MUSIC Joe Fury and The Hayride launch debut album

Joe Fury and The Hayride launch debut album


Henry McGlade

Joe Fury and The Hayride will officially launch their new album ‘Hey! Hey! Hey!’ in Campbell’s Tavern, Headford, this Saturday night, October 8.
The band from the Galway/Mayo border was formed by Joe Fury after he moved from the UK some years ago. They are renowned for their high-energy live performances and staying true to a unique combination of rockabilly and bluegrass. The band are becoming popular on the festival scene, and have played at the Kilkenny Rhythm and Roots festival and Electric Picnic. They are also due to play two gigs at the Cork Jazz Festival on October 29.
‘Hey! Hey! Hey!’ captures Joe’s powerful vocals and the band’s unique ‘rootsabilly’ sound. Tracks include the swinging ‘Shotgun Boogie’, bluegrass murder ballad ‘Little Sadie’, a rockabilly take on the Steve Earle tune ‘Graveyard Shift’ and the swampy/New Orleans-feel  song ‘Miss Lizzy’.
The band’s name is a tribute to ‘The Louisiana Hayride’, a country-music radio show broadcast from Shreveport, Louisiana. During the show’s heyday from the late 40s to the late 50s, it helped to launch the careers of some of the greatest names in American music, including Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash and Lefty Frizzell.
Leo Moran of the Saw Doctors is clearly a fan: “Anyone who claims not to like rockabilly can’t be fully right; when it’s done with great skill it sounds simple, melodic and beautiful; it makes you smile and want to move. That’s exactly what Joe Fury & The Hayride’s album, ‘Hey Hey Hey’ achieves.
“You know that apart from being well able to sing the songs, Joe’s heart and soul is right in there, as is the passion and expertise of his band, delving into the rich history of rockabilly, country and bluegrass and making it fresh, again and again.”
A number of special guests will be making an appearance at the launch of ‘Hey! Hey! Hey!’ in Campbell’s, including acclaimed folk singer Norianna Kennedy, rockabilly queen DJ Kit Kola, and Frank Sarsfield and the Nervous Breakdown.