The weather may have been cold and wet outside, but Mainly Men warmed up for their February Northern Ireland concert with an impromptu recital in the Great Hall of Stormont, courtesy of Peter Weir MLA.
A small crowd of staff and visitors gathered to hear performances of I Believe and The Old Woman, both sung with commendable sensitivity considering that the group had been on the road since the early hours of the morning.
And they were in action again later in the day, unveiling several new songs, as well as singing some old favourites, to a capacity audience at the Drumalis retreat in Larne. Sharing the bill were the Larne Concert Choir, who made excellent hosts, and the Killyglen Accordion Orchestra, the latter shattering any preconceptions about that instrument with a stunning performance.
If that weren’t enough, the choir still found the energy to sing for their samples at the Bushmills Distillery the following day, again attracting a small but enthusiastic crowd of distillery workers and bemused tourists.
There’s only one disappointment to report: the carefully choreographed boy band walk-down – due to make its debut appearance on this trip – failed to make it into the final set (for reasons of space, allegedly). So watch out, Bournemouth: it’s coming to a venue near you very, very soon.