Put it in the diary now: Irish pop star Ryan McMullan has booked a date in Newcastle.
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McMullan will play a solo show at Lizotte's in Newcastle on August 12.
He is heading back to Australia as a support act for Snow Patrol on their sold-out tour.
Following the success of the singles You Don't Dance, Oh Susannah and Bowie on the Radio (almost 8 million streams) the young songwriter returns with his heart on his sleeve and a beautifully bittersweet pop ballad, In the Back of My Mind.
McMullan says, "In the Back of my Mind is an old song written years ago, once forgiven but never forgotten. It is both reminiscent and adolescent, but with a desire for maturity. Letting go of something that was never strong enough to hold on to in the first place, whilst trying to remember exactly that, through readjustment. For me it was a comfort and hopefully it can be for others."
McMullan's signature vocal and evocative wordplay take us to a place in time where we have all been; the misty-eyed recollection of young love gone awry and the ever-present sense of longing and regret.
The musical arrangement is a classic blend of guitar, piano, strings and percussion, poised at all times to complement and embolden the mood of the singer.
"Songs like this have the power to express what we're feeling at a certain time of your life. It's a little snapshot into mine," McMullan says.
Off the back of a five-week US tour supporting Snow Patrol, McMullan will play a string of summer festivals across Ireland and special guest appearances opening for The Coronas in Galway and Limerick, and an open air show in Belfast on August 17. He was the opening act on the acoustic stage at the Glastonbury festival last month.
Armed with his back-catalogue of beautifully crafted songs, Ryan will no doubt be teasing audiences with early glimpses of his forthcoming record, an album rumoured to feature the songwriting talents of mentors Foy Vance and Ed Sheeran.