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Gran Time Comin
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"...a beautifully packaged collection I have to say,
and full credit to the guys for putting it together
- beautifully annotated and there are some superb period
photographs - little pictures of Hank Williams and old
mission halls, it's just got a really nice old-time
feel. Some great playing on it too..."
Ralph McLean, BBC Radio Ulster,
19th March 2005
"...I was thrilled to get this cd because it was set
out so beautifully, depicting some great historical
posters and photographs and the origin of gospel music
as it used to be, which later travelled over to America
with the Scotch-Irish up into the Appalachian Mountains
where it became American gospel and bluegrass music...
gospel music the way it used to be sang in the good
old times... it's an album that I very much like..."
George Jones, BBC Radio Ulster,
25th March 2005
"...new standards are being set for traditional music
in Ulster... a groundbreaker... the beautifully produced
debut CD from the Ards Peninsula's Low Country Boys,
with old songs which date back to the 1859 Revival...
the Boys' true devotion to their faith as well as their
music shines through on Gran Time Comin... should feature
alongside any other 'traditional' collections and is
important in the Province's musical repertoire..."
Liz Kennedy, News Letter,
16th March 2005
"...the first time I played the cd on the programme was
brilliant, got a reaction right away... when I listened
to this I think I needed an interpreter to see me through
because there's some of the wee words in there I wasn't
too familiar with!..."
Ronnie Morrison, Downtown Radio
"...the Low Country Boys from Co Down, who often accompany
the Ulster-Scots Folk Orchestra at some of their bigger
concert venues. Here we have four part harmonies, banjo
and mandolin, old-time gospel, hillbilly style - just
wonderful!..."
Colin Agnew, www.tradmusic.com
Live Reviews
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"...Maybe the greatest insight into what some people
call 'Ulster Roots Music' was given by four artists
from the Ards Peninsula where this Ulster-Scots music
was, and still is, heard mainly in mission halls and
similar surroundings. Mark Thompson and the other three
were most entertaining musically but the story of the
origins of their kind of 'old music' is fascinating.
The story of how it was exported eventually to America
along with the craft of whisky-making is worth the admission
charge in itself..."
Louis McConnell, Belfast Telegraph
review of our Ulster Hall performance with the Ulster-Scots
Folk Orchestra,
December 13th 2002
"...Then came the Low Country Boys, from County Down,
who delivered a handful of country gospel songs,with
good harmony singing but mediocre playing..."
The late Geoff Hardin, Belfast
News Letter, reviewing the same Ulster Hall concert!
"...the headlining act was the highly acclaimed Low
Country Boys from the Ards Peninsula. Anyone who, like
me, has seen the movie O Brother Where Art Thou? starring
George Clooney and wished that the Soggy Bottom Boys
hillbilly band from the movie were more than a cinematic
fantasy would do well to come and hear this excellent
quartet from County Down. Not only do they sing four
part harmony, play bass, mandolin, banjo and guitar,
but they also have a repertoire that is totally unique.
The Boys have amassed a significant collection of old-time
gospel songs from friends, relations and fans which
have been penned in Ulster-Scots. Songs such as Fu an
Skailin, a version of the Sunday School favourite Running
Over in the "Hamely Tongue" not only displayed their
musicianship and great harmonies but also enabled enthusiastic
audience participation. Highlights for me included the
group's rendition of Hank Williams' I Saw the Light
and also a local song called The Hallelujah Man, a poem
by the grandfather of local concert promoter Colin Agnew,
which the guys have put to music. It was also interesting
to hear Gran Time Comin, the title track of their current
album, as it was penned by one of the key figures of
the 1859 revival in the area, namely Jeremiah Meneely.
One of the band's trump cards is their frontman. His
easygoing manner, poems, jokes and patter between songs
helped to further endear the band to the audience.
This is a band preserving a forgotten part of our culture
which was once vibrant in mission halls and revival
centres across the Province. If Alison Krauss and Union
Station ever come to Belfast and need an opening act
then they could not go wrong in giving the Low Country
Boys a call. If roots music is your thing then I would
encourage you to pick up their CD or catch them live.
I'm sure you'll have a night like last Thursday - thoroughly
entertaining and very memorable.
"Low Country Boys Come Up Trumps"
review by Andy McKinney of our concert as part of the
Ballymena Arts Festival at the Seven Towers Leisure
Centre on Thursday 13th October 2005 (with Diane Wilson
& Johnny Mitchell / and Tony Collins), Ballymena Times,
October 26th 2005
Sangs O Bairns an Hame (Volume One)
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"...the Low Country Boys have led me to a profound sense
of my own heritage and the rich musical culture of this
tiny little province. On their long awaited new cd we
find more songs of faith and redemption. Songs about
ordinary people and their extraordinary lives.... I have
always considered the way my children embrace a song
to be a good indication of its popularity, a yardstick
to measure its potential. I can tell you that they have
latched on to this batch of new songs, already singing
like they've always known them... these four hillbillies
from the Ards Peninsula, singing Ulster-Scots, Scots
and Old-Time Gospel music are in effect sharing their
faith with us, sure and certain in Whom they believe..."
Colin Agnew, www.tradmusic.com,
November 2006
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