NoLady

Ireland enjoys St. Patrick's day, but everyone knows that the biggest party is always New York City, where thousands line 5th Avenue for the biggest parade in the world. This year, Manhattan will also be entertained by Donegal's finest young rock stars - Bundoran's own Aine O'Doherty , with guest Faloni Poni (Rory Fallon.) Aine O' Doherty has been touring in the USA for the last three months, and hooks up with fellow surfchick Niamh to entertain the folks from March 12-18th in New York. Using the name ONYA (Americans don't get the spelling of Aine!) the girls are playing a full week of gigs in the big apple, and with the sexy Rory Fallon as the opening act, Donegal will be well represented in the city that never sleeps.
The craic starts in Bar 12 on Sunday, March 12th. Bar 12, managed by Ballyshannon man Desi Murray is delighted to welcome Aine's band ONYA. Zagat Nightlife Guide 2006 describes Bar Twelve as "An Irish Pub on steroids, pulling huge crowds off the third avenue corridor". Desi and his partners, the Molloy's from Dublin, are really looking forward to St Patrick's celebrations this year. All Donegal folk in New York are called to welcome ONYA and Faloni and get the week off to a flying start. "We are kicking off St Patrick's week on March 12th when we welcome Donegal's ONYA" says Desi. We are really excited to welcome ONYA to Bar Twelve says Desi. "We decided to introduce live Sunday music sessions to the Bar this spring and what better to kick off than with Donegal's best"
The musicians continue on to play Slane in Greenwich village on Monday 13th, Coppersmiths on Wednesday 15th, Scruffy Duffys on Thursday 16th and on St. Patrick's Day, the girls return to Slane (just off Bleeker St) for a full day of music & craic. Full addresses can be found on www.onyaonline.com
So - if you are going to be in Manhattan for Paddy's day, or you have friends or family in the area, Onya and friends promise a real Donegal welcome and a great night's craic with the best of Irish rock music. No green beer, no gimmicks - just excellent music and lots of fun! So go and support our own and drown the shamrock in Donegal style!

- The Scene (Co.SLigo)

Things are starting to hot up in RTE's "You're A Star" with only six acts remaining in the quest to find this years Irish representative in Eurovision. The nation has chosen the remaining acts by their text-messages and phone calls, and after topping the poll on the last two live shows Pete Fagan must surely be the bookies favourite to win the contest.
Flying the flag for the North-West is Bundoran's Aine O'Doherty, who had a nail-biting climax to last Sunday's programme by topping Ann Harrington to survive elimination on national television and reach the last six.
Without seeming to be overly biased I did think Aine's performance of the Mic Chrisopher classic "Hey Day" was excellent, and was one of the better performances of the six on the night. It was certainly her finest performance of the contest thus far and proved to the nation the mass talent that the surf-chick possesses.
In front of an estimated live television audience of over half a million, Aine sent shivers down my spine when she hit the chorus of the up lifting song reincarnated a number of years back as the theme tune for the infamous Guinness advertisement. When she finished the performance, the Manley Hall erupted. The Chasing Bull contingency was there in fine form. A packed bus had taken Aine's family and friends from the seaside town to Dublin that morning, and the camera had spotted a nervous set of parents James and Winnie in the buzzing crowd. Aine had been the last performance of the night and finished the programme in style.
The judge's reaction to Aines performance was disappointing. Dave Fanning had been omitted at this time; he would certainly have sung her praises and is a big fan of the 23-year-old. Guest judge was Bill Hughes. Bill certainly may be reputable in the pop world, he worked with Boyzone, Six (we shall say no more!), but Bill to criticise a guitar singer songwriter is out of his league. He was incredible in his comments and noted that Aine had gone in and out of tune vocally which was harsh to be honest. Maybe Bill's wish is to create another pop flop at the expense of real talent.
Barbara was also unsure of what she was trying to say. In general I think the judges aren't sure what they are looking for. Dave knows the contest of Eurovision and we all know it's not his cup of tea, but at least his criticism is constructive and meaningful. No fault to Hazel, she looks OK and can sing, but being too old and pregnant to make it through to the next round of one of the earlier "Pop Idol" series is not enough merit in my view to qualify as a judge for a talent competition. Maybe you disagree? However Aine will feel the pressure next week, that won't be an obstacle for her. She will thrive on it, and even at this stage her career has been given a huge lift.
You may remember back in 2003 Simon Casey had been topping the polls week after week. He was pipped in the end by Donegal's Mickey Harte. The same could happen to Pete Fagan. The vote could swing dramatically one week, and who knows what happens then.
Doing well in the polls also are the other Donegal representative "The Henry Girls". They are probably what Ireland's Eurovision hopes need. Described as versatile and original, there are 4 women and one man in the act. I am not ecstatic about the rest of the competitors. The McCaul's are constantly being labelled "endearing" by the judges. They sing well and it is democratic in that they are getting the votes, but it's not realistic to picture them on a Eurovision stage. "Jade" are a clean girl band that also sing well and play averagely. They are not going to have a career after Eurovision if I am brutally honest, but they are still here and all credit to them for that. Lorraine Maher is a pleasant singer songwriter from the Midlands. She has got weaker throughout the competition but is getting the consistent vote thus far. In the next six weeks the Irish delegation to the Ukraine will be decided by the Irish public.
The Aine Campaign is calling to the North-West to keep supporting her in the competition, and let's hope this weeks show will be less nerve wrecking for her. Speaking to The Scene on Monday in reaction to the show the previous day, "Inuendo's Danny O'Connor said: "Aine is not getting the vote she deserves. She is polling high locally but around the country people are voting locally and not for the talent." With one being eliminated this Sunday, Danny accepted that it will be very difficult for Aine unless her vote rises. This week's theme is Mo-Town. No doubt Aine will make her selection truly her own. It has also been announced that Inuendo and Aine will be playing in Letterkenny as part of the I.T. Rag week in the coming weeks. Let's hope Aine is still part of the You're a Star roller coaster then.
VOTE AINE ON 53600 is the message for this Sunday's programme, as tension will certainly grip the Manley Hall. For the Bundoran girl it's been an amazing journey that may or may not end this Sunday, but either way Aine is now a recognised icon of new Irish talent. I'm certainly going to be glued to RTE this Sunday at 6.30pm, it really is addictive television. - The Star (National)

You're A Star - Onya
Last night on RTÉ One, the remaining five 'You're A Star' acts stepped into their blue suede shoes with their impersonations of Rock and Roll King, Elvis Presley.  Sadly, it wasn't Aine O'Dohertys night as she was the latest person to be voted off the RTE programme last night!
You're A Star Sunday nights 6.30pm.
Results: RTE 9.25pm.
Repeat: RTE Saturdays 4.50pm.

- RTE Guide

Onya O Doherty Cowboy X The Blizzards @ Whelan’s, Wexford St, Dublin 12th April 2006
Current mood: grateful
Category: Music Onya O Doherty Cowboy X The Blizzards @ Whelans, Wexford St, Dublin 12th April 2006
Paid a return visit to see Onya O Doherty perform in Whelans after a busy year that has seen the stunning Donegal lass refine her stagecraft on a relentless touring schedule in Ireland, Europe and America.
Last year I witnessed Onya do a solo opening act performance for West of Ireland flamenco guitar stylist singer songwriter Albert Niland, and introduced us to her own song writing skills that built on the acclaim and wave of popularity her excellent weekly show pieces on the Your A Star talent show generated.
Opening the show in Whelans on Wednesday night ahead of Cowboy X with Karen an intriguing Avril Lavigne look-alike lead singer and the headlining soaringly popular Mullingar band The Blizzards and backed by band mates Falloni Poni and Seamy O Doherty on additional guitar and percussion, Onyas original songs and warm likable stage presence worked beautifully.
Although I had gone along primarily to see Onya and how she had got on in the past year I was thrilled to come upon The Blizzards, a multi talented outfit playing out of their skins with an exciting, fun performance that is guaranteed to satisfy and hopefully solve the commercial nature of their business on foot of what I seen on stage in Whelans.
It was an outstanding performance; a high energy cocktail sonically honed to perfection from these Mullingar boys at a midland musical roundabout thats got high-speed influences coming from all directions and blending seamlessly together, its Madness racing around The Sawdoctors or the Boomtown Rats in their hay day with the vocal majesty of Queen reeling around tainted love and god knows what else it was awe-diance zapping, amazing and wonderful.
Onyas strength is her voice, with its infectiously fragile and hopeful timbre, with that endearing Donegal accent, singing straightforward, emotionally direct lyrics capturing the feel and wit of her warm, pleasant and affably personality.
Onya delivered a determined performance full of confidence and charisma, which is no easy task for the first act of the night in trying to attract the attention of a packed house yapping away like they were meeting up in the arrivals lounge in Dublin Airport on Christmas Eve.
But when the artist is authoritative and inventive people do listen and pretty soon Onya was sharing the inspiration for her songs and breaking down the barriers of communication, setting out the theme for each of her own songs, which stand solidly from start to finish.
Her lyrical style is mellow with a delicate balance of facing lifes problems with a hopeful and positive perspective.
She illustrates hard choices in her songs like staying in bed with whoever your with or getting up grabbing the guitar and getting on with things you really want to do for yourself and being willing to pay the price to make it happen.
Its life thats just what it is.
Quiet frankly my dear with the voice of an angel and the buoyant bullet proof twenty something year old good looks of a Celtic Madonna, Onya could sing the yellow pages and it would do it for me, in the same way as Sheryl Crow, Melanie, Shelby Lynn and Lucinda Williams, they simply gracefully brighten up the room when they drop in to see you all.
Onya moves from sassy slabs of classic rock chick and modern Irish pop pizzazz with that Donegal lemon and honey vocals topping off the magic, demonstrating that she has a stable and perfect relationship with her art.
I remember when the wicked godmother on the Your a Star panel had a cheep pop at her short dress the male population of Ireland texted 53600 to defend our rights to see not only the most likable act but a vision of perfection that puts sunshine to shame.
Pass the bottle is a good example of Onyas carefree and breezy vibe on stage with its catchy slinky beat, catchy chorus, lyrical four letter word undercurrents and rural observations of small town talk where everyone knows what everyone else is up to around the town.
Her minor major major hypnotic rhythm chord progressions in G# and relative keys moved about with the capo transmit many influential images of folk pop, cool summer breezes, reggae sparks burning on a beautiful west coast beach bonfire at midnight.
Onya's music is barely legal radiant beach girls on the crest of a wave surfing over a bed of bleached red-hot barbequed folk rock with all the sweetening you will ever need.
Short and Sweet is captivatingly beautiful for all these reasons with its stripped down rhythms taking shape around lyrics that are self questioning revelations about life on the career N4 where love has to take a back seat and life has to focus if you want to stay in tune.
Went for a holiday break a few years ago around spring time up around the Donegal coast line and remember finding a beach off Kincasslagh that made me feel I had arrived on another planet such was the breath taking primitive unspoilt beauty of the Atlantic ocean caressing the timeless sands and rocks with not a sinner for miles in any direction. Its one of the most beautiful and talent rich counties in Ireland and now they have a beautiful young ambassador that will do them proud on her musical adventures around the world.
It would be nice to see a full Onya O Doherty show in Dublin.
Good Onya.
- Myspace

Surfing Chic Makes New Waves YOU’VE no doubt heard of Enya, the super rich New Age Donegal priestess? Well, if you like your women on the rock side, check out Irish rock chick Aine when she returns to Manhattan with her unique brand of surf-rock, Irish style. You might think the terms “surf” and “Irish” don’t go together, and you would be wrong. “Ireland is a sick place to surf,” exclaims Jim, owner of Legend Surfboards, a board manufacturer who is making waves on either side of the Atlantic with his Celtic inspired swag (for more information, log onto http://homepage.eircom.net/~legendsurfboards/index.html). “When you think about it, Ireland is an island in the middle of the Atlantic, and it is pounded on all sides by waves. The weather doesn’t always allow for beach babes and sun, but anyone who is serious about surfing knows how great the waves are in Ireland.” Jack Johnson, the Hawaiian surfer who traded in his board for a folk guitar and became the godfather of surf music, recently sold out Dublin’s Point Theatre and rode the Irish chart wave successfully. Aine has fallen into the surfing crowd with a similar vibe. She strums aggressive folk rock with a love-’em-and-leave-’em attitude that plays well with the rebelliousness of surf culture. She has done some solo work on both sides of the Atlantic, supporting the likes of Mark Geary, Hothouse Flowers and Luka Bloom. I caught her act at Connolly’s, where she played riotous acoustic versions of ‘80s guilty pleasures from the songbooks of the Police, U2, and Bob Marley with her friend, Niamh Hamill. The two gals make up Surfchixx, and their lively set must be seen to be believed. You’ll have your chance to do just that as the girls join Rory Fallon on June 9 at Coppermiths (793 9th Avenue) Failte, Otto’s Shrunken Head on the 10th (538 East 14th Street) at 8 p.m. Additionally, Onya will be strumming original tunes at the Bitter End on June 15 or the Baggot Inn (82 West 3rd Street (between Sullivan and Thompson) on Friday, June 16. Did I mention the small matter of looks? For a gander at some steamy pictures or to get a full download of music and dates, log onto www.myspace.com/onyamusic. - The Irish Voice

Writer and director Gerry Nelson, whose recent films have included 'Dear Frankie' and 'DeValera and the Irish Press', and whose documentary work has taken him to such far-flung locations as Lebanon, South Africa and Kosovo, talks about his experience making 'This Note's for You' for RTÉ.
The idea for a documentary on songwriting sprang from an idle conversation between producer John Murray of Crossing the Line Films and Ray Harman from Something Happens. Both concluded that there were no decent music programmes that are actually analysing songs.
Initially we were to make a one-hour documentary but after a couple of weeks' filming it became obvious there was no way we could fit what we needed to say into 52 minutes and thus the six-part series 'This Note's for You' was born. The series is, of course, named in homage to Neil Young's great anti-corporate anthem.
The goal for the series was simple. If you take current music programmes they generally go down the route of a quick interview and a bit of a performance and the ball doesn't roll any further than that. With 'This Note's For You' we wanted to look more in depth at songs, songwriting, why we love the songs we love and what makes it all so magical. But above all we wanted to make a series that was visually interesting, stylish and befitting such creative subject matter
We were blessed to have the series presented by Tom Dunne, a respected songwriter himself; his imprimatur most certainly offered a level of credibility that was second to none.
Taken as a series, we've got an incredible array of songwriting talent; Damien Dempsey, Paul Brady, Declan O'Rourke, Gemma Hayes, Aine O’ Doherty Fiachna Ó Braonáin, Phil Coulter - such a craftsman - these people are revelations, real songwriters.
These people are the glue that holds our society together, they are the people who live out on the edge and allow us to go about our daily lives, but yet are full off humility and eager to expose their inner workings and motivations. As Neil Hannon says, "We give the bricklayer something to whistle while he lays his bricks."
One of the most magical moments of the series was when we conducted an experiment with Bundoran singer-songwriter, Aine O'Doherty. We wanted to film a song actually being written, so Fiachna Ó Braonáin from Hothouse Flowers came and said, "Yeah, I'll write a song with Aine".
They met in his living room one morning and they'd written a song by that night. But this wasn't something just thrown out, you could really feel when the muse arrived. The end result was this cool, country-inspired song called 'Keep Ya Guessing', and everyone involved was just floored by it.
There is no doubt that making this series was a true labour of love, it has taken over a year to complete. The editing process, I can safely say, was one of the most difficult challenges of my twenty years in television as we wanted the songwriters to drive the programme with very little voiceover. Selecting the music alone was torturous, but great at the same time. I wanted to get a snippet of every great song that I could and at one point we had one thousand songs in the edit machine to choose from.
'This Note's for You' is not a guide book; you will not learn how to write a hit, let alone a song. What it might do is give the music listener a fresh appreciation for the creative process that begets a song, why songs are so important to our lives, and maybe when they hear a songwriter say, "I wrote this song in ten minutes," they might remember that it took decades of learning the craft of songwriting to produce those ten minutes of genius.
The beautiful thing about this series is that there is no end, there are no real answers. Like music, it is all about the journey. Gerry Nelson

- RTE Guide

GREAT NEWS! Aine has been selected to play at this years SOUTH BY SOUTH WEST FESTIVAL in Austin, Texas. Thousands of artists worldwide apply to play this highly established festival every year & out of these Aine has been chosen!
She will showcase her music at THE INVASION OF THE GO GIRLS conference at EL MERCADO (address/date/time below).

Date: Friday, March 14th at 12:15 pm. (time subject to change)
El Mercado
1302 S 1st St.
Austin, TX 78704

So if you are lucky enough to be in Austin this year, check her out!

This week Aine plays The FOLK ALLIANCE FESTIVAL at the MEMPHIS MARRIOT - her showcase is on SATURDAY 23rd Febuary @ 1am finishing of the GO GIRLS Showcase with a BANG!

From now till then she will travel to Atlanta, Athens & Nashville on her way to Memphis - so again if you are in the area check out her calender to see where you may find her!!

And next week 28.29 & 1st its San Diego but we'll tell you more about that later... plus its all on her myspace Calender!!!

- DONEGAL POST

Organisers of Glinsk Song Contest
are looking forward to superb
competition at this year’s fi nal,
which will be held on Sunday, July
13th.
This week the thirteen fi nalists
were announced and organisers
also revealed that it has been
a bumper year for songwriters, as
Glinsk received double their usual
number of entries from around
the country with the biggest ever
number of overseas entries. Of
course, it is a special year in Glinsk
Song Contest as it celebrates its
twenty-fi rst anniversary.
Brendan Graham, the prolifi c
songwriter and novelist will be
making a return visit to Glinsk
to participate on the adjudication
panel on the night of the fi nal.
Brendan was the composer of two
winning entries in the Eurovision:
“Rock ‘n Roll kids” in 1994 and
“The Voice” in 1996. He was one
of the fi rst well-known songwriters
to recognise the importance of
the Glinsk contest when he said,
“Glinsk song-contest is an event
of national signifi cance.”
The thirteen fi nalists on the
night will indeed be looking forward
to having such an eminent
songwriter and composer participating
on the adjudication panel.
Glinsk Song Contest 2008 Finalists:
1. Zoom;
ONYA (Aine O’Doherty), Donegal; Prodigal Son, Stephen
Housden/Frank Howson, Cork; 2.
The Wonder of Love, Gerry Henderson,
Belturbet; 3. Took Him,
Andrea Doolan, Clare; 4. Never
Love Someone, Michael Scanlon,
Balla, 5. Malcolm Campbell,
Alan Menton, Dublin; 6. Prodigal Son, Stephen
Housden/Frank Howson; 7. Cold
Light of Day, Sean Kelly, Waterford;
8. That’s not the Way, Elaine
Weldon, Co. Wexford; 9. Walking
Free, Sinead McNally, Dundalk;
10. Heaven Only Cries, Ciara &
Cathy Newell, Galway; 11. Our
Children, Our Future, PJ Ryan,
Roscrea, 12 Let Love, Geraldine
Mangan, Dublin; 13. New York
& You, Sinead Cunningham/Rob
Seals, Galway.
- ROSCOMMON HERALD 13/06/08

Donegal Singer wins major songwriting award.

The Glinsk song contest celebrated its 21st year on Sunday July 13th, and 13 finalists presented their songs to a 9-man jury, including celebrated songrwriter Brendan Graham. This year, the competition included Gavin Moore, nephew of the famous Christy, Ciara and Neasa Newell of ‘Bellfire’ and Donegal’s own Aine O’ Doherty )Of band 'NoLady". Aine performed the song ‘Zoom’, and there was a nailbiting finish to the jury voting, which saw her pipped to the post by a point by ther ladies of Bellfire, who won with their song ‘Only Heaven Cries’. However, the prize for ‘Best Original Lyrics’ was won by our own Aine, who received a cheque for 700 euro and enthusiastic praise from the judges. Aine wrote the song ‘Zoom’ in Nashville in 2007.
Ainw was thrilled with her performance, as this was her first year entering the contest. Having been top of the leaderboard throughout the voting, it was a nerve wracking finish, but she was absolutely thrilled with the special award of ‘Best Original Lyrics’ which was presented to her by Brendan Graham. She was also warmly congratulated by guest performer Charlie Mc Gettigan, who pointed out that his success as a songwriter also began at the Glinsk Song Contest.

Aine performs with her band ‘NoLady’ every Monday night in The Chasin’ Bull, Bundoran, and will also be performing at the Sea Sessions festival in June. You can also see her perform at McGrory’s, Culdaff on July 19th. Warm congratulations to Aine, and continued success.
- DONEGAL POST

..The Festival was opened by local act 'NoLady' and judging by this raunchy, exciting performance, the forthcoming album from NoLady (due Autumn '09) will definitely be one to watch
Maeve Heslin - Hot Press Magazine (Ireland)