"One of our final summer concerts takes place tonight in Newcastle West Co Limerick. Should be a blast. Looking forward to seeing some good friends there."
"Some of tonight's crowd in Newcastle West."
"Newcastle West. Fantastic!!! Gig of the summer. Literally thousands in the square and an unbelievable atmosphere. Thanks to the organisers who looked after us so well. Thanks as always to the legend that is Adam O'Sullivan for rocking the finale with us!"
All photoslide photos courtesy of Charlie Brock
Clips of The High Kings singing Dirty Old Town, Red Is The Rose, Star of the County Down, and Rare Old Times at the show in Newcastle West.
News from Sweden and Denmark Tour
"Arrived in Gothenburg Sweden to a great day, with a massive buzz around the city. Big music festival takes place this weekend. We are onstage tonight at 8pm. Tomorrow we rise early to take the ferry to Denmark where we kick off 4 shows there. Hope I can grab some of the game online. Come on The Cats!"
"After 5 years of touring with The High Kings, tonight we walked onstage to a tornado of noise for our very first Swedish show. Possibly the loudest and greatest audience we have had to date. And that's saying something considering we have just had 6 amazing German show. Incredible stuff. A very young crowd which is even more positive for future tours. Thanks Gothenburg. One to cherish forever."
All photoslide photos courtesy of Emma Broberg
Denmark
Aarlborg!
"Aalborg! Amazing crowd. Great show again tonight. Loved it. Great craic at The Irish House afterwards. Really looking forward to a day off tomorrow and counting the days 'til I see my little family at home!"
"Best lunch in town.
Sat outside and chilled with the locals."
"Now that's a big one! Irish house last night."
"My home for tonight in Skive"
"Tonight's theatre in Skive. Sold out. The stage is set"
"Fantastic crowd tonight in Skive. Amazing theatre and brilliant atmosphere. On to Copenhagen tomorrow morning."
"Pulled over my curtains to this view at 7am"
"Tonight's Venue"
"Thanks for a great night Copenhagen. We will be back next year.
One more show to go!"
"Strolling around Viborg"
"Viborg Press"
"Front of House"
"What a fantastic way to end this tour. Viborg.....thanks you. Brilliant crowd that demanded 3 encores. Great night. Denmark, Sweden and Germany...thank you! See you in 2013."
That's all the latest news from Sweden, Denmark and the Newcastle Westfest. The High Kings are now back in to the studio to continue recording original material for their new album, which is expected to be released during the first half of 2013
We will be back with more news soon!
Thanks for your continued support. Darren & the DH Team
"Dresden!! Thank you so much. Amazing crowd and the best welcome ever to Germany. On to Berlin tomorrow for the second show.”
"The great Dresden audience asking politely for an encore tonight."
“This is the most amazing Cake I have seen and tasted. Yes folks....cake! Baked by our friend Karin Loffel. Unreal. Thomas and Karin have been unreal to us for 4 years and we are so grateful to them for everything.”
"Tonight's venue for show. Beautiful old church in Berlin"
"Berlin on an Autumn Sunday afternoon. Just had a very nice stroll among the locals who sure know how to chill out. Fantastic vibe."
"Fantastic crowd in Berlin tonight. Beautiful venue and the craziest crowd in ages. Loved it.
Overnight drive now to Mannheim where we perform tomorrow night."
Thought we would share some photos of the High Kings from their Berlin concert.
These are Getty Images which are protected.
"Just arrived in Mannheim to a beautiful sunny day. Another lovely vibe at the venue. Chilling' with a coffee before going outside to explore the neighbourhood."
"Courtesy of Karins brother, genuine High Kings Ale brewed in Germany." "Chilling for after tonight's show which we have just been informed is a sell out. "
"Mannheim!! What an incredible night. Always a good sign when the show is held up for 20 minutes to fit more people in. Really great audience and the loudest crowd do far. Overnight drive to Hannover and a day off. : )"
"Holden's Ale. Brewed only in Germany"
"Hamburg venue. Looks like something out of Sherlock Holmes."
"Incredible audience tonight in Hamburg. Massive volume all the way through and that was from them!
Night to remember."
Photo courtesy of Marcus Jaap
"Local press today in Bielefeld"
"Bielefeld"
"Bielefeld, thanks for an amazing night! What a crowd, what a vibe. Full throttle. On to Dusseldorf for the final German show tomorrow."
"Dusseldorf Savoy Theatre"
"What a way to wrap the German leg of our European tour. Incredible crowd tonight in Dusseldorf Savoy Theatre. Mental craic. Up in 5 hours to go to airport and fly to Gothenburg Sweden. Thanks Germany. We won't forget it!"
Special thanks to the fans that have shared their photos with us.
We hope you have enjoyed all the news from the German tour.
Darren relaxing before the show with Brian, Brian Kennedy, and Damian Dempsey.
Darren with Irish Tenor Anthony Kearns
“Amazing and memorable night at the O2 for the Notre Dame pep rally. Blinds of great friends old and new there, and it was fantastic to witness the most amazing marching band and choir ever! Loved it all! 2 hours sleep later and I am arriving at the airport to meet the guys and fly to Germany. Thanks to everyone who made last night so great. Go Irish!!”
The High Kings rendition of The Parting Glass was amazing at the Notre Dame - A Welcome Home concert. So how would you like an MP3 recording of their performance? You can listen and download here with our compliments! Enjoy!
CLICK HERE to watch the video on Darren's Facebook page.
We hope you enjoyed sharing The High Kings special night at Dublin's O2
The lads are now in Germany. Having had a fantastic welcome for their first show in Dresden last night, they are looking forward to more of the same in Berlin tonight. We will bring you all the news from Germany, Sweden and Denmark in a European Special soon.
"Some of you may have seen the ad on RTE 1 about the pre Notre Dame football game show being broadcast on Friday. The High Kings will be performing along with various other Irish artists. Check it out and join in the fun. Should be a blast"
The programe is being live streamed on Friday 31st August at 9:30pm Ireland time on both the RTE Live Player for worldwide viewing, and the RTE official Youtube channel.
Cleveland Irish Festival “Landed in Philly on route to Cleveland. Good to be back in the USA”
“I think I am in the exact same room in the hotel as last year here in Cleveland! Weird. : )”
“Wow! Unbelievably great crowd tonight at our first show in Cleveland. Totally behind us from the off, and never let up. Great to see so many familiar faces and friends, and lots of new ones too. Really loved it. Can't wait for tomorrow night!”
“We had 2 set's tonight in Cleveland. The first was great fun, although we almost melted from the heat, and the crowd really got into the show and gave us a great welcome. The second at 10pm, will forever remain one of the most insane shows we have done. Incredible reaction from a massive crowd, that were terrific fun all the way through. No doubt about it.....CLEVELAND ROCKS!!!”
“Just wrapped up an amazing weekend here in Cleveland. These have been some of the best crowds we've had to date, and we wish we could stay longer. Great to see so many really good friends and fans who mean more to us than they know. Heading upstate NY tomorrow. : )”
Great American Irish Festival Frankfort
"Road Trip"
"Hanging with Dunphy, listening to Rascal Flatts and checking out the most amazing lightning storm I've seen in a long time. Nature rules!"
"Syra-snooze.........would be more apt."
"How excited am I?"
"About to head to The Frankfort Festival in upstate New York, where we are onstage this evening at 6.45pm. Looking forward to a great night!!"
"Wow! Frankfort NY brought the party tonight! Fantastic crowd at tonight's show and the amount of people that came up to me beforehand to say they had driven 5, 6 or 7 hours to get there to see us was incredible! What an atmosphere, and what generosity from people who came bearing gifts! And cookies! : ) Can't wait for tomorrow's show!"
"So, I am sitting in my 5th floor room just now, when I hear some kid verbally abusing a driver in a car on the street below. I go to the window to see what's going on, when the kid looks up and spots me, picks up a rock, and with amazing precision, launches it through my window. Yes, I am 5 floors up!! He then fled on his BMX bike. Utica PD in m room. Hah"
"So the 2 policemen just left my room as fans of The High Kings after they asked me what I do. lol Played them some tunes and hey presto!"
"Another amazing crowd and gig tonight at the Festival. Huge numbers that came out in torrential rain and made the show into the biggest party once more. Another great weekend comes to a close as tomorrow we set off back home to Ireland. Thanks to all our Stateside fans for making it so very special."
Milwaukee Irish Fest
"Packing tomorrow for The States on Thursday.
Milwaukee are you ready?!!"
"I know today that a large amount of Stateside HK followers are flying in or taking mammoth roadtrips to be with us in Milwaukee. Please travel safe and get there in one piece, so we can all share what should be a really great weekend.
See you soon. DH."
"Aboard American Airlines to Chicago"
"Bored in Chicago"
"Another Road Trip to Milwaukee"
"Wow, Viva Last Vegas, Speedway, and Spinout are next up on TCM. As much as I'd love to stay up all night and watch them, I have a 10.30am soundcheck to attend. Looking forward to kicking off the weekend tomorrow night!"
"Unbelievable first night here in Milwaukee. Huge and very loud crowd turned out to Folk 'n' Roll with us, and make this a memorable night. Great to see the entire front row inhabited by HK peeps. You guy's know who you are, and we are so grateful for the support. Great hang afterwards with said peeps. Tomorrow, I'm lying in. : )"
"Milwaukee! Are you ready for show number 2? We are onstage at 8.30pm. See ya there!"
"Unbelievable turnout tonight for the second show here in Milwaukee! 8, 000 people rocked with us in one of the best and loudest show's to date. Loved it. One more to go tomorrow. Bring it on. Early start tomorrow. Gotta watch The Cats take on Tipp in the semi final with my buddy Jon Kiger. Won't be easy but I hope we can do it! Come on KK!"
"Was just about to call it a night an hour ago, when who should walk up to me for a chat, but Henry Healy. Haven't seen Henry since we played his cousin's house in Washington DC in March. : ) Great laugh."
"Just wrapped up an amazing weekend here in Milwaukee. Another great crowd despite the wind and rain. We are so grateful to our USA HK gang for all that they do for us. We promise not to leave it so long 'til we see y'all again. Heading back to the aul sod tomorrow and looking forward to seeing herself and the munchkins. X"
After the High Kings returned home to Ireland there was agreat interview with them in the Milwaukee Examiner.
“To all HK fan's in Wexford, we are live in Gorey at the festival tonight at 9.45pm. Should be a great craic to kick off the bank holiday weekend!”
“In a total downpour tonight in Gorey, a huge crowd stayed with us and sang every song with gusto. On the road home now before heading north tomorrow.”
“Castlewellan. Thanks for a fantastic night! Mayhem in the best sense.”
“On the road to the INEC Killarney later for a 9.30pm show tonight. Should be a blast. Last night in Castlewellan was unreal. Fantastic crowd. Day off tomorrow...yay : )”
“Killarney!! As always Unreal! Brilliant night with a fantastic crowd. Loved it!!”
“Heading to The Clonmanny festival up north later today. Sold out concert so should be absolute mayhem. : ) Onstage at 9pm.”
“Concert of the year so far at The Clonmany festival in Donegal. A perfect summer evening for an outdoor show and 5,000 people turned out to folk 'n' roll with us. Magic night.”
“Really great crowd tonight in Belfast. The only thing missing was a mosh pit!! Seriously mental. Way too much fun. Last few shows we pulled back in some of the oldies we haven't done in a while too, which is great craic. Day off tomorrow!”
“Ready to kick off 2 nights at the Fleadh in Cavan! Great vibe here. Should be a blast”
“Amazing crowd tonight in Cavan! Great atmosphere. Roll on tomorrow night.”
“Just spent a great day so far in Cavan with the hometown boy himself Jimmy Cahill and the gang. Great fun. Looking forward to doing it all over again tonight for the second show which kicks off at 10pm. Sold out again, so it's gonna be a stormer!”
“Cavan.... Immense! 'Nuff said. Nah, I have to say more........Best, loudest, rowdiest, funniest crowd in ages. Brilliant night, and a really great 2 days.”
More Irish News after Milwaukee
"Back after a 4 hour delayed flight on Irish soil. : )"
"Oh goody. Back to thunder, lightning and rain. : ("
"Heading to Timoleague in West Cork in a while for the festival tonight. This was mayhem the last time we did it, so tonight should be no exception. We are onstage at 9.30pm."
"Amazing night in West Cork. Brilliant crowd and great vibe. Nights like this make it worthwhile! Thanks Timoleague."
That's all the news for now. We hope you have enjoying catching up with all the news from the US festivals and Irish shows.
Time to bring you up to date with all the latest news and happenings for Darren and the High Kings. Unfortunately, we have to start with some bad news from Darren.
Important News - Darren Voice Issues
"Unfortunately this piece in Today's Daily Star is true, all except for the age! : ) Not that old yet. I am hoping to come back stronger after treatment and vocal rest. I will still try to sing at all High Kings concerts this summer but in the event of vocal tiredness will hold back completely and let the lads do their thing"
PLEASE NOTE: Due to an ongoing vocal nodule problem, Darren may not sing at some HK concerts this summer. He has also been instructed to rest his voice after shows, so if his voice is tired he may be forced to miss a CD signing and apologises in advance to any fans who don't get to meet him.
Rock of Ages Premiere
“Looking forward to the premiere tonight!”
“Hey kiddies......If like me, you grew up listening to Bon
Jovi, Def Leppard, Journey, Reo Speedwagon, Night Ranger etc.......then do
yourself a favour and go see 'Rock Of Ages' in your local cinema. Hugely
cheesy, impeccably timed, and the biggest laugh I've had for ages. A stellar
cast including Russell Brand, Alec Baldwin, Julianne Hough and Mary J
Blige.....but it's worth it alone just to see Cruise play the quintessential
rock god with aplomb! Brilliant performance.”
Off to Norway!
“Another productive day in the west of Ireland.
Heading home now to pack for 3 days in Norway with HK.”
“Just arrived in Floro,
Norway where it
is almost midnight and we have complete daylight!! Oh, and I have the coolest
room, complete with a boat for a bed! : - )
Its been 13 years since I toured here with Michelle and I forgot how beautiful
it is here. Tomorrow is a fun packed day before we take to the stage at 11.30pm
for our show.
Only got to see the first half of the match in the airport, so I gather we were
spared the rest!!”
"See I wasn't lying!
Meet my boat bed!"
"Just spent a fantastic day with our promoters and lots of
new friends. After breakfast this morning, we boarded an amazing boat, and in
glorious sunshine sailed to a really cool island, inhabited by lots of deer, and
after an amazing meal, sang an accoustic set for the locals, along with
"Young Folk" who are also on the bill tonight! The vibe here is
really good, and we are looking forward to taking the stage later tonight for
our very first sold out show in Norway."
"Great crowd tonight in Floro! Way loud and really into the
show. They know how to party up here for sure.
Open air show tomorrow!!"
"Just back from a beautiful barbecue at promoters place after
today's open air show, which again was hugely attended.
We have been so well taken care of here and it's been a great weekend.
Brian even had his birthday marked by a Nordic version of " Happy
Birthday" lol
Heading home tomorrow to see my little gang!!"
"Back in Dublin!"
Áras an Uachtaráin
"Tomorrow The High Kings have a very busy and special day
lined up. We will sing at a garden party in a big white house, for a very
important man and his family. Details tomorrow evening. : )"
"Heading over to the Presidents house in a few minutes to
sing at his Garden Party today at 2pm. Very excited and honoured to be going
back to the great house once again, and hopefully the rain will stop.
Yeah.....like thats likely! : )
Our buddy Declan O Rourke will also be there so looking forward to catching up."
"Wow! Incredible day at the Aras
with President and Mrs Higgins. Lovely reaction to our performances. Thanks to
the staff for looking after us do well and really great to see my 'ol pal
Kathryn Thomas there who who recollected our Kilimanjaro experiences to the
President.
Declan O' Rourke was sublime as usual and it was great to catch up.
Great day!"
"Morning everyone. Last reminder that tonight The High Kings
take to the stage of The National Concert Hall for the very first time. Tickets
are almost sold out, so should be a fantastic event! Once again, Thanks a million for all the messages yesterday, really appreciated
it!"
"My view tonight!"
"Fantastic and very memorable show tonight in The National
Concert Hall. Amazing crowd and brilliant atmosphere all the way through. Great to see so many friends and HK fans there. Huge thanks for always turning
up. On to the INEC tomorrow!"
Busy Weekend!
"INEC! Amazing once again. Fantastic night with a great crowd
that wanted to have the biggest party! : ) Our 5th High King Adam O' Sullivan joined us amidst huge applause to reprise
"Whiskey in the Jar". What a legend. On to Athlone tomorrow night."
"Athlone.....immense! 'Nuff said! Loudest and roudiest crowd in ages. Fantastic fun."
"Loading the car for a roadtrip to play Strabane
"Rockin' by the river" Festival tonight!"
"Crazy Crazy night in Plumbridge. 750 very loud and
enthusiastic people that sang every note and cheered do loud! Loved it! Thanks
everybody for a seriously memorable night!!"
Photo copyright of Glenellyvalleypost.com Click the link to read the article for the Plumbridge show glenellyvalleypost.com
Next Stop USA!
"All packed a ready for glass of vino with the wife before flying to USA
tomorrow morning to play Cleveland and Frankfort NY . Looking forward to
folking up the States!"
Cleveland have been looking forward to The High Kings arrival and they were featured on the cover of the July edition of the Ohio Irish American News.
We have a lot of fans excited about The High Kings return to the USA for the Irish festivals this summer so will bring you all the news, photos, and videos that are made available to us soon. For regular daily updates direct from the festivals, including status updates from Darren, please make sure you drop by and 'like' Darren's Official Facebook
The High Kings have announced that they will be performing at the National Concert Hall in Dublin on 12th July. This will be their first show at this fantastic venue and the only Dublin show during the summer. Get your tickets now!
"Wow! I now have 2 of these. Not bad for the little lad of the Holden's from Mooncoin."
Darren photographed at the White House with Irish PM Enda Kenny
Kilkenny People 11 April 2012
Charity Celebrity Football Match
Irish Autism Action
Darren has always been a big supporter of Irish Autism Action and climbed Machu Picchu for the charity in 2009. He is scheduled to play in a celebrity football match between Ireland and England at Tallaght Stadium Dublin on 12th August.
"Messi look out! Should be a cracker and for a great cause. Please support by donating whatever you can."
Are any of you on Pinterest? Pinterest is an online pin board where you can pin and share the things you love! Check out Darren's official Pinterest boards where he shares his music, his career highlights, and some of the places and music that have inspired him over the years. Just click the Pinterest Icon to enter Darren's Pinterest boards.
Irish Post Interview
The High Kings returned to Ireland following their headlining appearance in the London St Patrick's Day celebrations in Trafalgar Square, Darren was interviewed by the Irish Post, the paper covering the event.
We have brought you songs from Darren's Roadworks album, now we will share one from Live & Learn. Darren sings I Want to Come Home with photos from his 2003 photoshoot in Mooncoin together with photos of Mooncoin and Kilkenny. Photos of Mooncoin village and Darren are courtesy of Joe Cashin Photography.
Soundcloud
We have added another unreleased track to Darren's Soundcloud. The track 'Caught' was written with fellow Movin' Out musician Bryan Steele feat. Darren's vocal and was selected by Rockband for release on xbox 360 April 2010.
Click the logo to listen to Caught and other non released tracks.
Shh.... can't say much but!!!!
A few status updates from Darren with clues from earlier in May that he can't talk about too much!! "Tomorrow The High Kings take a road trip to hang out with someone very cool, jam some tunes and possibly record together. This could be the start of a very exciting chapter in the group. Thats all I can say for now, but as always things will be revealed if and when they are happening.: )"
"About to set off with the Dunphymeister for a roadtrip to meet the lads and play some music with.........: )."
"Today was one of the special days. Something that was mapped out for us, but took a ramp off to another road entirely and made us seriously excited, giddy and so happy to do what we do. Tomorrow? Well........if all goes to plan the future is blindingly bright for HK."
"Day 2 of our exciting little trip kicks off at 11am! : )"
Earlier this week, another little tease!!!
"Kids dropped at creche and school: check Dinners made for everyone this evening: check Bag packed for 3 days recording the west with ? : check : )"
That brings us up to date with all the news at the moment.
