‘Vocal men’s shed’ preparing for Electric Picnic slot

Forget Taylor Swift at the Aviva or Coldplay at Croke Park, a male voice choir from Co Laois are busily preparing for their big gig of the summer.

The Timahoe Male Choir has members aged from their twenties to their seventies.

They are rehearsing for Electric Picnic, where they’ll appear on the same bill as stars like Kylie Minogue and Calvin Harris.

“We say it’s like a vocal version of the men’s shed,” choir leader Damien Bowe said. “I tell them, ‘You’re on the same bill as Kylie Minogue’ and that’s certainly a milestone in anyone’s career!”

Up to 40 members of the choir meet every Monday night to practice, alternating between two local pubs.

But a love of singing isn’t the only reason why so many turn up.

“I’d be stuck at home in the house otherwise, so I go down and bring home news from the village,” Andy Daly explained.

While local priest Fr David Vard said it helped him to settle into the community, “When you’re a new priest to the area, people know you, but you don’t necessarily know them, so it was a great way to get to know people.”

In the run-up to Electric Picnic, they have added extra practice meetings and some new songs to their repertoire.

“Different songs that suit the picnic, we’ll just have to be a bit more funky and pull it off,” Mr Daly said.

The Electric Picnic slot will be the choir’s biggest performance to date.

But members also enjoy performing for the residents of a local nursing home and at various community events.

“It puts a smile on my face when we finish singing and if we can give some people a little bit of a lift, or sing an old song and it brings back some memories, it’s a nice feeling for them to have and it gives us a bit of a buzz as well,” Roghan Hayden said.

“We’re from a big sporting community so it’s nice as well for people who aren’t sporty to be able to wear the red and white of Timahoe.”

Watch our video to hear more from the members of the choir.