 of Esther Bansinger songwriter, Jamie Donnelly from her new gospel album and I'm delighted that Jamie joins me in the studio. Jamie, you're very welcome indeed. Welcome down to the studio. Hi Tommy, thank you so much for having me. It's great to be on the show today. I forgot to put up your microphone. Would you believe it? The last time I actually saw you perform, and I don't know if you remember this, it was down in Finner. It was a race meeting and it was a big concert and you were down helping out dad Charlie. I know you've had an album out before but you've gone into the gospel. Tell me how it all came about the gospel album. I always love gospel music. Like when I grew up, that's how I first got introduced to singing. I always was asked to sing songs and solos at mass at school and stuff like that. So I always loved the sound of gospel music, especially singing like a chapel. The acoustics is always amazing. So I love that at the start. But the title track of this EP that I released come into my life. It's a song that I wrote with my good friend Jeff Sney and we wrote it during COVID. So I think it was kind of relatable of all the things that was going on then and then I kind of read into more gospel music because the EP, it features songs, you know, when the role, what you just played there. Dolly Parton did a good version of that. Reba McIntyre, Alan Jackson, you know, so it's like the big country names as well. Kind of, they did their taking gospel. So that's kind of how I got listening to it more recently. So yeah, that's how it started. But that was a great, a bit of a change from what you were doing beforehand. And I see you have a great line up of artists on this and your feature. You have some American guy on Mike Cleveland on the fiddle and he's a, he's a well known artist. He's amazing. Yeah. He's played in loads of my tracks and he does fiddle and mandolin. So yeah, I have to say, all the musicians on the EP are just amazing. And I recorded it with Brian Kerrigan down at Harmony Studios here in Latter County. And Brian always does a great job of my music. We have a great partnership and anything that I kind of present to him, he's always able and fit for it, you know. So no, I'm really thankful for having to kind of make my visions come to life. So yeah, it's amazing. I was talking to a few other artists, McFlaven and John Glenn recorded with Brian as well. And he has a great studio and he's got a great sound. I was just saying to Brian when I was talking about the album, it's a very, very American kind of gospel-y sound out of it. You know, that's what I liked about it. I know that's it, especially that third track on it. I don't know who holds tomorrow. There's kind of like a bluegrass you feel. So yeah, I think each track, they all kind of touch on gospel, but then they have their own kind of stamp on it, if you know what I mean. So I tried to pick songs that I thought everybody would kind of like, or at least they would like one of them. So that's kind of what I try to do with all my albums. And when I get into the studio, I always think of the audience and what they would like to hear. So hopefully I covered a track for everybody to enjoy. And Camilla, was this your first time to go into the songwriting, doing the song you wrote with the lab from? No, I've actually wrote a few songs. I released my first one with Jeff back in 2019. It was a song called If You Want to Leave Me, and that featured on my first album. And then I released a single early 2021 called You Make Me So Happy. It was dedicated to his wife, who sadly passed away. And then, yeah, Common to My Life was the next song we wrote together, but we've wrote loads, but this is, we've only released three, so. Camilla, tell us for any of our listeners who wouldn't know your music. When did you start off? I know you had an album out before, maybe two. I could stand to be correct in that. But when did you start off in the music? I know recently you were on the last episode of Glorture, but tell us how you started off and when you started off. Um, well, I've always, like, I've always sang from a young age. I've always been involved in, you know, like the arts. I went to a drama school growing up called Much Ado. I actually work there now as an assistant teacher and drama singing. But, um, I started, um, and back in 2016, I started recording. I went to a studio, um, and an, er, where was it? I was down in, uh, Sligo with a producer called Look DuVenny, and I released my first EP back then called Together You and I. And it kind of just featured a range of different songs, you know, um, easy listening music, some country music, some, like, pop-rocky kind of stuff. So at that stage, I was kind of really trying to figure out what they, and I wanted to go down. Um, so I released that in 2017, and then since I've released two albums and they've been mostly country-based, and then my latest is this EP. So I'm still kind of exploring what writ I really like. Um, I mean, I love singing, so I try to dabble in a bit of everything, so. And Kimmer, tell me, how did the glory chair come about? I know you were David's, uh, one of David's two, uh, Annette, how did you find that experience? Hi, so, um, I would be quite good friends with David, and he asked me, um, what I'd be interested in about September last year, and I always was, like, a great fan of the show. I watched every series. Um, so, um, I couldn't really turn it down, um, when I got the opportunity to do so, and it was such a great experience, you know, uh, was that kind of next level, working with the cameras and the big band and all the lights, and getting to meet, like, all the contestants as well, and all the mentors? It was just a really fun experience. Yeah, it's funny, you know, I was just talking to a friend of mine the other day, and we were talking about, uh, TV and what it does for country music. You know, I see a lot of them being up there, uh, at the, once a year to do this late-night show, country show, and it's the usual suspects that's up there, but Teenagee has done more for, uh, the Irish country scene than anybody. You know, like, for, uh, any new acts, like Lord Chair, has been great. You know, you don't have to win it to get to the exposure, and then to do the opera, the Daniel, and which, for any of the Irish fans, it's great to see RTA do it once a year, and everybody thinks they're great, but, uh, Teenagee really is, is that the main one for, um. Totally, yeah, well, especially Gloratera, you know, like, it was, that they're really good at giving, you know, more unknown artists or up-and-coming people that, that opportunity to get, you know, nationwide viewing, you know, and kind of getting that extra exposure, so I'm really thankful for that opportunity. And, uh, let me tell you, uh, we're going to play, uh, the song you co-wrote yourself now, uh, tell us a little bit more about that. I know you, you co-wrote it with the lad. Yes. You were just saying you're back from Liverpool today and I was saying we're at the match and you said, no, no, no, I was just. Yeah, well, I'm, I actually, um, launched the album over there and Southport, that's where Jeff loves, so, um, I did two gigs over there at the weekend, um, they went doing really well, thank god, and, um, the reaction from the EP two over there has been really positive and good, so I'm delighted with that, um, and yeah, come into my life, we wrote it in 2020, and that was really the first gospel song we wrote together, so, um, yeah, I'm really glad with how it turned out. Well, don't go away, we'll just play it now and see. It's a lovely song, you know, fair plenty for, uh, co-writing that song. Come here, was it intentional, intentional just to have six songs on the EP? You didn't think of putting more on it, or was it just? So, I went back and forth, um, originally I did want it to be an EP and the album, I kind of was recording them, I thought, should I extend on this, should I do more gospel, should I do, like, fill the other half of the pure country and have a country and gospel, um, but I kind of settled on them six and, you know, some of them are, like, really, like, touching into that country feel, but the other ones are kind of more, like, gospel-y, you know, church-like sounding, so, um, no, I'm really happy, I think there's like a nice blend on it, so, um, I'm really happy I stuck with the six. Yeah, what I really like about, uh, I love, uh, the kind of a blue grassy theme, you know, like, the fiddle in that, in gospel tunes, you know, like, just that one there, we're like that, come here and let me tell you now, what have you lined up, have you, what do you do with yourself, uh, the album isn't out that long, what's the story now, what's, what have you lined up for the future? So, um, what my next project is, um, hopefully anyway, is I'm actually a finalist in the Countryland competition, which is, um, for, um, first slot on the Countryland Festival, which is taking place on the 25th of November, so I have to go down, um, on Wednesday morning, um, to compete with the other five finalists, so, um, I think it's going to be streamed on Facebook, so if everybody could tune in and give me your, your vote, I would be very, very grateful. And where is that in? It is down in Balmoral, so that's where the actual show's going to be, um, Lisa McHugh and Derek Ryan are all on the lineup here in Heffernan, um, and then they're giving the opportunity of, like, a slot to a new kind of upcoming person, so, um, I'm happy I got through the first hit, so now it's down to the final, so I get to pick one person, so that's... Come here, that'll be, that'll be great exposure. Now for anybody who's interested in your album, I just got him one or two, uh, text messages saying congratulations, Jamie, uh, beautiful song, for anybody who's interested in getting your EP, uh, how can you go about it? Because, you know, I was talking to somebody the other day and it's, I think it's, sir, well I love getting CD into me hand, whereas nearly, it's nearly all downloads now, but for anybody who wants to get a copy, where, or when, or how? Well, if you want a hard copy, you can get them off my website, which is www.gmail.nlamusic.com, and then digitally, then it's available on all Amsterdam platforms, wherever you get your music, so you'll be able to find it there. Come here, what do you think of the streaming thing anyway? I, I, you know, I used to laugh at the streaming thing, sometimes you would see somebody has an album out, and before we would get it here at the station, it's number one in the iTunes charts in Ireland, and I said, I'll be sent to someone, how can it be number one? I haven't even heard it, or how do people hear it? Well, that's the thing, like even my EP, like on the day it was released, I got to number two in Ireland, which I was alright by, but, um, uh, see the streaming, I, I went to uni a couple of years ago, graduated in 2022, and, uh, I did my dissertation on, like, the algorithms and streaming and all, all that crack, but, um, I mean, it has its pros and cons, like it's really good to kind of get yourself exposure, you know, people from all over the world can hear you, but then, financially, and you know, for somebody independent, it's quite difficult, but I don't know. You know, it's, it's funny, you know, uh, social media has become a great thing over the last couple of years, uh, up here at the station now, especially since, uh, COVID, uh, we've been learning about social media, and, uh, I'd noticed a lot of artists, like, you know, when you couldn't go out and perform in those years, a lot of people did, you know, the, the streamed on Facebook and did the shows on Facebook, did you, did you do any of that when, uh, turned COVID? I did actually, I did a few Facebook lives, um, but, you know what, it was great, but it's hard to beat being on a rim performing for people, and actually seeking their reaction as opposed to reading comments, so that was my take on it, but I mean, it was a great, um, alternative for the situation we were in, I suppose. Yeah, catching you, catching you fans too, but tell me, uh, are you doing many live gigs at the moment? Well, I'm just, as I say, I'm back from Southport there, I did two, um, this weekend to launch the album, and I had just, you know, a private function that I am, kind of busy doing things like that, and anywhere I get the chance to sing really, um, I'll do it, I'll be there, but, um, I'm jumping away, thank God. Well, come here, thanks for popping up tonight, I'm much appreciated, because I know it would be been on there, it's very seldom I get any visitors in the toilet at night time being on the last show, but it's great, come here, tell us about the last song we're going to play from the EP. Yeah, so it's the last one on the EP, um, it's a good likely number, and it's one called I'll Fly Away. That's great, Jamie, thank you very much indeed, thanks for coming.