Dungannon singer, Peter McKernan, releases debut single, ‘The Lar

Peter McKernan is a singer-songwriter from Dungannon who has recently released his debut single ‘The Lark’.

The song was released on February 8 and is available now on Spotify.

It was also recently played on BBC Radio Ulster, with Peter, himself, admitting that the reception to the track has been ‘really good’ so far.

The song features Rachel McGarrity on the fiddle, and was produced by Plunkett McComb at Starlight Studios in Dungannon.

Speaking of the writing process of the song, Peter said, “Some songs take a lot of work and craft to coax them out, but this one just flowed naturally.

“It only took a few hours to write.”

Regarding the themes that the song covers, the Dungannon songwriter said he wrote it about someone he really cared for who sadly passed away this year.

He explained, “It’s a song about love and the acceptance of grief and loss.

“It is a celebration of life and relationships and meaningful bounds, and a gentle reminder to cherish the moments we have together.”

Prior to releasing the song, Peter has been on quite the musical journey.

He explained how growing up, he was introduced to a diverse range of genres of music by his parents.

“They would listen to anything from Queen to Black Sabbath, or Pink Floyd to Cat Stevens,” he said. “As I got a little older, Kerrang! TV came along, and I got really into a lot of pop-punk music.

“I loved The Offspring, but discovering Blink-182 was a big turning point for me.

“I remember seeing them live in 2003 when I was a kid and instantly thinking, ‘This is what I want to do’, as soon as I saw Mark Hoppus walk on stage.”

Starting his first band, The Kickouts, at the age of 14, Peter recalls playing cover versions of songs by The Who, Misfits and Ramones.

After renaming the band ‘Dutch Party’ a short time later, they performed at a battle of the bands competition in the Fort in Dungannon.

“At that age, it was epic,” explained Peter. “We didn’t get very far in the contest but it was such a great experience.

“I recall the late Barry Lynch teaching me how to tune my bass guitar backstage before we played.

“And with the likes of Pat McManus and Mudd Wallace judging the competition, it was brilliant to be introduced to musicians of that caliber at such a young age.”

A musical journey

By the age of 18, Peter had got into busking and found himself embarking on a journey in which he would travel much of the world.

“I moved to California and lived in San Francisco, and busked there for a long time,” he said. “After moving back home, I gigged locally around the bars for a while, before travelling around Europe, busking in the likes of Germany, Netherlands, France and Denmark.”

Eventually, Peter would find himself in Sydney, Australia, gigging around local bars before embarking on a journey where he hitch-hiked around the country singing on the streets for anyone who would listen.

Upon returning to Sydney, he found himself rubbing shoulders with one of the finest names in Irish music.

“I was doing my usual thing, just busking on the street one afternoon,” he explained. “Out of nowhere, Glen Hansard appeared, saying he liked what I was playing.

“He then invited me to play a sold-out Sydney Opera House with him, which was absolutely mind-blowing.

“I was totally unprepared and completely starstruck, but it was one of the most satisfying and surreal moments of my life,” he recalls.

After his time in Australia,
Peter played some gigs around Wellington and Auckland in New Zealand, ‘following the bread crumbs with music’, as he explained.

Now back home in Ireland, and with a stunning debut single under his belt, Peter says he is ‘happier now than he has ever been’.

“Travelling was an amazing experience, but I’m glad to be back home, out in the country, swimming in the lakes and feeling grounded,” he said.

Hoping to maintain his focus on song-writing, the Dungannon man says he intends to try his best to work on and maintain his creative process.

Still keeping busy on the local gig scene he concludes, “My bread and butter is the pub gigs and wedding scene.

“In this job, you are essentially in the happiness business.

“And that’s all that I am trying to do – make people happy.”