Rock me Mama! Why popularity of country music keeps on rolling

Anyone who says that country music isn’t cool should make a point of heading to the Tullyglass House Hotel in Ballymena over Valentine’s Weekend.

Nathan Carter will be in town - and he predicts that around 75 per cent of the fans he’ll be playing to will be under 25.

And chances are, he’s right. For since this young man (he’s 25) hit the local country scene with his version of Bob Dylan’s track Wagon Wheel in 2013, fans in their teens and 20s all over the Province have been polishing their jiving shoes and practising swinging their partner by the hand.

Country music has never been so popular with our young folk,, and there is no doubt that its upbeat melodies and catchy lyrics were brought to the attention of youthful revellers by Liverpuldian singer Nathan.

However the handsome star, who has roots in Newry, was a popular name on the local country scene long before 2013, and he’s been singing and performing since he was a child.

“I was brought up with country music always playing in the house,” he tells me. “My nan and grandad played the likes of Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Philomena Begley and Joe Dolan, so I was surrounded by that stuff growing up and I always loved it.

“I used to sing a lot of the songs and at family parties I would be thrown up on the table to entertain everyone and sing to them.

“I left school at 16 and started singing country songs in the pubs and clubs around England.”

His performances also extended to Ireland, and it was on a trip to Donegal in 2009 that he met songwriter John Farry, who was hugely impressed with his talent and style.

He was invited to start his own band, which had always been his dream, and has gone on to record seven studio albums, three live albums, and three live DVDs.

And Nathan - who is currently on a UK tour, with upcoming dates in Ballymena, Londonderry and Armagh - has seen for himself how the popularity of the genre has skyrocketed amongst younger audiences in recent years.

“I’ve seen it go from the more mature age group, when I kicked off, to the last three or four years when lot of young people and teenagers and all age groups really are coming to the gigs and getting into the music,” he said.

“I think the appeal for them is in the lyrics and the catchy melodies. People can relate to the words. Country music is very much about the truth.

“Personally, I was never into disco or dance music, or R&B or any of that stuff, I just liked good melodies and simple lyrics. I think a lot of young people now have also got fed up with discos, and this is something different - they can meet people, have a dance. It’s great to see, it really is.”

Nathan - a former head chorister in the Liverpool boys choir - has a busy year ahead. After his UK tour, he hopes to start filming for a new TV series. and following a series of summer gigs, including a weekend playing in Killarney, he’ll be heading to Benalmadena in Spain at the beginning of October with a host of fellow country names, including Lisa McHugh and Philomena Begley, where they’ll be entertaining country fans in the sun.

l Nathan Carter will play the Tullyglass House Hotel, (Galgorm Road, Ballymena, Co Antrim, BT42 1HJ) on Saturday February 13. For details of how to book tickets, call the hotel on (0)2825 652639. You can also get more details of concert dates on his website - www.nathancartermusic.com