Entertainment
Westport Festival a real family event
Arts Week with Ciaran Tierney
Last year’s inaugural Westport Festival of Music and Performing Arts was so much fun that the only question on revellers’ lips as they left the picturesque grounds was whether or not the organisers would decide to run it again for another year.
The two-day festival had been marred by poor weather on the Saturday and sluggish early ticket sales until the sun broke through on the Sunday but, thankfully, word soon filtered back after it ended that plans were being put in place for another knees-up at the end of this month.
They have kept with the family-friendly vibe which proved such a runaway success in 2012 – children under 12 get in for free when accompanied by an adult – and have an increased emphasis on food for an event which takes place on Saturday and Sunday, June 29 and 30.
Once again, the emphasis is on quality live Irish music, with a few international stars thrown in, and while there might be minor gripes that the likes of The Waterboys, Imelda May, and Damien Dempsey were on the bill 12 months ago, there can be few complaints about the standard of the acts on offer.
Indeed, West of Ireland music fans should be thrilled that a true Irish legend, Christy Moore, will headline the main stage on the Saturday night. The former Planxty and Moving Hearts man, joined as ever by the trusted Declan Sinnott, was perhaps one of the few glaring omissions from last year’s stunning bill.
And, given their strong Galway connections, there can be few complaints from these quarters about the return of Mike Scott and The Waterboys. They will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the legendary Fisherman’s Blues album (recorded in An Spideál) at the end of the year, but if they can repeat the energy and enthusiasm of their 2012 Westport set they should ensure quite a buzz around the superb 400-acre site.
The grounds of Westport House looked as though they were perfectly designed for a music festival 12 months ago and it’s a delightful prospect for Galway music fans to have such an eclectic mixture of artists performing just a few kilometres up the road again.
It’s not just about Irish acts, either, as they have added the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and 1980s superstars ABC to the main stage bill for the Saturday night. The prospect of seeing veteran Cuban musicians belting out the tunes, next to a historic old castle, really whets the appetite following the fine Afrocubism gig at the Galway Arts Festival’s Big Top a couple of summers ago.
Few will begrudge a return to the main stage for Imelda May, either, after her storming rockabilly set 12 months ago. It was the Dublin singer’s last gig before she gave birth to her first child and all the more memorable for the sense of joy her band brought to the set.
The Sunday night bill will be headlined by Elvis Costello and The Imposters, who rarely visit the West of Ireland, while there should also be plenty of 1980s nostalgia in the air when veterans Squeeze take to the same stage earlier in the evening.
There is a strong Galway presence at the Mayo festival, too, with performances by both The Stunning and gifted Athenry singer Julie Feeney on the Marquee Stage on the Saturday; while the new Galway band, The Cabin Collective, play the main outdoor arena on the Sunday afternoon.
The Cabin Collective must have mighty connections, because they got their music career off to a flying start with an appearance on RTÉ’s Late Late Show before producing a full live set at An Taibhdhearc in Galway for two nights during Cúírt.
This eight-piece have become known as a West of Ireland ‘super group’. The musicians who make up the band need no introduction as they include Leo Moran of The Saw Doctors, Tuam native Noelie McDonnell, former Waterboy Anthony Thistlewaite (who now lives in Gort) and Keith Mullins.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Folk duo Niall Teague and Pádraic Joyce are launching their new album What Will We Be, a blend of folk, Americana and acoustic music, this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in An Taibhdhearc.
The success of their well-received 2020 release Taobh le Taobh, as well as recent successes at the Pan Celtic and Oireachtas Song Contests, spurred the duo on to record this new album which represents many years of collaboration and musical development.
It features Niall and Pádraic on vocals, harmonies, and acoustic guitars, Maidhc Ó hÉanaigh on double bass and Neil Fitzgibbon on fiddle. The catchy title track, What Will We Be, features contributions from percussionist Jim Higgins (The Stunning, Christy Moore, Paul Brady) and haunting, driving melodies on vocals, guitar, and fiddle.
Themes of love and hope are woven through Come Away with Me which features interplay between piano and fiddle as well as rich vocal harmonies.
People, places, and broken dreams are celebrated and lamented on Martin and Tom, Guitar Gold, Memories of You and Achill Island. The influence of David Henry Thoreau’s novel Walden features on the tracks Simple and Wise and Walden, with the beauty of nature, escape and simple pleasures at their core.
The album moves from minimalistic folk ballads such as Galway Ghost to swirling, string-laden arrangements on the song Neptune, both of which are influenced by maritime tales from Galway. Much of the work on this album was supported by the Arts Council, including work with musical arranger Eoin Corcoran and the string ensemble Treo.
The album will be launched this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in an Taibhdhearc. Tickets €22, plus booking fee at Eventbrite.ie.
Dunmore is the place to be this weekend for lovers of traditional music, as the Galway County Fleadh will take place there from this Friday, May 19, to Sunday, May 23.
It is 10 years since Dunmore last hosted a fleadh and the local Comhaltas branch, which has re-formed since Covid, is looking forward to facilitating this gathering of music, song, dance and craic.
The official Opening Concert will take place in Dunmore Town Hall this Friday at 8pm with the acclaimed Mulcahy family from Limerick. Mick, Louise and Michelle are well known throughout the country, thanks to their live performances, television appearances and numerous CDs. They were the winners of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Grúpa Ceoil Award for 2023. Tickets for their concert can be purchased on the door and a great night of music is promised.
Two days of competitions will kick off this Saturday at the town’s Community School, with more than 1,500 competitors taking part. Participants will be hoping to qualify for the Connacht Fleadh 2023, which will be held in Ballina, County Mayo, from June 23 to July 2.
Competitions for those aged Under 10, Under 12 and Under 15 will be held in a large variety of instruments on Saturday, as well as in singing and Comhrá Gaeilge. Sunday’s competitions will be for the Under 18 and Over 18 ages groups, as well as in dancing.
On both days a large entry is expected for Grúpaí Cheoil and Céilí Band competitions across all age groups.
Seventeen Comhaltas branches from across Galway will have participants in this weekend’s competitions, which will result in a large number of visitors to the Dunmore area.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the competitions, which offer a great opportunity to hear and see the talent on display. There will be sessions in local pubs over the weekend as well and everybody is welcome to attend these.
For more information on the County Fleadh, go to www.galwaycomhaltas.ie.
Music for Galway’s concert with renowned Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia which had been due to take place on April 27 but which had to be deferred, will now take place next Tuesday, May 23, at 8pm, in the Emily Anderson Concert Hall at the University of Galway.
This concert of German classics with Bach at its core, will brings the Bach element of Music for Galway’s 41st season to an end.
This world-class pianist who won the famous Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, has a repertoire that spans many eras from baroque to contemporary and he is widely known for his elaborate programmes. Cédric Pescia describes music as ‘language and movement at the same time’.
Audiences will have a chance to experience his soft, clear touch as he performs a programme for solo piano that will include classics such as Schumann’s popular Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), a suite of nine short pieces, and the penultimate of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, No. 31. These pieces will be interspersed with French Suites by Bach.
■ Ticket for Cédric Pescia’s concert are available at www.musicforgalway.ie, or by phone 091 705962 and on the door on the night. They cost €20/€18. The price for fulltime students of all ages is €6 while MfG Friends can avail of the friends’ rate of €16.
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