March is nearly over already… Time certainly flies when you’re having fun!

Festival season is just around the corner and as you may have guessed it’s my favourite time of the year. I always make a point of heading along to Longitude, it’s an AMAZING festival and last year I was lucky enough to catch up with Hozier. Such a super nice guy, I seriously could have chatted to him about music for hours, but sadly I only had 15 minutes.

The line up this year is pretty sweet!

 

Quite often I find myself wishing I lived in the big smoke – Dublin, why? Because of the number of gigs on each week, however living in Galway we do pretty well when it comes to finding stellar live music. There are so many venues across our wonderful city offering superb talent and sometimes completely free. Yep FREE!

If you ever find yourself at a loose end on a Monday night or need an excuse to head out for a cheeky pint I would totally recommend checking out The Open mic in The Cellar Bar on Eglington Street in the heart of Galway city. I have to admit, it had been way too long since I last popped into the open mic, but seriously, the talent is fantastic. They have a house band, you as an artist or a band sign up and when you’re called up on stage you slot in and perform your song. It’s brilliant. And have I mentioned absolutely FREE?

So what are you waiting for, get in contact with them here?

I had a fantastic night checking out some of the talent Galway has to offer, The MC Tom Pyne from The Wave does a fantastic job of introducing the bands and the Play house band are so accommodating to whatever the act may be. Whether it be jamming along with another band or providing the backing track for a rapper like Crazed. Play open mic has it all.

I was especially blown away by a Belfast band that popped in to play a track, you may have seen them busking on Shop street over the last few days. They remind me a little of Keywest and Kodaline. Super talented and no doubt will follow in both bands footsteps.

They’re called Matty Rae, and in my opinion, they’re pretty awesome!

Here’s a video of them busking on the streets of Galway.

But hey, don’t take my word for it, check them out yourself.

I know where I’ll be spending my Monday nights from now on, chilling with some pretty amazing music at Play Open mic in The Cellar, Galway.

As always, feel free to pop me over any new music you would like me to feature or take a listen to. You can catch me on:

Email: louiseclarkeradio@gmail.com

Twitter: @louclarkeradio

Facebook: Facebook.com/louiseclarkeradio

Catch you soon, Lou xXx