Clubsound: The Band Who Couldn't Retire Tour

What to Expect

Clubsound have been on the road for 57 years and bill themselves as the only showband still touring. The Enniskillen date is part of The Band Who Couldn’t Retire Tour, a title their manager Mervyn Boyd explains by pointing out that the group have been trying to retire for the last twenty years and have not managed it yet. The line-up is Barry Woods, Alan McCartney, Davy McKnight, George Jones and Jimmy Black, with musical direction from Andy McFadden leading a five-piece band.

The Clubsound formula has always been half music and half comedy sketch, and the Ardhowen show keeps the routines the audience turn up for. Named on the billing are Shankill Airways, Daddy’s Wee Balloons and Belfast Belfast. If you grew up with the Northern Ireland showband circuit these are familiar set pieces, and the band play them alongside the standards that filled ballrooms from the late 1960s onwards. A smoke or haze machine and flashing lights are used during the performance.

Good to Know

• Saturday 12 September 2026, 8:00 PM, at the Ardhowen, Dublin Road, Enniskillen.
• Tickets are £27, booked at ardhowen.com or through the box office on +44 (0)28 6632 5440.
• Five-piece backing band under musical director Andy McFadden.
• Tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable.
• Extra front-row seats may be released if the main auditorium sells out, and these can carry a restricted view. Check with the box office before buying one.
• Smoke or haze effects and flashing lights feature in the show.

Getting There

The Ardhowen is on the Dublin Road just south of Enniskillen town centre, set above Lough Erne with a free car park on site. Drivers from Dublin and Cavan come up the A509 onto the A4, those from Belfast use the M1 and A4, and Omagh traffic runs down the A32. Enniskillen bus station on Wellington Road serves Ulsterbus and Bus Eireann routes, and the theatre is a short taxi journey from there. A Saturday night showband gig draws a full house, so arriving twenty minutes early gives you a straightforward run at the car park and the bar.