London-based singer Stephanie McCourt, whose dad hails from Dundalk, has recently released her debut video ‘Hard Living’.
Stephanie, who is signed to the Unstoppable Music Group, is the daughter of Christopher McCourt who moved to London in the 1980s but who still regularly returns home to Dundalk.
The McCourt family are well known in the town, with Stephanie’s grandfather Jim a lifelong Dundalk FC supporter, who is a popular figure in the area along with his wife Audrey (née Hande, originally from Cluan Enda).
Like her family, Stephanie has had a love of music from an early age and has quickly made her name as a talented soul singer with influences such as Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse and Adele, to name but a few.
Stephanie’s mum is from Zambia and she credits her Zambian and Irish roots to a diverse taste in music.
She insists though that it is form her dad that she inherited her melodic voice.
“A lot of people say I inherited my voice from my Dad. He is really into music. He’s a massive Elvis Presley fan and I remember having to go with him and my sister to these little obscure record shops to hunt for Elvis records.
“He comes to all of my gigs and hassles me everyday about what I’m doing with my music. I’m really close to my dad we are like best friends… I’m that way with my mum too, she like a best friend as well.”
A graduate of Brighton Institute of Modern Music, Stephanie has been busy writing and recording in recent years and is hopeful of making a breakthrough with her debut EP.
Local singer/songwriter James Humston will host an EP launch party on the rooftop of the Garden Bar in Park Street on Friday August 15th.
The free event gets underway from 7pm, with his self-titled release available now on the likes of iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Digital, Nokia Music and 7M Music.
James will be joined on the night by bassist Paul Mallon and drummer Colin Berrill with support on the night from David Keenan and Finnian.
Stephanie McCourt, whose dad Christopher hails from Dundalk, performing in Camden recently
A UK-based singer with strong connections to Dundalk is making a big impression on the music scene on both sides of the Irish Sea at present.
Stephanie McCourt, whose father Christopher hails from the town, reached number four in the iTunes singer/songwriter chart last week with her new single ‘Hard Living’.
Her EP ‘Stripped Back’ also charted at number 16 as her whirlwind rise to prominence continues.
In February Stephanie signed a deal with the Unstoppable Music Group and since then the Londoner has been in big demand, recently selling out the legendary Jazz Café in Camden Town and appearing on BBC London.
Stephanie is the daughter of Christopher McCourt, who moved to London in the 1980s. The McCourt family are well known in Dundalk, with Stephanie’s grandfather Jim a lifelong Dundalk FC supporter, along with his wife Audrey (née Hande from Cluan Enda).
Stephanie’s mum is Zambian and she credits her African and Irish roots to a diverse taste in music.
She revealed though that it was from her dad Christopher that she got her soulful voice.
“My mum can’t sing at all but my dad definitely has a voice and a lot of people say I inherited mine from him. He’s a massive Elvis fan and I grew up on that as a result.
“He is really delighted at how well things are going for me. My family back in Ireland have also been really supportive, especially Marie-Clare, who has been promoting me like crazy over there.
“Dad left Dundalk when he was a teenager but he still loves Dundalk and Ireland and I enjoy going back there too. During my childhood I was back and forth every summer and I hope to get back again in the next few months,” she said.
Indeed, one of Stephanie’s first ever gigs came when she performed locally at the Century Bar in Roden Place.
“That was a while ago but it was great fun and I’d like to thank Darren (Kerley) for having me.
“I’m told I’d be welcomed back anytime and it would definitely be my pleasure to perform there again next time I’m home.”
Stephanie admits it’s “all go, go, go” at present but she does hope to make a visit back to Ireland in the not-too-distant future.
Before then, she will be performing at a couple of festivals in the UK, while she hopes to release her video for ‘Hard Living’ within the next fortnight.
“The last few weeks have been a whirlwind really,” she admitted.
“It has all been a bit crazy but I’m just enjoying it all and I’m very grateful that things are going so well.”
Stephanie McCourt, whose dad Christopher hails from Dundalk, performing on Friday night
On Friday night Stephanie McCourt took to the stage at her biggest show to date, performing at the legendary Jazz Café in Camden Town, London to a sell out crowd.
Headlining the Supa Dupa Fly event, the first few acts came and went before the crowd got to see what they had really come for; Stephanie McCourt live for one night only.
The crowd was heaving by the time Stephanie took to the stage. The likes of BBC The Voice finalist Matt Henry – who Stephanie had recently supported at his album launch event – was in the house showing support as was John Michie (Holby City, Coronation Street) who had come to support and see McCourt for the first time. In addition were A&R’s from Sony, Virgin and more who were all checking out the talent of Miss McCourt with a view to signing her to their labels.
Stephanie’s dad, Dundalk-born Christopher McCourt was also there to support his daughter. Stephanie is the granddaughter of Jim and Audrey McCourt, from Bay Estate.
The head of Unstoppable Music Group Ben Wynter took to the stage describing her as a once in a generation voice that will blow you away, before introducing her to the stage. What followed was a breathtaking performance full of confidence, swagger and a lot of shimmying.
Stephanie performed songs from her forthcoming EP ‘Stripped Back’, which is due to be released on iTunes late this week. Stephanie stepped onto the stage with poise and beauty, in a short gold dress, going straight into her first track “Hard Living”. The drummer started off the track with multiple hits of his snare drum before McCourt’s backing singers chimed in with the melodic and oh so hooky “do wops”.
From her first line “You take me over…” the controlled yet emotive vocals rang out and the crowd hushed to hear her sing, phones in the air as the audience snapped pictures and captured video.
McCourt sang with heartfelt emotion and passion as she described a lost love that captures her heart and then leaves, making it hard for her to live without his love. Stephanie also went on to perform other hits such as “Do You Remember”, which tells the story of broken promises and a love lost. The energy of the drummer gave it a swing feel whilst there was a hip hop and soul energy that flows through the record like something that Alicia Keys would have performed early in her career.
McCourt ends the song and dedicates the next one to her sister who is in the audience, as it’s “her favourite” of the songs she has recorded. The song is called “Never Did I” and is a real emotive heartfelt strong ballad reminiscent of early Motown ballads. You could hear a pin drop as McCourt perfectly captured the emotion of the song.
Following the song Stephanie tells us that “that was a bit emotional wasn’t it” and that it’s time to pick it up and get everyone dancing and with that launches into a cover of a super funky record by Paloma Faith, the Pharell-produced “Cant Rely On You”. Vocally she nailed it, with a full run of vocal acrobatics and holding of notes longer than most can hold their breath. The band sounded super funky as they made their way through the truck, the drummer hitting the skins like a Tasmanian devil, the afro of the bass player bouncing with every strum and the two stepping backing singers hitting their notes. It’s evident that the fun being had on stage was mirrored by the fun being had by the audience.
As she exits stage you couldn’t help but wonder if what was witnessed on the night was the early days in the career of a future superstar as there was certainly something very unique and special about the performance. The name Stephanie McCourt is not one that will be going away anytime soon that is for sure.
Stephanie belts out another track to a packed crowd
Stephanie and her band are surely destined for bigger and better things
UK-based singer Stephanie McCourt – who has family in Dundalk – had a busy Easter weekend as she was shooting her first music video in London’s West End for her song ‘Hard Living’.
Talk of the Town obtained pictures on the set of the video shoot ahead of the launch of her debut EP.
In February, Stephanie signed a deal with the Unstoppable Music Group.
She is the daughter of Christopher McCourt who moved to London in the 1980s but who still regularly returns home to Dundalk.
The McCourt family are well known in the town, with Stephanie’s grandfather Jim a lifelong Dundalk FC supporter, who is a popular figure in the area along with his wife Audrey (née Hande, originally from Cluan Enda).
The daughter of a Dundalk man is hoping to make a big impression in UK music circles this spring when she releases her debut EP.
Stephanie with her dad Christopher McCourt
Stephanie McCourt, who last week signed with the Unstoppable Music Group, is the daughter of Christopher McCourt who moved to London in the 1980s but who still regularly returns home to Dundalk.
The McCourt family are well known in the town, with Stephanie’s grandfather Jim a lifelong Dundalk FC supporter, who is a popular figure in the area along with his wife Audrey (née Hande, originally from Cluan Enda).
Like her family, Stephanie has had a love of music from an early age and has quickly made her name as a talented soul singer with influences such as Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse and Adele, to name but a few.
Stephanie’s mum is from Zambia and she credits her Zambian and Irish roots to a diverse taste in music.
She insists though that it is form her dad that she inherited her melodic voice.
““A lot of people say I inherited my voice from my Dad. He is really into music. He’s a massive Elvis Presley fan and I remember having to go with him and my sister to these little obscure record shops to hunt for Elvis records.
Stephanie’s grandfather, well known Dundalk supporter Jim McCourt
“He comes to all of my gigs and hassles me everyday about what I’m doing with my music. I’m really close to my dad we are like best friends… I’m that way with my mum too, she like a best friend as well.”
A graduate of Brighton Institute of Modern Music, Stephanie has been busy writing and recording in recent years and is hopeful of making a breakthrough with her debut EP, which will be released soon.
No doubt the McCourt clan and their many friends in Dundalk will be doing all they can to support Stephanie from this side of the Irish Sea.
Local singer/songwriter Sinéad McNally has released a special Lego animation music video for her track ‘Just For Today’.
Clodagh Carthy (née Malone), and her family were behind the creation of the new video, taking ‘Lego Sinéad’, around with them for much of last year. Amongst the locations they filmed in was in and around their native Jenkinstown and on Slieve Foy Mountain.
Clodagh shot the video after taking inspiration from Sinead’s track ‘Just For Today’ – from her 10,000 EP – following the death of her husband Ciarán from suicide last January. Amongst those involved in the video were her children Donal (12), Aisling (14) and Eoin (9).
To mark the video’s release, Sinéad has offered to donate all proceeds of the song to anti-depression charity Aware.
Commenting on it, Sinéad said: “Exactly a year ago, through very sad circumstances I came to know a lovely young family who were fans of my music. They offered to make a Lego animation music video for one of my songs. Of course I jumped at the chance and throughout 2013, the children and their mum took ‘Lego Sinéad’ around with them filming her in different locations. The result is something really unique and so full of emotion.
“We all have times in our lives that we need to shut off from the world. I wrote ‘Just For Today’ when I needed to do exactly that. I never in a million years thought that a young family going through the loss of their Dad and husband would find themselves inspired to create something as beautiful as this video to accompany the song. It is these moments in a songwriter’s life that you are reminded of the power that music has and the amazing ability music has to help heal and soothe the most difficult and tragic times in life.
“I am donating proceeds of the song to Aware and I hope that their story, their video and my song will touch lots of you over the coming days.”
Clodagh said she recorded the video as a thank you to Sinéad for her song ‘Just For Today’, which helped her Ciarán’s death early last year.
“When I chose to make a video for this inspirational song, ‘Just for Today’, I chose it because I identified with every word. It verbalised exactly how I was feeling. I didn’t realise at the time that it would become such a presence in my life and in my kid’s lives.
“I lost my precious husband to suicide in January 2013, father of three kids aged 13, 11 and 8. Thankfully we were cushioned by the generosity, kindness and support of family, friends and neighbours. But all of a sudden my head was dealing with funeral arrangements, finances, legalities, doctors, not to mention my own complex emotions and those of the kids and our efforts to rebuild our lives.
“When I heard the song, the strongest emotion I felt was liberation because ‘Just for Today’ gave me permission to clear my head, to take time out, to be on my own for a while and announce that ‘I know what I’m doing. Leave it to me’.
“All summer the kids and I took our little Lego Sinead with us everywhere. The first scene is a dawn breaking, which symbolises hope for us in our new lives. The second scene was filmed at the Annual National Sand Sculpting Competition in Bettystown, a competition we enter as a family each year, but which took extra effort this year because our hearts weren’t in it. But little Lego Sinead encouraged us to take part because we needed a busy scene for the video.
“The creativity and ideas needed for ‘Just for Today’ kept the children’s minds active. The possibilities were endless, including training snails to act, and our vibe was upbeat. We wanted mountain-top footage to finish the video which brought us on journeys in the footsteps of my adventurous husband, spending time in nature. So when the children went back to school in September I was ready to ‘Clear my mind’ and spend a week in search of fluffy clouds and mountain tops, a week spent in solitude, clearing my mind, going over sweet memories and checking my internal barometer. Bliss.”
You can download ‘Just For Today’ from here for just 99 cents. A Lego fundraising event for Aware is also being organised.
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