With over 10 free gigs, one headline event and a whole lot of foot stompin’, who needs a tent when you have Irish pubs? Top-class local, national and international folk and bluegrass acts will be playing a plethora of free gigs in venues throughout the beautiful town of Westport over the last weekend in June. Musicians and singers near and far are tuning up their instruments and soaking their vocal cords in honey (or whiskey ) in anticipation of the annual Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival.
Now in its fifth year, the festival will once again treat music lovers to a host of free gigs, as well as a music workshop, a musical lunch and a great big dollop of fun. The Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival began life as one man’s dream to create a unique festival in the town in which he lived. After running into a brick wall when trying to book singer/songwriter Jimmy McCarthy for a one-off gig in the town, Uri Kohen decided enough was enough. Westport needed to be seen as a live music destination, and he would make damn sure it would be seen that way. It might be a small place on the western edge of an island on the edge of Europe – but that didn’t stop Uri from thinking big.
And so it was that the weekend-long festival was born.
This year will feature 15 acts from different parts of the world, performing in seven different venues around the town. As the event is all about the music and fun, all the gigs are free, except for the main Saturday night show, June 25 , which will feature three top bluegrass bands playing for over five hours. And at €15, the cost is far from prohibitive.
So who’s going to be there? The who’s who of bluegrass and folk, that’s who.
