Festival News

Don’t want to jinx it but if you’re heading along to see The Zutons and the rest, it looks like we’re actually going to get a decent festival weekend.

According to Met Éireann, it’ll be around 18 degrees all weekend in Clare, a wee bit cloudy today, less cloudy tomorrow and actually sunny on Sunday. Insane.

Ok so summer’s over - the schools and colleges are back, it’s getting cold and the traffic’s crap. But at least Autumn brings the Cork Jazz Festival.

Over the October bank holiday weekend, the People’s Republic will host non-stop music in 80 clubs, pubs and hotels. Over 1,000 musicians from 29 countries will perform at the 2009 event.

The line-up’s just been announced and very good it is too, with acts like the legendary saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and The Fun Lovin’ Criminals (pictured) topping the bill. Even if you’re not mad into jazz, there are loads of fringe events and the weekend is always fantastic craic.

Check out the full details here.

Ireland’s favourite funk-soul brothers (and sister) Republic of Loose will play the Mayo festival next month, as will Daithí Ó Drónaí (the electro-fiddle playing kid off The All-Ireland Talent Show).

Also on the bill are classical guitarist Redmond O’Toole, trad two-piece Seamus Begley and Jim Murray and alt-folk singer-songwriter Adrian Crowley.

The festival website is a bit primitive at the moment but here’s a PDF of the full timetable.

Or ‘Fharraige’, as they persist in spelling it.

Lots of local companies are getting in on the act. Dolphin Watch Carrigaholt will offer two hour boat trips to see and learn about dolphins, seabirds and seals.

Three-time Irish Kitesurfing Champion Ryan Coote will be on the beach in Kilkee teaching people how to fly kites and to master the art of Kite-surfing. He will be giving lessons and kite-surfing demonstrations from 1pm to 6pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

Be warned that this stuff is not included in the price of a Cois Fharraige ticket. A local diving company are offering special rates for any festival goers who want to try out scuba diving.

Met Éireann’s hedging its bets as the biggest festival weekend of the year kicks off.

Today, it’ll be cool and blustery, with sunny spells and scattered showers, including some heavy showers in some places, which will become more isolated later. Well that’s helpful.

It’ll become cloudier tonight, with lows of 9 to 12 degrees. As for Saturday - you’ve guessed, it - sunny spells and scattered showers. “Cool and rather cloudy over all but some sunshine breaking through in some places. Breezy at times.”

Right so it’ll be either cloudy or sunny and probably it’ll be either dry or rainy. Meteorology is such a precise science…

Maybe all the meteorologists have upped sticks for Stradbally and just made a load of stuff up before they left!

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The hour has come to start scheduling and making the agonising choices. Looking at Friday’s timetable, will you chose MGMT (pictured) or Dinosaur Jr? And what about that Orbital/Rodrigo Y Gabriela clash?

Saturday also presents a few dilemmas. Lisa Hannigan and Bat for Lashes are both on at the same time, in a celebrity death match of the ethereal singer-songwriters. And if you’re feeling old skool around 10.30pm, be warned that you can’t see Chic and Madness. As for Sunday, if you’re sticking things out to the end, it’ll be a toss-up between Basement Jaxx and Flaming Lips when it comes to headliners.

Apart from the music, times are also up now for the comedy acts, debate, film and all the other stuff.

The Galway Americana Festival is back after a year off in 2008, and it kicks off on September 10. Expect bluegrass, country, blues, cajun, Americana, old-timey and rockabilly galore.

Free gigs and pay-in events will take place all around the city in venues like the Róisín Dubh, Monroes and The Crane Bar - as well as the odd seisiún. Full details here.

The organisers want to demonstrate the common musical heritage American roots music shares with Irish trad - and where better place to do so than the capital of de Wesht?

Electric Picnic has never been a magnet for trance heads but this year’s line-up is particularly, well, gentle.

Never fear, Planetlove is here, bringing a mightily impressive array of house-hold names (geddit?) to Shane’s Castle, Co Antrim this Saturday, September 5.

Paul van Dyck, Judge Jules, ATB, Fedde le Grand and Marco V will top the bill but there’s also rakes of British and Irish talent at this one-day extravaganza.

Tickets are £44.95 from Ticketmaster.

Contrary to what the national airwaves might indicate, there are actually other festivals on this weekend.

From Friday ’til Sunday, jazz, blues and bluegrass bands from all over America and the wider world will descend on Monaghan town for the Harvest Blues Festival.

The fantastic King Pleasure and The Biscuit Boys will bring their 1940s-style rhythm and blues to the festival’s main stage on Friday, while Saturday’s bill is topped by Seattle blues-rock outfit Too Slim and the Tail Draggers. There’ll also be loads of gigs in the pubs around the town.

It’s €50 for all three night’s at the main stage or €20 per night. Ticket info here.

It’s only a recession-busting €89 for a weekend camping ticket for Cois Fharraige if you book before this Monday, September 1.

If you book after that, it’s €99.

Among the bands on the bill are The Zutons, Doves, Stereo MCs and Newton Faulkner, not to mention homegrown talent like Jerry Fish (pictured) and his Mudbugs, Laura Izibor and - of course - the Saw Doctors.

The festival takes place in Kilkee, Co Clare from September 11 to 13. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.