Lorraine’s got something to Crowe about!
Seamus Enright
A Cavan singer-songwriter has recorded a duet with Hollywood star Russell Crowe and is now set to tour alongside the Gladiator star.
Lorraine O'Reilly has been added to the billing on the UK and Irish tour of the renowned actor and musician's 'Indoor Garden Party' concert.
“Absolutely excited, over the moon" is how Lorraine described feeling ahead of rehearsals with her fellow stars before setting off on a multi-venue tour taking in London’s Union Chapel (September 28), Leeds City Varieties Music Hall (September 29), and Dublin's Olympia Theatre on October 1.
The remarkable turn of events for the Kildallan-native arose out of her involvement with UK-based Celtic folk rock band BibleCode Sundays, of whom the vocalist/guitarist is Ronan MacManus, brother of Elvis Costello.
“I recorded with them a couple of years ago and I worked with Ronan on a duet he had written about his parents passing away. The long-and-short is, it was suppose to be on one of their albums but never made it, and it kind of fell by the wayside,” explains Lorraine who has been living and working in England for seven years.
“But last year [Ronan] decided to resurrect the song again, with a bit of a revamp, and a couple of months later we arranged to go to studio. It was then I got a call from him to say Russell Crowe was going to now sing on the duet. Obviously it was something that came as a surprise.”
Lorraine met with Russell in person last March when the star invited his fellow musicians to dinner at London’s Dorchester. “We ended up having a lovely evening, and we kept in contact since.”
Shocked
Her addition to the list of prestigious ‘Garden Party’ acts came after Russell messaged Lorraine notifying her Samantha Barks (Les Misérables) was no longer on the billing, and asking if the Cavan woman might now fill her shoes.
“I was shocked, speechless is an understatement, but yeah, we’ve been in regular contact since and it’s all very exciting. He’s arriving over to the UK and we’ll be starting rehearsals soon, touring Ireland and the UK.
“It’s scarily real now after Russell tweeted a photo of the concert poster and my name is right there on it,” says Lorraine.
It’s the latest unique “twist of fate” as Lorraine describes it. She garnered international attention when she was joined on stage by singer Emeli Sande whilst playing a charity gig at the Old Windsor Club in Windsor back in 2015 .
“It’s another case of being in the right place at the right time,” London-based Lorraine tells the Celt, who is most looking forward to playing the Irish leg of the tour.
“I’m sure there’ll be a few familiar faces around, we’ll see who can make it. I’ve been lucky enough to play the Olympia before, I supported Aslan a few years back, and it’s a stunning venue. To be on the main line-up is something really special.”