Clare Musician Loses Out In MBTM Final

Arts and Entertainment - Music

Monday, 20 September 2010 00:11

Written by Denise Lyons

Ballyvaughan musician Daithi Ó Drónaí narrowly missed out being crowned the winner of the inaugural Must Be The Music final at the Wembley Arena in London last night.

Emma Gillespie - who performs as Emma's Imagination - received the most votes from viewers of the Sky One show.

Hosted by Fearne Cotton, the eight week series on Sky 1 HD provided a participants with a cash fund of GBP100,000 to kick start their career. Alongside their tracks being available for download, the acts also had merchandise available to purchase on their own tailored websites and on Sky.com.

Ó Drónaí played the traditional fiddle whilst growing up in Ballyvaughan. He progressed to playing the bass guitar in bands such as Keepsake and The Shackletons. He further developed his fiddling skills by the use of loop pedals and sounds.

He auditioned for the first series of The All Ireland Talent Show in 2009 and was selected to represent the West. Ó Drónaí easily qualified for the final when he came top of a public vote. Hewas the third of six acts to perform in the final which took place on the weekend of Saint Patrick's Day. He had been one of the favourites to win. However, he was the first to leave the show.

Ó Drónaí has appeared on several television series and performed in cities such as Cork, Dublin and Galway, as well as at the Electric Picnic 2010 and Castlepalooza 2010 music festivals.