Rising star Larissa Tormey will perform at ‘The Meaning of Christmas' concert on December 10.

Midlands country stars unite for new charity single and Christmas concert

A fifty-plus strong army of country artists have come together to record a very special charity fundraising single for Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

‘The Meaning of Christmas’ will be launched in The Well, Moate, when Barry Kirwan and his band, together with a line-up of talented country performers, take to the stage on the night of Monday, December 10th, for what should be a spectacular night’s entertainment. The song itself will be available across all digital platforms from December 3rd, so with the public’s support, it could well be sitting atop the charts by launch night.

Among the artists featured on the single are Barry Kirwan, Olivia Douglas, Robert Mizzell, Colin Kenny, Sabrina Fallon, Alex Roe, Jason Moyles, and one of the main organisers behind the project, Ger Long, who told us a little bit more about the artists involved, and why so many wanted to play their part in supporting the cause.

“Well, we’ve got over fifty artists involved at this stage, between those who were able to make it when we were recording the song – not everyone could be there due to work and family commitments, which is normal with a project on this scale.

“We have thirty artists who have actually put their vocals to the track, and we’ll have about thirty-seven who’ll be in The Well in Moate on December 10th."

“Another important point we want to get across is that we want to see this become an annual fundraiser, so artists who weren’t on the actual single this year, for the reasons mentioned, will hopefully be able to sing on next year’s. And we’ve already had some fine country songwriters offer to write us an original song for next year,” he added.

"Of course this year, like every year, there’ll be some families who will be spending their time together in places like Temple Street, and the reason so many of us from the country scene have come together like this, is just to try and do something that might ease the weight on their shoulders. So that’s the aim.”

People can help in two very important ways, he said.

“ The first is by buying the single, and getting it into the charts, and then the second is by coming along to The Well in Moate for the launch night itself. It’ll be a huge party, and all for an amazing cause too,” Ger continued.

And it’s not just the country artists themselves who have come together to bring ‘The Meaning of Christmas’ to life, Ger said, thanking the musicians, The Bird’s Nest up in Bundoran, The Well, Harmony Recording Studio in Letterkenny, along with Stephen Rosney of Rosney Media Productions who is responsible for the video to accompany the new single.

‘The Meaning of Christmas’ will be available to download on all digital platforms from December 3.

The launch night for ‘The Meaning of Christmas’ takes place on December 10th, in The Well, Moate, with doors opening at 8pm and admission just ten euro.