Ham Sandwich and Breaking Circles for Helium gig

Two of the brightest stars of the 2011 Helium Fundraiser Festival line up make a welcome return to the Ballymahon area this Halloween Bank Holiday Weekend, when the Rustic Inn in Abbeyshrule plays host to headliners Ham Sandwich and Ballymahon's own up-and-coming band Breaking Circles. Maintaining its tradition of offering high quality Bank Holiday entertainment options, The Rustic Inn is also continuing its gold level support of the Helium Fundraiser Festival by hosting this gig in association with no ego promotions and all proceeds will go towards Helium 2012 in aid of Friedreichs Ataxia Society of Ireland (FASI). Indeed, the cogs are already starting to turn for next year's festival in Ballymahon - even though the dust has barely settled after the 2011 event. A total of twelve thousand euro was presented to FASI on August 19th as a result of fundraising from the Flora Ladies Mini Marathon and the sold-out Helium Festival which featured the Coronas, KILA, Ham Sandwich and Jamie Lawson back in June. In addition, Presented by no ego promotions and Helium Events, the Halloween Fancy Dress Party will also include "The Dead Disco" with local artist DJ Conlon until the eerie early hours! Helium Festival fans have been rewarded for their loyal support over the past three years with bigger and better events occurring year on year and 2012 is expected to be no different with the process set to kick off in The Rustic this Halloween Bank Holiday weekend! With more acts still to be added to the line-up, Abbeyshrule is the place to be on the night of Sunday October 30th. Tickets are available for just €12 now from www.tickets.ie and www.entertainment.ie/tickets . Further information is available on www.noegopromotions.com and at www.hamsandwichmusic.com. Press requests can be sent to denisecanavan@gmail.com or noegopromo@gmail.com or by contacting the Helium PRO directly on 086 1657728. 2 EDITORS NOTE: Helium is a summer micro music festival that takes place annually in Skelly's Bar, Ballymahon Co. Longford with the generous support of local businesses and organisations from the local area. The event is heading into its fourth year and has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2009. Helium is organised on a completely voluntary basis by over 100 people from near and far. The idea of the event is to raise awareness and funds for a very rare illness called Friedreichs Ataxia (www.ataxia.ie) with all profits going to FASI, the Irish society for the condition. Since its debut the event has caught the imagination of people in the Ballymahon region which has ensured its continued success enjoyed to date. In its first year 2009, the event was organised quite informally and attracted over 400 on the night. As a result Helium 2010 needed much more organisation and subsequently attracted over 800 people. Finally, Helium 2011 sold out two days in advance and was a resounding success for both the worthy cause FASI and the town of Ballymahon. The event is principally a music event with the intention being to embrace more arts and culture as it grows year on year. In line with continued demand, the music is mainly contemporary Irish rock along with acoustic and some trad music. By adopting this approach the event has become the most anticipated event in the South Longford/North Westmeath area, attracting hundreds of people from near and far to enjoy the ambient setting, top quality music and friendly laid back atmosphere. WHAT IS FRIEDREICHS ATAXIA? Friedreichs Ataxia is a genetic and progressive disorder of the central nervous system which usually manifests itself in children between the ages of six and sixteen years. However, in some instances the onset for Friedreichs and other Genetic Ataxias can be much later. Because of the genetic factor more than one person in a family may be affected. The general symptoms are clumsiness, difficulties with balance, lack of co-ordination and, in time, a slurring of speech. Although there is no specific treatment for any of the known Ataxias, fundamental research into its pathogenesis is ongoing worldwide, and there are, in any case, various ways in which the burden on sufferers and their relatives can be lightened. In recent years the defective genes which cause several of the Genetic Ataxias have been identified and, therefore, clinical tests can be undertaken to identify the particular Ataxia and/or to establish if other siblings are carriers of the defective gene. Information and help in this regard can be obtained by contacting the Friedreichs Ataxia Society Ireland. ADDITIONAL INFO: HAMSANDWICH Ham Sandwich is a Five piece Irish indie rock band, with members hailing from County Meath and Dublin. Charismatically fronted by Podge McNamee (vocals/guitar) and Niamh Farrell (vocals) the line-up is completed by, Brian Darcy (guitar) Ollie Murphy (drums) and David McEnroe (bass guitar). The band have been together since 2003 but first came to the attention of national radio stations in 2007 with their single 'Click-click boom!'. The single laid the grounds for the release of the bands debut album entitled Carry the Meek. The album was released on the same day as the band received a Meteor award for Best hope of 2008. In October 2010 the band released the now critically acclaimed album WHITE FOX . Taking in just 10 tracks the album was received extremely well by National Newspapers and 3 magazines alike. 'there isn't a duff tune here, which makes it that very rare thing: an album you can listen to all the way through without being tempted to press fastforward'-The Irish times 4 out of 5 stars. In February 2011 the band released the 3rd single entitled ANTS off the album. The single was accompanied by an animated video of ant preparing a meal for a date. Within days the video had become a viral hit on the Internet. 'Ants' signalled a break through into daytime airplay for the band, resulting in Ray D'Arcy hailing it as his favourite song of the month. Well known for their live shows Ham Sandwich are now one of the most distinctive bands touring Ireland right now. Whether it be Podge encouraging an in-between banter with the crowd and band or Niamh's memorising vocal range Ham Sandwich are a band not to be missed. Sensing this was to be the most successful period of the bands career, Ham Sandwich decided to go further with their music and focused on expanding abroad. Already this year the band have played several high profile gigs including the SXSW festival in Texas, Forbidden Fruit Festival in Dublin (Headlined by The Flaming Lips), the Irish Feis in London's Finsbury Park (Headlined by Bob Dylan/Van Morrison), Leeds and Reading Festivals in the UK and more recently Popkomm in Berlin. The future has become decidedly bright for this Irish band that certainly stands out from the norm. hamsandwichmusic.com BREAKING CIRCLES: Our very own Breaking Circles from Ballymahon, began in early 2010 with a variety of different formations and members. The band did not find its feet until the present arrangement was formed with Richard Fay on vocals and rhythm guitar, Paddy Dunne on lead guitar, Paul Canavan on drums and Sean Byrne on bass. Focusing on the cover band scene primarily, the band played many gigs around the country and earned a reputation as a strong performing unit. However, over the last few months they have turned their focus towards writing original material. They played their first all original music gig in Nenagh in late 2010 and have been pushing forwards in leaps and bounds ever since. Their exciting mix of alternative and up-tempo music had everybody on their feet during their slot at Helium 2011 and they're sure to continue that success throughout 2012. breakingcircles.bandcamp.com