New Irish Folk & Trad Music Festival announced
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| Cover of Luka Bloom |
Details of Ireland’s newest folk and traditional music festival have been announced in County Clare.
Luka Bloom, Martin Hayes, Donal Lunny, John Spillane, Steve Cooney and Hermitage Green are amongst the acts lined up to perform during the inaugural Doolin Folk Festival on June 14th to 16th 2013. Sponsored by Smithwick’s Pale Ale the three-day festival will take place on the grounds of Hotel Doolin, less than a mile from the site of the famous Lisdoonvarna Festival of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Musician and Event Promoter, Conor Byrne explained that the Festival will feature “traditional and folk musicians who have had a connection with the area over the years as well as up-and-coming, cutting-edge folk and Trad acts to the village thereby reviving Doolin’s reputation as a hub for Trad and Folk musicians.”
The Doolin Folk Festival line-up so far includes Luka Bloom, Scullion, Steve Cooney, Martin Hayes, We Banjo 3, Iarla O’Lionaird, Donal Lunny, Hermitage Green, Andy Irvine, Fidil, I Draw Slow, Beoga, John Spillane, Socks in the Frying Pan, and JP Trio with plenty more acts to be announced in the coming weeks. The festival will also feature food stalls, a traditional crafts fair and a farmers market.
Commenting on the decision to host a folk music festival in Doolin, Festival organiser and Hotel Doolin manager, Donal Minihane stated: “The festival will celebrate all that is good about music in Doolin and North Clare, further enhancing Doolin’s reputation as a centre of excellence in Traditional & Folk Music and bringing Folk music to a wider audience. We hope that this festival will be an annual event and that it will become one of the highlights of the Clare Summer Events Calendar. The festival will share the ethos of the much loved Lisdoonvarna Festival, albeit on a much smaller scale. In fact many of the artists featuring over the weekend such as Donal Lunny and Luka Bloom would have played at the original Lisdoonvarna Festivals.
“The Doolin Folk Festival has the potential to be the best Boutique Folk Festival in Ireland,” Mr. Minihane added.
“We believe we have all the ingredients in to make this a huge success. We have the right location, plenty of accommodation locally at all price ranges from camping to hostels to BB’s and hotels. We have the musical expertise and contacts, experience in running events and festivals, beautiful scenery, a reputation for traditional Irish Music that is renowned worldwide, great restaurants and pubs and other ancillary attractions such as the Cliffs, the Aran Islands and The Burren. We believe the event will be well received and supported locally and give a great boost to the area with up to 2,000 people expected in Doolin over the three days. We are particularly delighted that RTE Radio 1 has been named as the event’s official media partner,” he concluded.
Hotel Doolin is investing approximately €100,000 in three festivals during 2013, including the Doolin Folk Festival, Doolin Writers Weekend & Short Story competition from 24th to 26th May 24-26, and the second annual Doolin Craft Beer Festival August from 23-25 August.
Day and Weekend Tickets for the Doolin Folk Festival are on sale from www.ticketmaster.ie
Further information from www.doolinfolkfestival.com
New Irish Folk & Trad Music Festival announced » Irish Music Magazine:
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