Bronagh Gallagher - of Commitments fame - played Belfast's Out To Lunch Festival with her own band for a sold-out gig at the end of January, writes Brian McCalden.
She 'played the audience' too, as a blue's musician massages a saxophone, earning 100 backing singers during a near two-hour show that gripped the Black Box.
Belting out her songs - mostly from her album, Precious Soul - the lyrics were performed with the "exuberant marriage of classic Nashville Country and Memphis Soul" the album blurb describes.
In person, on stage, in a packed venue - with her parents and numerous nephews, aunts and uncles looking on - the Derry artist's talent really burst loose.
Anecdotal tales of lyrics dreamed-up in the last moments before sleep and of travelling to Hispanic areas of Los Angeles to inspire other songs meshed with a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' for her proud dad.
Musical icon Terry Hooley looked on as she told the tale of how she spent £5 her Ma gave her for lunch on a school visit to Belfast in Good Vibrations - on a Muddy Waters vinyl instead.
They wouldn't let her go, with an anticipated 60 minutes stretching to well over 100 - surely the best value £5 of the Out to Lunch Festival.
Bronagh only bowed out after a third encore - as her drummer was off to back Van Morrison - such was the mutual enjoyment from toe-tapping C&W style 'ye-ha!' to soulful ballads such as 'Love Will Find You'.
Currently filming a comedy 'horror' film and then joining the cast of The Commitments after 20 years to go on stage again - Bronagh is also working on her second album - so there's much more to come.
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(BMcC)
