Sligo country music legend Sandy Kelly and Mayo’s Marc Roberts will open a nationwide tour in Moore Community Hall in south County Roscommon this coming Saturday, February 1st, with shows also in The Glen Centre, Manorhamilton on Thursday, February 6th and The Coleman Music Centre, Gurteen, Co. Sligo on Thursday, February 13th.
Over the decades, Sligo country singer Sandy Kelly has performed with some of the world’s top names of country music, from Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, with whom she recorded a duet, to Patsy Cline and Jett Williams, the daughter of Hank Williams.
Ireland’s First Lady of Country Music, Sandy Kelly is undoubtedly one of the finest entertainers Ireland has produced.
Her career stretches right back to her childhood and her family’s ‘Fit-Up’ Roadshow. Sandy Kelly first appeared on stage at the early age of three. She represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1982, and was a European ‘Gold Star Award’ winner in 1985. In 1986 and 1989 she represented Ireland at Fan Fare in Nashville.
She has achieved multiple gold records, including for her hit duet Woodcarver and Ring of Fire with Johnny Cash and her version of Willie Nelson’s Crazy, one of the biggest selling singles in Ireland in 1989.
For three years from 1990 to 1992, she hosted her own weekly RTE television series Sandy. The show never left the Top Ten Tam Ratings and was later aired on Sky TV in the UK.
One of the biggest successes in Sandy Kelly’s glittering career was the lead role in A Musical Tribute To Patsy Cline, which toured Britain for a record 37 weeks before opening in London’s West End. Sandy made over 500 appearances in this show before moving onto writing and directing her own tribute show Patsy Cline: The Concert, which has been a phenomenal success.
In October 2023, Sandy Kelly released her self-penned autobiography In My Own Words. The deeply personal memoir dived into Sandy’s life growing up in a show business family and the trials she has endured
Her newly-released album ‘Leaving It All Behind was recorded at what was Johnny Cash’s personal studio, Cash Cabin in Nashville, and was produced by five-time Grammy Award-winning producer John Carter Cash (Johnny Cash, June Carter, Loretta Lynn).
Marc Roberts, who cut his musical teeth under his birth name Sean Hegarty, is a Crossmolina, Co. Mayo-born singer whose career has spanned diverse genres of music. He also represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest, coming second with Mysterious Woman. Marc’s critically acclaimed and award winning show A Tribute to the Music of John Denver is a huge success in Ireland, selling out theatres, including the National Concert Hall, Dublin and touring the UK, Germany, Belgium, Australia and John Denver’s home town in Colorado USA, where Marc was invited to perform at the John Denver Celebrations in Aspen.
Marc has co-written with many top songwriters, including Brian Kennedy, Charlie McGettigan, Jimmy McCarthy and Daniel O’Donnell. With Daniel, he co-wrote and recorded 15 songs and has had a top 20 hit in the UK singles charts.
Marc presented The Marc Roberts Show on Keep It Country TV and he is currently a presenter with Galway Bay FM. His weekend breakfast show The Feel Good Breakfast is one of the top listened-to shows across Galway.
Irish dates during the duo’s nine-night February tour include shows in all four provinces.
