don’t fall into that genre.
And there is no denying that country music has a massive following in Fermanagh, and, in a bid to see just what people turn up in their hundreds to see every week across the county – I decided to step up to the plate.
On Monday night, I drove to the Westville Hotel for the debut Fermanagh dance for ‘Seany Mac and his super five piece band’.
I texted local country man Anthony McBrien to see what I should wear. ‘Jeans an’ shirt lad’, came the reply. And while I opted for a jacket as well, as the room filled up, ‘shirt and jeans’ really were the order of the day.
The crowd was likely the biggest crowd out socially on a Monday night in one place in the whole of the county.
The age demographic was mostly middle-aged and above, though all ages seemed represented.
The flocks of young women that you often hear associated with Nathan Carter and co weren’t in attendance on this particular night – just a few – although one imagines that they were in bed before school, or away at university. And when the weekend comes they’ll be the first looking for a jive.
What did strike me was the support from other local country acts. They seem to stick together. Carrie Benn, Karl Kilpatrick, John Garrity, Gavin McAloon – well-known names locally all had Belcoo man Seany’s back.
And the dancing was key. From the second song, the floor rarely had less that eight or nine couples, weaving in and out of each other before heading back to their chairs for a bit of recuperation. It’s clear that dancing is something these people took seriously.
A friend who works in a bar in the town arrived down about half way through proceedings. He happened to mention that the bar he worked in had closed – as had every other in the town. And we were only half way through the night here.
Country music comes in for criticism for many people in and out of the county. Many love it – and there are many that don’t like it.
But as I walked out close to midnight, the message was clear: Love it or hate it – country music is here to stay.