MacD on Music: All for Love

Music in bars can be a risky thing. Go to the wrong place and you may be stuck hearing yet another cover of ‘Wagon Wheel’ or ‘Country Roads’.

Luckily, the Derry pub scene has plenty of great talent on display from up-and-coming artists looking to make their mark, as well as some established artists looking for a side gig. Some of the names that you’ll regularly find include Luke McLaughlin of Touts, Cora Harkin, Dylan Bradley of Parker and the subject of this week’s column, Cheryl-Ann.

A regular of the pub scene for a while now, Cheryl-Ann has, in recent years, begun releasing her own original material. Her upcoming single, ‘All for Love’ (out this Friday), is “her most infectious release yet” with “catchy melodies, heartfelt lyrics and a playful sense of devotion.” The song “perfectly captures the highs (and minor embarrassments) of doing everything for someone who might not even notice”.

I met up with Cheryl-Ann recently to talk about the track and her musical life so far: “I’ve been gigging in Derry these past sixteen years, since I was like 16. I’ve always been writing since I was a kid, then about three years ago, during COVID, I built a studio in the house and decided to really put some effort into the songs I’d already written. I released ‘Young Forever’ in ‘23 then released ‘Little Things You Do’ and it all just kicked off from there. I got great backing from national radio stations, and I just kept pushing.”

Speaking of her main musical influences: “My nanny Charlotte. In terms of big musical influences, my music taste goes right back to the ‘40s because of her. I love Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong and stuff. Love Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel. It’s such a wide influence of music, and it comes through a wee bit. You’ve got wee elements of different artists in there.”

Next, we talked about ‘All for Love’: “It’s an older song. I had bits written here and there. I love having a wee feeling of youth in my music, I suppose because they were written when I was younger. It’s a bit nostalgic when I’m going back and rejigging those songs. It’s about, you know when you’re just mad about somebody when you’re younger and you would just do anything. It’s a wee comical side to it too.

"I know my last song was a bit more serious, but I love having that fun side in music. There’s enough going on in the world right now and music’s an escape for a lot of people, and it’s my escape too. I suppose it’s got that youthfulness approach to love, or being mad about somebody, and doing things like changing your hair for someone to notice you. It’s kind of pop-y and disco-y and a wee bit of everything.”

Finally, I asked her about any local acts she thinks are particularly good: “Oh my God, Derry is so full of music. There’s no limit to the talent in Derry. Even when I was younger, I would’ve been going to see live gigs all the time, maybe even when I shouldn’t have been. I was going in and drinking blackcurrant in the Bound for Boston back in the day. I loved Ports back when they were Little Bear. Roe’s brilliant as well. CHERYM are outstanding.

"I love them. They’re class, and I love what they stand for as well. They don’t back down on anything. They’re unapologetic. The boys in Lavengro, I don’t think there’s much better music coming out of Derry than what they’re doing. See even just the singers in the bars that are singing other people’s stuff?

"There’s other towns and cities in the world that wouldn’t touch the talent in this town. I lived in London for five years. I can tell you the difference, and there’s obviously a wide, wide variety of places for people to play in London, but I used to always say, even to the friends that I made in uni, you don’t know music until you go to Derry.”

And that’s it for Cheryl-Ann. Her new single ‘All for Love’ is out this Friday (14th March).

READ MORE: MacD on Music

Now, onto other business. Last Friday saw the release of Emma White’s new single ‘Nostalgia’. The song is an “upbeat dance track with influences such as Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa” and is out now on all good streaming platforms.
Also, this Friday the Nerve Centre will be hosting the Our Space Spring Show, featuring some of the best up-and-coming talent this town has to offer.

The line-up includes Intuition, Pseudonym, The Backroom Bandits and Growing Pains and features headliners Seventh Heaven, who’ll be celebrating one year since their formation. Tickets are £2.50 plus booking fee and doors are at 6.30.

Finally, time for the socials. Emma White can be found on Instagram @emmawhiteex, Pseudonym @pseudonym_band_derry, Intuition @intuition.band_, The Backroom Bandits @thebackroombandits, Growing Pains @growingpainsband_derry and Cheryl-Ann @cherylannofficial.