THE 2019 Galway Jazz Festival takes place this week, and will be officially opened this evening at 6pm in the Kitchen Café of the Galway City Museum by Connemara environmentalist and educator Leo Hallissey.
This year's festival is subtitled 'The Sustainability Edition' and represents the event's attempt to "reduce its carbon footprint, and to encourage its audience to do the same". Indeed the festival programme features suggestions on how audiences can spend a plastic free, low carbon, weekend at the various shows.
Among the international highlights are British saxophonist Trish Clowes (Saturday, 7pm, Mick Lally Theatre ); bandoneon maestro Daniele Di Bonaventura from Italy (Loam, Sunday, 5.30pm ); Norwegian hardanger fiddle supremo Nils Økland (Sunday, 8pm, St Nicholas' Collegiate Church ); and the irrepressible London Gay Big Band who come to town for a special brunch performance in Electric (Sunday, 12 noon and 3pm ).
Irish acts include guitar virtuoso Andreas Varady (Friday, 8pm, An Taibhdhearc ); drummer Sean Carpio who has created a work based around field recordings from Connemara (Saturday, 2.30pm, Mick Lally Theatre ); vocalist Lauren Kinsella with her new project 'Saoirse' (this evening at 8pm at An Taibhdhearc ); and singer Sue Rynhart (Sunday, 6pm, Mick Lally Theatre ).
All are welcome to the launch. For more information and tickets to festival shows see Galwayjazz.ie
