New Documentary about Galway Band to screen at Eye Cinema

'The Opacas Shine On', a new fly-on-the-wall documentary following Galway band The Opacas and the creation and debut live performance of their new single, will be screened in The Eye Cinema on April 22....

The Opacas are an exciting and energetic Galway band consisting of Steve Talbot, Peter Tobin, Pat Boyle, Mark Raynor, Mike McLoughlin and Joe Treacy. They began during Lockdown with a series of virtual shows but since performing their first in-person show in Salthill last October they have gone from strength-to-strength.

Young Galway film-maker, Greta Thornton followed The Opacas over the last few months as they wrote and prepared to record their tenth single, Shine On. Greta - winner of the Audience Award at the Ulster Regional finals at the 2022 Fresh International Film Festival, and who was also a representative of the Fresh Film Festival at Macedonia’s Giffoni Macedonia film festival - gained exclusive access to capture how the band create and write songs. Shine On also involved The Opacas doing something they never did before - collaborating with a full choir!

"We met Tomás Ó Cáinte after a show last year and discovered he was involved with Moycullen Musical Society," says lead singer Steve Talbot. "We had a song we did a few times in rehearsal and thought a collaboration with a choir would lift the song to a new level. Plus it would be a bit of fun to work with a full-on choir!"

Shine On is a tribute to a close work colleague who passed away in his sleep in 2019. Damon Marshall was 42 when he died and The Opacas have invited his mother, father, and son, Thomas, to the screening.

"Damon's sudden death was a real wake up call for me," says The Opacas’ Pat Boyle. "It really brought home how transient life is and we have to make the most of every moment we have. The song is a cry out to the universe for his spirit to Shine On."

Rehearsals for the song took place in The Forge in Moycullen and the song was performed live in St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church at the start of March. Greta followed the band every step of the way and captured the band writing and rehearsing the song, then working it out with the choir.

"It’s been a really creative journey for me," says Greta, "trying out new things and doing the live recording, following the rehearsal and seeing how it built up to the gig. The Opacas have been very encouraging and were open to the ideas and suggestions I made."

"Meeting the band and the choir was also great and seeing how it became a kind of community. I liked connecting with all these people from different backgrounds - acting, music - and seeing how I can use that creatively as well."

'The Opacas Shine On' documentary will be screened in The Eye Cinema on Saturday 22 April at 8:30pm. Tickets are on sale now via www.opacas.com. If the documentary whets your appetite enough to want to see the band perform live, The Opacas will take to the stage in Monroes on May 26th. Tickets for this show are also on their website.