Magee's Live Lounge open mic night continues to highlight Fermanagh talent

Conor Phillips, host of the Live Lounge Open Mic night in Magee's Spirit Store.

Having previously hosted and helped facilitate similar open mic events in Belfast and Fermanagh, Conor – an Enniskillen native – is delighted to be involved in the introduction of the Live Lounge to Magee’s, a venue that is well-known for its live music.

“Magee’s is definitely the best venue I could think of,” he told this newspaper, adding: “I had a couple of places in mind; obviously Enniskillen is full of beautiful bars and venues, but Magee’s had been on my mind for a while.

“I’d been chatting to Drummy [Mark Drumm, owner] about it for a long time, so it was nice to finally get it up and going here.”

Now running since the start of July, the Live Lounge has been a great platform for local talent.

“It’s been going well. We’ve had a packed-out crowd every night, and plenty of good music and poetry so far,” said Conor.

“We do a cash prize, so it’s nice to see new people winning, and just the confidence people gain week by week.

Jack Bogue performing.

“[We also see] first-timers coming in, where you have to convince them to get on the stage at the start and then you’re trying to pull them off after a couple of weeks,” he added with a laugh.

Explaining that the whole point of the open mic session is to try and hopefully find people that want to perform and develop their talent, Conor said: “It’s really satisfying to see people that maybe weren’t too confident getting on the stage [at first] to now performing at a [higher] level.

Adrian Sheerin singing at the Live Lounge Open Mic night.

“Some of them are full-on out gigging, probably more than I am,” said Conor, who alongside hosting the Live Lounge in Magee’s, works locally as a professional musician.

Starting at 9pm every Tuesday night, Conor performs a range of tunes, warming up the crowd before inviting open mic participants to take to the stage.

Noting that anyone is welcome to perform, he said: “We’ve had professional [musicians], semi-professionals, novices, and first-timers.

“People that don’t play instruments can get up, and we’ll hopefully be able to accommodate them and get somebody who plays an instrument, but there’s people who just get up and sing themselves, which is nice.”

Accompanying

On various occasions, Magee’s manager Sean Swift – a talented musician in his own right – lends a hand accompanying those who wish to sing but who don’t play an instrument themselves.

Emmet McCarron performing at the Live Lounge Open Mic night at Magee's Spirit Store.

Talking about his background in hosting open mic events, Conor said: “I used to do one in Belfast for a long time. It was in [the bar] Cuckoo, and then I did a few down here [in Fermanagh]. I helped out at a couple down here from my teenage years.

“I’ve kind of been building up the knowledge about it, and experience over the years.”

At the end of the night, the open mic winner is chosen by Magee’s staff. Conor explained that it is only fair that he stays out of the decision making.

He said: “It’s a small town, and I grew up [in Enniskillen] so I would know a lot of the musical people here. I would tell a lot of people that I know to come down and play, so I thought it would save any arguments or favouritism if the bar staff chose the winner.

“On the very odd time, if there’s a tiebreaker I’ll throw my hat in the ring.”

Following a recent renovation, which has given the bar a contemporary edge which cleverly compliments the traditional aesthetic and character Magee’s is famous for, Conor is excited to see the event continue to grow in the welcoming space.

“It is a beautiful venue and Drummy’s put a lot of work into it. I can’t think of anywhere better to do it. I suppose people are gonna have to come down and see for themselves,” he told this newspaper.