Pettigo musician Paul Kelly will be joined by a number of friends from across the local music scene for an entertaining show at the Ardhowen Theatre, Enniskillen next Thursday, April 28.

Starting at 8pm, Paul promises to bring a great night of live music and entertainment to the Ardhowen stage as he is accompanied by Trudi Lalor, Chris Logue, Karl Kirkpatrick, Bernie Kelly and Paul McManus, Vincie Carr and Gary Wilson.

A multi-talented musician, Paul’s love for music started at a young age.

“I have been crazy about music all my life; my mother remembers me playing with her guitar when I was only very young.

“However, my own first real memory of performing was when I was about nine and I was asked to join a local talent competition.

“I enjoyed every second of being on stage and it made it even better when I won,” said Paul.

The following Christmas, Santa Claus brought him a keyboard.

“I had a few happy weeks of flamboyant keyboard playing before the novelty wore off and I found myself strumming at mum’s guitar again,” he said, adding: “That is when I started guitar lessons and it wasn’t long before I was playing at music sessions in my grandfather’s house.”

At the age of 12, Paul started playing in a two-piece band with his mother and they performed a few nights a week.

“It was brilliant, when my friends were working hard at weekends or summer jobs I was doing what I loved and getting paid for it!” he said.

In his late teens the opportunity arose for him to join a five-piece band.

“I jumped at it. I was a jack of all trades, as I played keyboard, accordion and I also sang backing vocals.

“After a few years of happy entertaining, two close friends and myself launched a wedding band, which to this day is still one of the most sought-after wedding bands in the region.

“I began to feel more and more at home on stage,” said Paul, going on to note that although he played all kinds of music, Country music has always had a special place in his heart.

“So I was very excited when my neighbour, Andy Cox, told me he had written a few Country songs and would be interested in working on them with me.”

From this collaboration, the very first song that came to be was ‘So In Love’.

“It became a major hit straight away and got lots of airplay. What followed was a very successful Country album on which I got to work with some fantastic musicians.

“It was a great experience, being in the studio with Jonathan Owens of Spout Studios, and one of the highlights was recording a duet with the American singer, Georgette Jones,” he explained.

Paul is now touring with his own six-piece band. “We’ve had some great nights of music and dancing. We have been touring Ireland and the UK over the past number of years playing at a wide range of venues and festivals including truck shows all over the UK, and also performing at Young Farmer dances and student balls, including the prestigious Harper Adams University to more than 3,000 people.”

Alongside performing, Paul also presents his own radio show on Reach Out Radio.

“This has been a fantastic experience and provides a great platform to promote the Country music scene, and bring attention to it from a wide variety of listeners.

TV show

“I host my own TV show on Spotlight TV, Sky Channel 365 every Thursday at 7.30pm, entitlesd ‘Kelly Talks Country’. This has received widespread recognition and has been a great opportunity to help promote new artists on the Country scene,” he said.

Whilst keeping busy in the music scene, Paul also runs a café in his home village of Pettigo.

“It provides an outlet for all the locals to meet up for coffee, snacks and a chat,” he said, adding: “I suppose it is keeping in tune with my work on the music scene, where I love chatting, mingling and dealing with the public.

“Last but certainly not least, in any spare time I do have, I help my father and two brothers on our family farm.”