The 2 Johnnies to host 'Ireland's Sexiest Farmer' as part of Cork gig
The 2 Johnnies, Jonathon 'Johnny Smacks' McMahon and John 'Johnny B' O'Brien at Musgrave Park (Virgin Media Park) in Cork.
The 2 Johnnies are looking forward to bringing their “dream come true” stadium gig to Cork, with some well-pulled pints of Murphy’s to be enjoyed in the real capital along the way.
Settling into the lobby of the Metropole Hotel on Friday afternoon, Jonathon ‘Johnny Smacks’ McMahon and John ‘Johnny B’ O'Brien are upbeat, despite a long morning of meeting the media following an earlier announcement that they will be bringing their Pints in a Field gig to Cork next summer.
The Tipperary duo will play Musgrave Park (Virgin Media Park) on Saturday, June 19, alongside special guests Example, Jamie McIntyre, and Sharon Shannon’s Ceilí and MC Andrew Ryan. The gig will also host Ireland’s Sexiest Farmer Competition, the winner of which Johnny Smacks says he “cannot wait to announce”.
The pair described the gig as “a dream come true” after years of hard graft, and an event their podcast listeners made happen.
“We book people who are relevant to the podcast. Pints in a Field is a coming together of all the podcast listeners, so that’s why we will have things like Ireland’s Sexiest Farmer competition and the set dancing record that we're trying to break, as well as music,” Johnny B explains.
"This discussion about hunky farmers went on the podcast so now we have a sexy farmer segment on the stage.”
The pair have a particular fondness for a Cork crowd, who they say “have a culture of going to things and enjoying themselves” but would equally have no problem telling them if they weren’t doing well.
“It’s also the closest to a home gig we can get for a show of this size and scale. People asked us to move the live show out of Dublin, so we listened and came to the real capital,” Johnny B says.
The pair, who have previously played Cyprus Avenue, The Everyman, Cork Opera House, Live at the Marquee and Musgrave Park, reflected on a standout moment on the very stage they will stand on again next June.
“The first time we did Pints in a Field at the stadium, we had all our clubmates in our jerseys waving Ireland flags as we walked out. I think the capacity at that time was 15,000. It's 18,000 for next year. But at the time, it was probably the biggest gig we'd done and to walk out to that crowd with all our teammates there, it was unbelievable. That's still one of the best memories of any gig, not just Cork,” Johnny Smacks says.
Looking back on their successes to date, almost 10 years on since the pair began posting together on social media, they agree that they always dreamed big and wanted to make it in the entertainment industry.
“I was deluded. I always thought we’d make it. I had to in the beginning because we both had full-time jobs, and if you left your job thinking, ‘I hope this works out’, it’s never going to work. We had to be 100%. So to convince everyone around you, and convince the public and the fans to come along with you, you have to convince yourself,” Johnny Smacks says.
Johnny B goes on to describe it as amazing that they can now make as much as they did in their former jobs by meeting people, doing amazing interviews, and writing songs and sketches.
Looking ahead, he says that if they ever made a gig at Páirc Uí Chaoimh happen, they could “retire immediately after”.
He goes on to say that he looks forward to returning to Cork next summer, and that his stout of choice when he does so will be Murphy’s.
“There’s one pub in our hometown doing Murphy’s, but you need to come to Cork, and you need the old fella scowling at you when he’s pouring it for you. He’s kind of looking at you thinking, ‘You’re not from Cork... you’re lucky to be even getting that now at all’.
The pair confidently describe next summer’s gig as “the best gig in Musgrave Park”.
“I don’t care who else they book. They can dig up The Beatles; this is going to be a better gig,” Johnny B says.
