It’s the years of the Zachs but none are Irish

WHILE it’s the ladies that are currently pushing the worldwide revival of Country music to the top of the music alphabet, one could say that much of it started with three men on the last letter of the alphabet who have been heading up the current A list.

Many may say that it was Luke Combs who started the current fast race of Country songs to the top of the Pop charts with his version of Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car, it can be argued that the revival really began with Chicken Fried from the Zach Brown band a few years ago.

Since then, two other males with the moniker Zach – Zach Byran and Zach Top – have pushed a more Traditionalist type of Country into the stratosphere of the Pop charts worldwide.

Ireland has a long history of local singers topping the charts with either versions of US Country hits, or originals, but no home-grown young Irish Country acts seem to have emulated the success of the younger US stars with their slightly Rocky New Traditional nuanced Country songs in a style similar to the Zachs.

True to say that many new young Irish stars including Effie Neill, Jack Keogh, Claudia Buckley, Kerry Fearon, Gavin Gribben are now top attractions, but their style is similar to established stars such as Robert Mizzell, Mike Denver, Cliona Hagan, Patrick Feeney or Gerry Guthrie.

So where are Ireland’s equivalents to the Zachs or the Ellas or the Laineyss or the Kaceyss? Over the past few years Mayo-based Hurricane Highway seemed to be on the cusp of success here and in Nashville, but it didn’t happen.

Wexford’s Jesse Sludds won the top prize on the Late Late Show young Country Talent competition last April, including playing as the number three support act to Shania Twain at her Limerick concert a few months ago.

It’s hard for any youngster to make it in any music genre now but rest assured that carefully planned and sustained promotional campaigns have helped the Ellas, the Laineys and Kaceys plus the Zach’s Browne, Byran and Top to the top.

Perhaps it’s time for some more young Irish acts, similar to the Zachs, to put in place similar promotional efforts to help take them to the top too.