Music with purpose

Drumlinia on ‘hiatus’ for 2025

Award-Winning songwriter Don Mescall will perform an intimate concert of his music at Cavan’s Townhall next week.

“I’m really looking forward to being back in the Townhall again,” says Don of the May 9 gig, who admittedly spent the vast majority of the past two years writing and recording music for other artists. “It’s full circle, because when you write, and you’re able to perform those songs in front of people, something I really miss, it makes you better as a songwriter too, more rounded, more receptive.”

Don chats to the Celt over a cuppa sitting on the evening sunlit side of his home and recording studio at the in a 1800’s converted church on the banks of Quivvy Lake. He picks up a nearby guitar with a bruised looking pick guard, plucks a few strings as he listens to the cacophony of bird song emanating from the tall surrounding hardwoods, before relaxing back into the conversation.

He speaks to the newspaper having just made the “difficult decision” to put the Drumlinia Music/ Media Festival, so successful over its two years in existence, on “hiatus”.

Work commitments, and time to organise an event of such scale, have all played against the 2025 event going ahead. Don is disappointed, but remains determined it will return next year.

Outside of Drumlinia and his own music, Don remains in high demand, having spent much of the end of last year working in Switzerland. He also continues to write with friend and fellow song-writer Sharon Vaughn who is based in Sweden, and is set to begin working with another country artist based out of Geneva.

But for his upcoming Townhall show though Don has invited guitarist and long-time collaborator James Shannon to travel from the UK, while Cavan singer-songwriter Fiona McConnell joins as backing vocalist.

Sue Donohoe joins on piano, while Don has arranged for an as yet unannounced ‘Special Guest’ for the evening.

“Its something I used to do years ago, invite somebody I really admire, a musician or singer, to share the stage,” he explains. What he can say is his invited guest is an “amazing singer” and someone he has worked with previously. “She’ll join me for a few duets, with Sue on piano, so I’m exited about that.”

It feeds back into Don’s grá for promoting new talent. Building up local artists was a major reason Don developed Drumlinia, which over the space of two years grew to heights few could imagine.

Critical was the staging of successive headline concerts. Year one welcomed renowned lyric soprano Celine Byrne, and last year saw Irish music legend Daniel O’Donnell pack the pews of the Cathedral of Saint Patrick and Saint Felim.

Between the two shows, Drumlinia helped raise tens of thousands of euro for the Cavan cathedral’s refurbishment fund.

Interestingly, Don’s Cavan show won’t necessarily focus on music from his long-awaited next studio album, ‘Seven Setting Suns’, all but complete save for the addition of a couple of extra vocals which he is still stirring over. A pre-release gig of the music received rave reviews from the likes of Stuart Clarke, Dave Fanning and fellow presenter Paul Gambaccini.

“Songs are like children. You put them out into the world but you want them to visit you again sometime,” Don says of his intention to revisit content from his Irish No 1 charting ‘Lighthouse Keeper’ (2018), among other music from his extensive back-catalogue. Some of his songs have featured on albums with sales of over 22 million worldwide and have received in excess of 18 million hits on YouTube and also in excess of 30 million streams on Spotify and counting.

There will be “one or two” songs from ‘Seven Setting Suns’ played however.

“Spiritual”, but not in the godly sense, songs from the album and among his most comprehensive creatively, and touch on subject matter Don had previously stayed clear from.

Asked po-facedly if there is threat that war, climate change and other pressing global concerns might all have been solved by the time ‘Seven Setting Suns’ does get released, Don laughs loudly: “I wish! If that was the case I’d quite happily put the album in a drawer and go back and write a happy clappy album. But no, these songs have meaning, they have purpose too.”

Don feels if ‘Seven Setting Suns’ is to get its day in the spotlight, then it has to be “done right”.

“I don’t do things by half. A bit like Drumlinia this year. It would have to meet the watermark we set before, 2024 was an incredible year with brilliant feedback, unforgettable gigs, informative workshops and huge support. So it certainly wasn’t going to be anything less.”

Don had lined up an internationally renowned act to play for 2025, and believes Cavan to be a “brilliant location for major acts to come to and perform. We started out [Drumlinia] by wanting to do something creative, and to put Cavan on the map, to build something that gives back and not just in one year or two years time, but for generations. We’ve put it on hiatus for now, but it’s something, with support, that I believe can come back bigger and even stronger in 2026.”

Don Mescall plays Cavan’s Townhall, May 9, 8pm (doors open 7.30pm). Tickets available online.