Glasgow Fiddle Player Steps In Last Minute for The Corrs at Hydro Concert

A folk musician based in Glasgow performed live with the Irish pop group The Corrs at their Hydro concert on Sunday, stepping in with only a few hours’ warning. Éadaoin Ní Mhaicín agreed to the performance after Sharon Corr, a member of the band, had to withdraw from the event unexpectedly. Before her appearance at the 14,000-capacity venue, Éadaoin was afforded only a single sound check to familiarize herself with the musical pieces. She characterized the performance as “absolutely unbelievable” and commended both The Corrs and their audience for their reception of her musicianship. The 29-year-old, originally from County Mayo, Ireland, but now living in Glasgow, received a call from a fellow musician on Sunday afternoon when it was determined that a substitute fiddle player was required for the concert. She proceeded with a scheduled folk workshop in Edinburgh before returning to Glasgow, where she encountered the band for the first time on stage during their sound check. During an interview on BBC Radio Scotland’s Drivetime programme, she recounted how she listened to the band’s previous recordings in her vehicle while traveling to the venue, aiming to begin learning the songs. “On the way I tried to listen to as much of the music as I could and take in as much as I possibly could,” she said. “It was just boom, straight into it, into the whole thing.” She added, “It was straight on stage. There was only about an hour left on sound checks so we just had an hour basically to just run through as much as we possibly could.” Éadaoin dedicated additional time to rehearsing the songs with the band’s guitarist prior to performing for thousands of dedicated Corrs enthusiasts. Despite her familiarity with their discography, it marked the initial occasion she had ever performed any of their compositions. “I think there wouldn’t be a person in Ireland that wouldn’t have listened to the Corrs,” Éadaoin stated. She continued, “I definitely recognised a lot of the songs but then again, when it comes to fiddle parts and stuff there’s such specific things the fiddle does. I had never played most them ever before.” She concluded, “A lot of it was new to me in that way. I just threw myself in and tried to do the best I possibly could.” The Corrs achieved considerable success during the late 1990s and early 2000s, subsequently pausing their activities from 2006 to 2017. The band has sold over 40 million albums globally and is presently concluding a tour that has spanned a year. Following her experience, Éadaoin expressed only commendation for the band, characterizing them as “kind and welcoming.” She also thoroughly enjoyed every instant of her performance alongside them. “It was absolutely unbelievable,” she remarked. “I just totally lived in the moment and enjoyed it and I think they genuinely have some of the best fans in the world because you could even see the fans there were so kind and so welcoming.” She added, “That made it so much easier as well, they were just an amazing crowd. I think Glasgow always has an amazing crowd.”