‘Music has been a source of solace in turbulent times’

PRIOR to the Covid-19 pandemic, talented Omagh singer Daryl Simpson would have normally spent the weeks around St Patrick’s Day touring extensively in the USA and Canada as a key member of The Celtic Tenors.

Daryl and the rest of the group actually referred to this time as “March Madness”. In his own words, “North America goes green for three to four weeks.”

With a large part of their fanbase residing across the Atlantic, the Tenors were in much demand there at this time of year. But, thanks to a completely different kind of madness over the last 12 months, life has changed radically for Daryl.

In March 2020, shortly after the Tenors had started touring in America, President Trump announced a ban on flights to Europe. Realising that the situation was unlikely to improve and not wanting to get stranded in the US, the group cut their tour short and flew back to Dublin.

Daryl said, “It was quite eerie. There was only eight of us on that flight.”
With restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19 coming into force in countries across the globe, Daryl’s busy schedule was soon completely wiped out.

Classed as a “clinically extremely vulnerable” person, the Omagh man was hit with something of a double whammy when he received a letter from the North’s Chief Medical Officer, Michael McBride, advising him to shield.

Having previously been on the road for around half the year, he has spent the last year at home. But with three young children in the house, he has been far from idle!

Daryl said he has appreciated the time he has been able to spend with his children – particularly as his wife Louise, a primary school teacher, has been working “24/7” adjusting to the new normal of online learning.

He said, “This has given people a real sense of perspective of how important family life is and how fast-moving life was pre-Covid.”

Unsurprisingly, music has been a source of great solace for Daryl amid these turbulent times.

Feeling a sense of responsibility to fans who had booked to see The Celtic Tenors last year, the musician began a series of online weekly concerts on St Patrick’s Day 2020.

On Sunday, he completed his 52nd online gig.

He said, “We’ve plenty of older fans who have had to stay at home, so it’s a good way of reaching out to them and keeping a sense of community.”

Daryl added, “I think, too, in some ways that music has been a solace to me. It’s somewhere I can withdraw to and find some sense in what I am doing.”
Perhaps with one eye on an uncertain future, the father-of-three has also returned to study and enrolled on a business course through the Open University.

“I’ve enjoyed studying and it’s given me a focus. I always wanted to go back and study business since leaving Omagh Academy. Essentially we’re our own management in The Celtic Tenors, so I do see this as being useful,” he said.

With many of the theatres and arts venues in North America being forced to close permanently as a result of the pandemic, Daryl sadly foresees a lot of uncertainty in the arts world post-pandemic.

“Over here, many theatres are supported by the government, but that’s not the case in America where more are privately owned. Many people seem to think that music and entertainment industry will all just slide back into place, but I don’t subscribe to that. There will be huge issues going forward.

“Everyone has been benched at the same time and everyone will be getting off the bench together. It could be pandemonium, a race to see who can do what, when. There are a lot of unknown questions,” he added.