THE GALWAY Sessions festival, a celebration of the folk and traditional musics of Ireland, Scotland, and America, will hold its festival club at Monroe’s The Backstage Bar.
Each night the club will open with a show, followed by a session with visiting and local musicians until late. The Galway Sessions runs from June 11 to 17.
The festival club opening night is on Wednesday June 13 at 9pm and is entitled The Atlantic Steps. It will feature sean-nós dancer Brian Cunningham and Galway trad/bluegrass/world music band Fling.
The Atlantic Pirates take to the stage on Thursday 14 at 10pm. This troupe of balladeers - James Gallagher (banjo/vocals ), Wayne Wilder (guitar/vocals ), Stephen ‘Pecker’ Dunne jr (banjo/vocals ), and Iven ‘The German’ Markquard (fiddle ) - cut their teeth on the streets of Galway and are now making their effortless transition to the live stage.
Piper Cormac Cannon, fiddler Lamond Gillespie, and pianist John Blake play the club on Saturday 16 at 10pm. The trio released their first album together, The Trip to Carrick, last year.
The festival club just might be saving the best until last when Tradiohead play on Sunday 17 at 10pm. This Galway group of Jimi McDonnell (vocals ), Philip Fogarty (accordion/bodhrán ), Pat Hargan (guitar ), and Michael Chang (fiddle, viola, mandolin ) - take the songs of Radiohead and reimagine and rework them as Irish folk and trad. They will be followed by The Amazing Apples.
Admission €5. See www.galwaysessions.com
