Picture This: Live at the Marquee Cork

We took a trip down to Cork to see Picture This Live at the Marquee. We chatted to the band and got to go to the gig that night!

We sat down with Ryan Hennessy and Jimmy Rainsford of Picture This and had a quick chat about their amazing success.

The guys so far are really enjoying being out on the road. Ryan, the lead singer, prefers being out on the road because he can interact with fans and get an immediate reaction. While Jimmy, the bands drummer, prefers working in the studio. Their success still hasn’t really hit them, and has gone over their heads. With everything happening so fast, they’re still in shock that they are headlining not one but two nights at Live at the Marquee, Cork, having played support for Gavin James on the same stage just last year. Despite the rapid rise, Ryan believes playing the two nights at The Marquee feels good and natural.

While not officially announced, Picture This have an album on the way. Talking about the album, Jimmy was happy to let us know that it’s exactly how they want it to be. It’s not manufactured, which is a big accomplishment for any artist to produce an album the way they want it to sound, without the record label insisting on a sound that will guarantee sales. However sales of this album are already very likely considering every Irish show they’ve played has sold out. The band already have a solid fan base, which is an amazing accomplishment for a band with just an EP to their name.

The lads listen to all types of music and have never designated themselves to listening to just one genre. For example they’ve been listening to a lot of country music lately, but the music they listen to won’t always influence the sound they produce.

On a fun note, Jimmy’s favorite colour is green, with Ryan’s being red. Jimmy also let us know that he was very passionate about his love for the colour.

We also got to chat with Peter Aiken, of Aiken Promotions. He was delighted to be back at The Marquee, now in it’s 12th year, with over 1 million people having passed through the doors in that time. He was very excited that they where kicking off 2017 with a home grown band, a band who have had amazing success in such a short period of time. He loves the live experience, because it will always deliver. There’s really no place he’d rather be than seeing the amazing acts that take the stage at Live at the Marquee, Cork.

Picture This on stage at Live at the Marquee Cork. Picture: Miki Barlok

That Night

The rain didn’t put anyone off that night as fans began to flood into the Marquee as soon as doors opened at 6pm. The energy was electric as people anticipated the night ahead. The marquee is probably one of the most unique venues in the country. As you walk towards the entrance a large tent fills up your view ahead, and you wouldn’t be alone if you thought this tent was the main one, but this one is just the lobby, with the portable merchandise, food and drink stalls sparking the familiar festival feeling. The big reveal of the stage comes after walking through a tunnel and oh, what a reveal it is. The main tent is massive, and it clear why big name artists love playing The Marquee time and time again.

Irish singer Catherine McGrath kicked off the night, entertaining the crowd with her country pop melodies. Following Catherine, the Donegal natives Little Hours took the stage thrilling the crowd and making sure the fans were sufficiently warmed up before the arrival of Picture This.

At 9.15 pm the lights throughout the Marquee darkened and the deafening roar that followed could probably be heard from the middle of Cork City. Having only released an EP, it was only inevitable that the band would play some new songs off their forthcoming album. It is always a risk for any band to play music the audience has never heard, but not once did the crowd loose the electric buzz throughout the set, in fact the audience tried their best to sing along to the songs they had never even heard, but of course they sang the loudest for the biggest songs. Front man, Ryan talked to the audience throughout the night, giving the back story to a lot of the songs they played. Introducing the new song Body and Mind as one “for all the cougars in the house”. At one point the rest of the band left the stage leaving Ryan to play another new song “Jane”, just himself and an acoustic guitar.

Ryan introduces the song ‘Let’s Be Young’ as a song about making mistakes, enjoying being young and having a good time. Going by the crowds reaction,this song could quickly become an anthem for the next generation, similar to San Diego Song by The Coronas from 2007. Finishing their set with the hit single “Take My Hand”, which was the song that began it all for this band. The band clearly love being on stage, but they love their fans even more. Ryan thanked them on more than one occasion “for making our dreams come true”. No fan left The Marquee dissatisfied that night, and Picture This finished off the night in their usual fashion, posting a picture across their social media pages of them and the audience.