Belfast singer Bap Kennedy is to headline a special concert in County Down’s Delamont Country Park with his band The Breadheads to raise much needed funds for suicide awareness charity, PIPS Programmes.
The performer will donate his time along with a number of local musicians and bands in memory of Natania Hagan and Graham Ross, two young people whop tragically took their own lives last year.
To coincide with the event at Delamont’s Walled Garden in Killyleagh on Saturday 13 September, Bap has released a country rock version of the Hank Williams classic I Saw The Light (out on 25 August through iTunes) with all proceeds going directly to the PIPS Programmes.
Bap, from Belfast, has a career spanning nearly 30 years with a string of solo hits as well as a number of high profiled collaborations with artists such as Mark Knopfler and Van Morrison, as well as having his music featured on Hollywood movie soundtracks.
For the event Bap has gathered together some of the best musicians in the country who form his new band the Breadheads.
And although 5-piece The Breadheads are best known as a rock and roll covers band Bap says he will be playing “all the classics” as well as some of his own best known hits.
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Bap Kennedy is headlining the PIPS Charities concert in the Walled Garden in Delemont Country Park in Killyleagh on Saturday 13 September.[/caption]
Organised by Downpatrick lads and friends Martin Hannah and Conor Galbraith, the event line-up includes well known band Rosetta Stone who will make a return to the stage after decades.
Also taking to the stage are local covers band Pretty Tied Up, acoustic artists Ciaran McElhinney (Omagh) and Damian Hanna (Hollywood) as well as Lisburn band, The Couth. And Crossgar-based band Lipstick Lizards will also be rocking it to the audience.
Completing the line up will also be well known Rory Gallagher tribute The Barry McGivern Band.
Speaking of the event organiser Martin said: “It started as myself and a couple of mates just thinking of a simple gig to raise funds for PIPS Programmes but we had chats about doing something on a bigger scale and it quickly escalated to what we have organised so far.
“After Natania took her life it hit the community very hard. She was such a lively and lovely young woman who loved singing and playing guitar.
“Shortly after this Graham took his life and that also was hard for the community especially just after Natania’s death.”
As many people in Downpatrick and beyond remember those who have tragically passed on through suicide, it is hoped that this major gig is a sell out and will give the coffers of the PIPS Programmes a much welcome boost.
Tickets for the PIPS Programmes Festival Concert on Saturday September 13 at the Delamont Walled Garden in Killyleagh are £10 and available by calling:
the Down Arts Centre on 028 4461 0747, or Flixx Graphics, Gibneys Mace or Marie Curie Cancer Care in Downpatrick, or the Dufferin Arms and Beth’s Shop in Killyleagh.Â
Bap Kennedy’s I Saw The Light will be available to download on iTunes from 25 August.
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