New acoustic sessions kicking off in Byrne’s of Hill Street this Sunday

After the huge success of the monthly jazz gigs, Byrne’s of Hill Street have decided to add new monthly acoustic sessions to their offering – the first of which gets underway this Sunday.

James Mackin

The jazz events have seen some of the country’s top musicians appear as guests with the band led by local drummer James Mackin. Mackin has rised through the ranks as a drummer since travelling to New York to study drums. It was his idea to bring jazz back to Dundalk.

“I knew there was an audience even if the audience didn’t know it. When you put quality in a room the music will speak for itself, the audience become part of the music and they in turn inspire the musicians to improvise. It becomes a circular experience where everyone gets something. We have a great audience who respect what we do and listen, it makes it very easy to perform.”

The new acoustic sessions will feature a full band line up led by Mackin again but the genres will be that of classic Motown, folk, rock and blues.

“Just like the jazz gigs, I want to bring a high calibre of musician to the show,” said James.

“People have responded so well to the jazz, I know that the audience loves to sing so this show is for them. I have played with so many super musicians through the years and I will be calling on all of them to guest. These gigs are a celebration of what music really should be, live and organic. We pull the audience in every month and it continues to grow. People want quality music, it’s an escape for a few hours, almost therapeutic.

“There will also be an open mic option to those who are players or singers and want to play with the band. The idea for me with the acoustic sessions is to pay respect and celebrate all musical genres. Byrne’s do not even charge in and the musicians are just as generous with their time. We want to make quality music accessible to a quality audience.”

Why not go and see what all fuss is about but get there early if you want a seat at the new place to be.

The jazz continues on the first Sunday of every month with the acoustic Sessions beginning this Sunday August 17^th at 5.30pm. It will run every third Sunday of the month. Special guests will feature every month with a full band.

Byrne’s plan Christmas Customer Appreciation Day

Byrne’s Chemist in Church Street are hosting a Christmas Customer Appreciation Day on Friday December 6^th from 9am to 9pm.

There will be 20% off all fragrances on the day as well as a Decléor promotion. A consultant will be in-store on the day and you will receive a free luxury mini-facial and a fabulous free gift with two Decléor purchases.

There will also be a raffle to win a cosmetic’s hamper and some festive nibbles served up too.

For the day that’s in it…

Emma Kirk raises an interesting question on Twitter about the apparent lack of beer gardens in Dundalk.

While there are certainly an abundance on the outskirts of the town, the actual heart of Dundalk has been lacking a really good beer garden for a long number of years.

Leaving rural areas aside, it would appear that two of the best and most popular beer gardens in town are at Byrne’s Pub on Hill Street and at Kennedy’s on the Carrick Road.

Getting closer to town, however, anywhere with a beer garden lacks that one key ingredient that makes a beer garden great…. the sun.

The likes of the Bartender, The Century, McManus’, McCourt’s and a handful others have some form of beer garden but none could be described as sun traps. Perhaps one of the best is the roof top beer garden in Eden but their restrictive opening times mean it is not always the solution (certainly not on a Tuesday afternoon).

That only leaves the likes of Toales and the Crowe’s Nest but their areas where sun is present could perhaps best be described as yards rather than beer gardens.

Has anyone come across a better beer garden? Let us know…