On a hot summer night in
Belfast on Saturday 9th June Eugene McPeake & The Urban Arts Centre (UAC)
played to an eager crowd in Auntie Annie’s on the Dublin Road.

For generations of folk music
enthusiasts the name of the McPeake Family of Belfast has stood for one of the
most distinctive sounds in Irish music. A tradition which is now continued by Eugene
McPeake, a fourth generation member of this world-famous musical dynasty,
touring throughout the UK, America and Europe.



Eugene has now
put together a new band, which is unique in the world of music with its fusion
of contemporary rhythms and styles. There are no musical borders that the band
does not cross. Eugene McPeake’s unique approach to blending Irish traditional,
with rock and blues has generated widespread interest.



Shortly after 8 o’clock the crowds started to flock into the venue to see this
show. The night kicked off with the
compare for the evening a very comical lady, Ruth Curran, who entertained the
crowd with her one liners and unique personality. Support Acts included Michael Parker, Chris
Henry and a trio led by Danny McHugh. Then the wait was finally over and Eugene
McPeake took to the stage with members of the Urban Arts Centre (UAC)

By this time you could feel
that this was what everyone was waiting for, the atmosphere was electric and
the show did not disappoint. They started off their set with Daily Grind a fast
paced song, giving the audience a taste of things to come. Bar a few excellent covers the whole show was
comprised of new material but by the end of each song the crowd had joined in
with big choruses that made the evening feel like the crowd were singing their
favourite songs rather than just a
new album. The finale came with a performance of the title track of the new EP
that was on sale that night called Summer Nights, this track turned into an
anthem straight away as the whole audience started to sing and dance along whenever
the chorus came up.

The audience for this show barely sat down all night, and left on a high from all the music and dancing. I am genuinely so glad I went to this show, the whole experience was awesome. I bought the new Summer Nights CD and am now definitely looking forward to hearing more original tracks from Eugene
McPeake and the UAC, hopefully there will be another show in the near future. They
are definitely worth looking out for.





There is an official facebook group with some extra information, it can be
found at;

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/groups/424980290863346/

http://www.eugenemcpeake.com/