Country star Derek will ‘never forget’ Banbridge

Speaking to the Leader ahead of the show, the Life is a River singer described how Banbridge fans gave him his first ever standing ovation as a country artist, a precious memory for the Carlow man.

A former member of the boyband D-Side, Derek is now a top country star in his own right, with his latest album ‘The Simple Things’ reaching number one in the Irish album chart, holding off the likes of Ed Sheeran and Paolo Nutini, and number one in the UK country chart.

Looking forward to last Friday night’s show, Derek said: “We’ve played the Bannville now a few times and it’s been lively, a full house every time, so hopefully tonight will be no different. It’s always a great crowd.”

It certainly was a similar reaction at this gig, with a record crowd turning out for what he later called ‘a mighty night’.

With five studio albums and one live album under his belt, Derek Ryan has built up a loyal following and he spoke of how he recognises local people at his various shows.

“I do see the same faces,” he said.

“It’s well located as well so people from a lot of areas can come, so it’s great,” he commented.

“I always say it’s an exciting time to be involved in country music and there’s a great mix at the gigs as well.

“It’s not just all young people or all old people, it’s kind of a nice mix that we get, which I think is a nice element to the show as well because sometimes you could have, especially at concerts, four generations at gigs which is nice to see.”

Currently on the road with his ‘Simple Things tour’, Derek said it has been ‘brilliant.’

“It was the most successful album to date, sales went through the roof for us so we were delighted. We couldn’t wait to get on the road, I get excited about doing the new songs live because it’s all about the performance.

“I enjoy writing the songs for the album, I enjoy the process of going through it, but when you do it live you see which ones go down better and then you adapt, you kind of edit the show, put in new songs here and there, so it’s kind of an exciting time.”

He added: “My dad was a country and Irish singer and still is. His latest band has been on the road for thirty years, so we grew up going to his gigs and just generally listening to the cd’s that he’d have or whatever.

“It’s funny, we always loved it, some of my friends at home would be like, ‘What are you listening to?’ they’d be listening to pop music or whatever, but when you grow up with something, it’s natural and just becomes like second nature really.”

Speaking about which artists inspire him, Derek said: “I would’ve listened to the old American country like Johnny Cash, Hank Williams especially, Hank Locklin, all those type of guys and then of course, Big Tom, Brian Coll.

“Then as I got older we went actually dancing. We went to follow Declan Nerney and all those types of singers, Mick Flavin and Jimmy Buckley, so they would’ve infuenced me I suppose at getting to know the scene as such but as a songwriter, Johnny McEvoy would be a big influence on me and then the American guys like Garth Brooks and Keith Urban.”

Fulfilling an ambition to collaborate with Sharon Shannon, Derek said another artist he would love to work with would be Johnny McEvoy.

“I am a big fan of Johnny McEvoy, so I’d like to work with him. He’s had some fantastic songs so if it ever happens it’d be great.”

Picking out some of his highlights, Derek said: “One of the highlights was kind of a mixture, it was working with Sharon and then we performed on The Late Late Show, which was amazing. I had done The Late Late before and I had worked with Sharon but to do both on the same night was pretty cool. That was definitely a hightlight.