Popular folk band thrilling fans with live online shows

8 April 2020

WHEN folk singer Andrea Rice sang You’ll Never Walk Alone just after the Thursday night clap for NHS workers, there was an extra quiver in her voice.

Just days ahead of the anticipated COVID-19 surge of new infections, the famous songbird, who is originally from Drumaness, was thinking of her own family members who are nurses and community care workers.

Andrea, her husband Fee and 19 year-old daughter Aoife, are keeping people’s spirits up by performing in a makeshift stage in a bedroom live on Facebook five nights a week.

Known locally as the Andrea Rice Band, the trio have been receiving thousands of views and comments from well-wishers from across the world for their evening performances.

Andrea, who’s been a professional singer from the age of 16, said about her recent performance. “We started off clapping for carers like everyone else at 8pm and then I went on to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone.

“I normally leave that to the end of the night but I sang it after the clap to show that we are all with NHS front liners. I just imagined all the clapping going on around the UK — it was pretty emotional.”

The family live in Loughinisland and are normally out gigging most weekends, but the health crisis has ended that in the short term.

Andrea said: “We are all loving it as there’s nothing for us or for other people to do at night other than sitting watching TV.

“We do try to make it fun as the day can be long enough for people as we have a wide repertoire and hope our music reaches out to all age groups. We have seen over the years just how music and song relates to people and how it often makes them think of family and home.”

Andrea and Fee have been making music together for 38 years and lived in South Korea for 13 years before coming home to Co Down when their daughter was three.

They have played all over the world and normally spend the summer months touring in Norway.

Andrea said that their evening concerts has been extended to around 90 minutes due to popular demand.

“People keep asking us for requests and we can’t say no. More and more people from around the world who have seen us play before are also getting in touch, so we have been renewing connections and putting up memories of how and when they first saw us play, it’s just lovely,” she said.

“We will try and keep it going for as long as we can.”

Andrea and her band play live via Facebook each night at 8pm apart from Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Tweets by @TheDownRecorder