Headliners ‘booed off stage’ in Ballygar
Irish Eurovision representatives, Wild Youth, were ‘booed off stage’ and branded ‘a disgrace’ following their headline appearance at Ballygar Carnival last Sunday night.
The band – made up of Conor O’Donohue, David Whelan, Ed Porter and Callum McAdam – have also been slammed on social media this week for arriving late to the Ballygar gig and then only managing a 50-minute set.
They had been scheduled to perform from midnight at the Mattie McDonagh Centre but those present at the €20 per head concert claimed they only took to the stage at 1.20 am and had finished by 2.10 am.
The Dublin band had been performing at Cork Pride ‘Party at the Port’ earlier in the day, and are believed to have only left at around 9 pm for their Ballygar date.
A number of concert-goers have been in contact with the Roscommon People in recent days to express their dismay with the performance. Each asked to remain anonymous.
One woman, who regularly attends the Ballygar Carnival with her niece who has special needs, said the performance was the worst she had ever seen.
“The lead singer had his back to the audience for most of the show…and they clearly didn’t care about their audience,” she said.
“My niece comes up every year from Wexford, she loves music, but she was so disappointed last Sunday night and wouldn’t even dance.
“It was like Wild Youth looked down on Ballygar…it was the worst gig I was ever at! They barely played an hour and the crowd were really angry at the end”.
Another concert-goer said that she and her friends had paid €80 for tickets but were left bitterly disappointed.
“For a band who pride themselves on unity and kindness, their performance was anything but,” she said.
She added that those present were perplexed with the performance of lead singer Conor O’Donohue.
“The backing singers appeared to be doing lead vocals…and the sound quality was so poor. The whole performance was of poor quality and not to a standard which I would expect at a festival”.
After a short set of about nine songs, she said, the band announced they were “wrapping things up”.
“There was booing from the crowd, understandably. I thought it was a joke at first…” she added.
Another woman said it was her first time home for the carnival in four years and she had been excited to see the band live. She said the performance ruined her night and swore she’d never listen to the band again.
“There are plenty of young, hungry acts that would have jumped at that opportunity…sure this is a festival that Boyzone played at back in the day,” she said.
This week, popular Facebook page ‘Ballygar Banter’ has been inundated with complaints from those present on Sunday night, with some branding the performance as “a kick in the teeth for the dedicated committee” following what was another hugely successful Ballygar Carnival.
A post by Ballygar Banter read: ‘It’s a real shame to report that Wild Youth were a total disappointment from the many complaints to Ballygar Banter.
‘It appears they turned up late, were accommodated with everything they wished for but delivered very poorly. Many people were upset and seriously disappointed’.
Roscommon People has contacted Wild Youth’s management team for comment but none was forthcoming at the time of going to press.
