In these challenging times, it is necessary to look at new ways of communicating and promoting our worthwhile work for people with disabilities. With this in mind the Disability Federation of Ireland is staging an information & networking event on 23rd March 11.00 – 3.00, in the Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran, Co. Donegal, which will give voluntary disability organisations, the health services, community organisations, as well as private providers an opportunity to present themselves and the services they provide to people with disabilities. The event focuses on organisations providing services in the greater North West Region, including Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal.

It is a well-known fact that the services for people with disabilities are undergoing major changes at present – new service models, different providers, reduced levels of funding and ever increasing standards. The Disability Federation wants to give the stakeholders in the field an opportunity to inform about and promote their services through this event, which will have three distinct parts:

1. Series of short presentation by any interested organisation
2. Opportunity to have information stands
3. Networking & Opportunity to talk to media representatives & the general public

The event is aimed at disability service providers, professionals from the sector, people with disabilities, in particular those that are not receiving services at present, local media and the wider general public.

For more information and bookings you can contact Marcus Hufsky, Regional Support Officer, Disability Federation of Ireland. Tel. 071-9150098

Friday March 19th  -   Tobergal Lane Café Upstairs

“Occasionally you hear a jazz album that you know would shift truckloads of units if only it weren’t labelled ‘jazz’. Bugs in Amber is just such a disc.”- Metro
The Bristol Boys are back! After a rapturous reception last July they just had to come back. Tobergal Lane Café have duly come up trumps, bringing them as the headline music event for the SÓ Food and Cultural Festival. Adm €15, Doors 8.30. This time its even better than last time! The original line up, with 2 original Portishead members, bassist Jim Barr and drummer Clive Deamer, plus the horn section from hell, Pete Judge, trumpet and Jake McMurchie, saxophone. Tickets Available online - Click here to buy them at Tickets.ie

Get the Blessing on YouTube

****** “Gloriously powerful”– BBC Music Magazine

“A blast” – Mojo

“A revelation” – Evening Standard

Other Sligo gigs in March:
Tobergal Lane Café:  Fridays March 12 and 26, 8pm adm free -

The Odd Couple – Kieran Quinn, piano, Eddie Lee, bass and Ken McDonald drums, return to the fray after a couple of month’s absence.

Tobergal Lane Café: St Patricks Day March 17, 2-5pm:

Jazz Brunch with The Odd Couple. Jazz and hi-jinx for Paddys day. €15 including buffet (upstairs).
The Strand Bar, Strandhill: Saturday March 20, 10.30pm:

Sinead’s Swing and Soul Revue with Sinead Conway (voc), Dave Flynn (guitar, vocs), Eddie Lee (bass), Kieran Quinn (piano), Ken McDonald (drums)

more info: www.sligojazz.ie

SligoTV caught up with World famous DJ Sidney Samson before his set in the Clarence.

The Dutch DJ has been playing in clubs across the world for 14 years, but it was the recent release Riverside Motherf****r that made him a household name. Find out more about this 28 year old international star here…

As a seven year old boy, Sidney started playing the guitar. From there on he knew that he wanted to make music for the rest of his life. After seeing a couple of DMC mix championships, his interests were going towards dj-ing. He started dj-ing in 1995 at the age of 14. During that time he mainly played RnB and HipHop tunes at local clubs. He switched his style completely into housemusic in 1999 and became the resident DJ of the ‘Exxellent’ nights at one of Holland’s biggest clubs The Matrixx in 2003. His producing skills really took off in that period.

His first real club banger was called ‘Sidney Samson-It’s all funked up!’ (Spinnin’ Records 2003), which had a high rotation by DJ’s like ErickE and Jean. After this release, Sidney knew that he couldn’t stop here and locked himself up in his studio. ‘Nobody Move’, ’Rock This’, ‘Girls’, ‘Aeroplane’ and ‘Viruz’ were some resulting floor fillers, to name but a few.

In 2007, after a few successful collaborations with Gregor Salto, they decided to start a new record label named Samsobeats. On this label, new tracks are released from the hottest new DJ’s and producers who showed their talents to the world. Samsobeats wants to set a new feeling instead of a particular sound. That’s why you can expect very various tracks, from electro to latin. Every release must have the potential to grow into a floor filler.

With the Skitzofrenix he was responsible for the big summer hit ‘You don’t love me’. This tune is still ripping up the dance floors and was of course released on Samsobeats!

Then Sidney was hitting the charts with ‘Today’, featuring vocals of the talented Joni. This track is showing another side of Sidney and you can even hear him play the guitar in the breaks…

And last but not least, you really couldn’t have missed it: RIVERSIDE !

In charts all over the world for several weeks and even GOLD in Australia;
The single would have actually moved from #13 in the National Singles chart, back up to number #10, if it hadn’t have been for 8 Michael Jackson records entering the top 20.. Riverside is also still in the top 20 of the Club Chart after 24 weeks (!) as this is written. The track is being fully supported by Dj’s like David Guetta, Laidback Luke, Diplo, A-trak, Tiga and Boyz Noize.

This is what Guy Garret (DMC) has to say about the single:
Well Ibiza is in full swing and the big tune that’s drilling everybody’s head is ‘Riverside’ motherfucker! Huge wonky techno roller hot from Holland and set to follow fellow Dutch master Fedde Le Grand success with ‘Detroit’. The chugging bass is driving from the start and with its tasty drum percussion will have you rocking you side to side more than any rickety boat in a tsunami. Now it’s all about that riff, killer hooky melody and out of tune but so hypnotic in rhythm and depth, it’s simplistic but so are the best things in life. The aggressive the ‘Riverside motherfucker’ vox dive in and out the mix to keep the pace punchy and your stompin those night away in no time. With no doubt a heap of remixes to come in for this project but to be honest we only need the deadly original to kill the crowd, banging out all over Ibiza and set to punch a whole in the UK very soon.

The Clarence in Sligo, Clubland in Cookstown and The Relic in Newry home the international superstar from Friday 12 to Tuesday 16 March and revellers can expect to hear some of the biggest tunes in dance music history from the man who created them all.

Marco V set the trance world alight in the early 2000s with productions like ‘Godd’, ‘Simulated’ and ‘In Charge’, and his remix of Energy 52’s iconic track; ‘Café del Mar’

He shot to the forefront of the world’s DJing circuit and achieved instant fame, securing sets at every major club and festival around the world.

In 2005 and 2006 the media-friendly showman introduced the sound of electro to his productions and again enjoyed massive success with electro-trance crossover hits like ‘Second Bite’, ‘Red Blue Purple’ and ‘False Light’.

Demand for the “V man’s” services was unprecedented and he again took his ever-evolving sound across the planet winning a new legion of fans in all four corners of the globe.

Just last year Marco V returned with his third (two-part) artist album; Propaganda V1 and Propaganda V2.

The album is a trip across the spectrum of electronic music touching on trance, techno, electro and more chilled out sounds.

Taking the concept of the artist album further, the Dutch sensation collaborated with UK illustrator Vee Ladwa to produce a comic book to accompany both CDs in the release – who said the music industry was predictable?

Now in 2010 Marco V has just released his latest productions – a double A side release featuring ‘Predator’ and ‘Song In My Head’.

The electro/trance crossover tracks are already topping download charts and powering through club speakers across Europe reconfirming Marco V’s place amongst the world’s DJing elite and setting the benchmark for aspiring DJs and producers.

Planetlove WKD presents Marco V’s Ireland Tour 2010 in The Clarence, Sligo, on Friday 12 March, Clubland in Cookstown on Saturday 13 March and The Relic, Newry, on St Patrick’s Eve Tuesday 16 March.

Admission to The Clarence is €15 with support coming in the form of Michael Doherty, William Britton, Tommy Finan, Gavin Conlon and Fionntan Ganley.

DJ Mog warms things up in Clubland while John Gibbons, Major 12 Inch and Jonny Brown do the same in The Relic. Entry on both nights in £12.

For more information on Marco V’s Ireland Tour 2010 and all other Planetlove events log onto www.planetlovemusic.com, www.bebo.com/planetlovemusic, www.twitter.com/planetlovemusic and search Planetlove Official on Facebook.

Ross McNally and Michael Murphy joined us on The Mall ahead of their gig in The Leitrim bar.

So far the guys have released their debut album, Perfect strangers, and are on tour promoting their fourth single Black Room, which is available to buy from March 5th

EVENT VENUE: Furey’s Bar
EVENT TIME: Tuesday 23rd @8.00pm

RSVP: Drink And Draw II

Enterprise & Innovation Week will run from the 22nd to the 25th of February 2010 at The Innovation Centre, (formerly the BIC). The Innovation Centre has invited Open Coffee Sligo and Northwest Connects to participate.

This free, casual networking event will be held on the Wednesday, 24th of February from 6.30-7.30pm at The Hub (in the Innovation Centre, 1st floor). Refreshments will be served. After the networking event the attendees will go to A0005 in the IT’s main building to see Sean Gallagher from Smart Homes on Dragon’s Den. This is an open event, no need to register.

A new festival is to launch this year in Temple House, a country pile not too dissimilar to the Electric Picnic-hosting Stradbally Hall, which is set in over 1,000 acres of countryside.

It’s located just outside Ballinacarrow in County Sligo, with the nearest railway station a few miles away in Ballymote.

The promoters of the “music, culture & the arts” event are promising to reveal all shortly on their dedicated website.

NOTE: SligoTV did not publish the website’s links due to a report of malicious software detected by Google (see image beside).

Campaigners, holding signs such as “We Love Our Street,” re-pedestrianised the street “with love” for part of the afternoon. Organisers were delighted with the turn out, the sunny weather and the welcome that the march received from the public. “People not only applauded us, they came onto the street and joined the event – which indicates that everyone feels they have a stake in the development of the town’s centre,” a spokesperson stated.

Another spokesperson continued, “The campaign is growing more and more into the mainstream since the street was opened to traffic. People who may not have felt strongly about this issue now see the devastating effect of losing this pedestrianised zone.” Since the street was opened to traffic, the safety of the town’s centre has arguably diminished – creating an “obstacle course for the disabled” (Marcus Hufsky, Disability Federation) as well as for pedestrians and cyclists. Additionally, traffic in and around Sligo has allegedly worsened since the street was de-pedestrianised. “At this moment, many wonder what was the real reason why the Sligo Borough Councillors made this retrograde decision – where the ill effects are so dramatically obvious and solutions offered for traffic congestion and emergency services have failed,” a spokesperson continued. Shortly after the “O’Connell Street Love In,” an ambulance with sirens was stuck on O’Connell Street – unable to make its way to the hospital because of a traffic build up. “If the street were pedestrianised, emergency services would maneuver down O’Connell Street with ease when bollards are opened to accommodate these necessities. It’s common sense.”

Last November, Sligo Borough Councillors decided to open the pedestrianised street to traffic in defiance of 96.5% of the community’s opinion and the advice of professionals (Manager’s Report to the 2010-2015 Sligo Development Plan). Since June of 2009, when the campaign to protect O’Connell Street began – including a highly attended O’Connell Street Festival in August – support for keeping O’Connell Street pedestrianised has gained momentum. A facebook site to support the campaign (“Walking Down O’Connell Street”) has grown to over 3600 members.“We are a highly visible community that has had to begin our own group, Sligo Democracy, in the absence of due democratic representation on this issue.”

“We welcome negotiations with the Borough Councillors for a solution to pedestrianising the street without spending several million euro,” a spokesperson stated Saturday. “The Council’s recent offer to repedestrianise the street on weekends is a sign that there is a willingness to work with us – but the street must be pedestrianised full-time, as it was until last December.”

“We have to work on this together with imagination.” Another spokesperson concluded, then indicating that a drawing contest for “Imagine O’Connell Street” will be announced shortly to help fuel the community’s participation in shaping Sligo’s future.

Campaigners promise further events and activities in the near future until a solution is made.

The aims of this project were:

• To open up the experience of arts practice to someone from a non-arts background.
• To address the issue how someone with artistic talent and also with intellectual disabilities can gain better equality of access to the arts.
• To blur the divide between community arts and studio practice.
• For the artist to enrich their own studio practice through collaboration.
• To create an experience that is productive and meaningful for all involved.

The intention of this project was not to work creatively to someone with learning disabilities, but to address a need. This project also attempts to ask how someone who is very good at art but also has learning disabilities can realize their potential. What can be learn from this experience?

Sarah and Mary-Kate worked together on a one-to-one basis to create a studio-based practice at The Gilhooly Hall studio. Over a 1.5 year period both developed a series of drawings and paintings around the theme of portraiture. Through working on separate pieces, the experience of working together was collaborative. This is because the open-ended process-based nature of the project allowed both artists to influence each other in terms of choice of subject matter; materials used and approaches to drawing and painting. Both found the process deeply engaging and enriching.

The work made in The Collaborative Project will be exhibited in February at Teach ban Nua Gallery, Sligo. Opening on 18th February.

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