IRISH megastar Enya is famous for her reluctance to perform her various hits like Only Time, May It Be and Orinoco Flow live due to the sheer virtuosity of the complex melodies and production.
However, Australian singer Reigan Derry is bravely taking up the challenge to perform Enya songs in the forthcoming production of Eireborne.
"Her songs are quite tricky to do live because they're stacked with loads of vocals and production, but we're giving it a red-hot go with a live band and at the moment it's sounding great," Reigan says.
After several COVID postponements Eireborne hits Australian stages from next week, showcasing a mix of traditional Irish dance with various rock and pop hits produced by artists from the Emerald Isle such as U2, Van Morrison, The Cranberries, Sinéad O'Connor, Snow Patrol, Hosier, The Script, Enya and more.
The 33-year-old Reigan, who boasts Irish ancestry, rose to fame through appearances on Australian Idol and X Factor and in late 2000s pop duo Scarlet Belle.
While Derry has appeared on TV shows Name That Tune and Dancing With The Stars, she's excited to make her live theatre debut with Eireborne.
"There's a lot to learn about Irish culture and history and we do our best to get through it, all while keeping it linear and the story connected and keeping the dancing and the music, and stories within the music, connected," she says.
"That's what is nice about this show, you kind of get the story. Some parts are beautiful and might bring a tear to the eye and there's a lot of jolly Irish dancing and partying, which is a massive part of their culture."
Reigan is the lead female vocalist for Eireborne and is joined by male singer Pete Murphy (Les Miserables, Rent and Shout!). Another star attraction will be 19-year-old Liam Costello, the youngest and only Australian to win the Irish Dance World Championships three times consecutively.
"The show is really based around the joy of dancing and the culture of dancing in Irish culture. It's beautiful," Reigan says.
In the pop music world, Reigan is also having a moment. In 2019 she recorded a cover of Kate Bush's reborn classic Running Up That Hill with Australian DJ duo Bombs Away.
Due to Stranger Things' success with Bush's track, Reigan's version has attracted 1.4 million streams on Spotify.
"The Kate Bush version wasn't the one we were looking at," she says.
"I remember hearing a techno remix of the [UK band] Placebo one when I'd go to festivals in 2008 or 2009 and it came on the radio one time and I thought we've gotta do this. It's just an ear worm, that song."
Eireborne performs at The Star, Gold Coast (August 12); Glasshouse, Port Macquarie (August 17); Canberra Theatre (August 20); and Civic Theatre, Newcastle (August 22).
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
