Kilkenny Tradfest back for 14th festival with 100 free gigs

Kilkenny Tradfest, now in its fourteenth year, is set to host its annual launch on Wednesday,  February 25,  in Paris Texas.

The festival begins on Friday, 13 March and runs until St Patrick’s Day on Tuesday, 17 March.

This year’s programme is packed with the best of traditional Irish music, sean-nós and dance, with an impressive line-up of headline acts and the popular Bulmers Music Trail featuring 100 free gigs across the city.

This small festival prides itself on consistently attracting some of the biggest and best names in Irish traditional music to Kilkenny city. This year’s headliners include Mundy, Frankie Gavin, Emma Langford, Clare Sands, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Cormac McCarthy, Aoife Ní Bhriain, Pádraig Jack, Séamus & Caoimhe Uí Flatharta, How I Became a Wave, Brian Leach and Jerry Fish.

The festival team is also happy to announce the addition of The Blackwater Céilí Band from Co. Tyrone.

They will perform for ‘An Céilí Mór’ at the Rivercourt Hotel on Sunday, 15 March at 3pm. The full programme and tickets are available at www.kilkennytradfest.com.

The Bulmers Music Trail, also known as the ‘trad trail’, forms an integral part of this festival. Consisting of over 100 free gigs, both plugged and unplugged, it offers an opportunity for everyone to experience Irish trad in some of Kilkenny’s favourite venues.

Anthony Morrisson, Kilkenny City Vintners, said, "The trail is the heart and soul of the Tradfest, filling the streets with the sound of music and bringing together local musicians with the very best from around the country in a celebration of our shared heritage and, of course, the unique place of our public houses in Irish culture. We are pleased to offer locals and visitors a chance to get up close to the music that is so deeply rooted in our heritage and to bring this fantastic line-up together once again.”

This year’s trail headline gigs include Abbeyfolk, Burnchurch, Up She Flew, Buíoch (Laois), Briars (Cork) and Two Time Polka (Cork). Organisers say people should start planning their trail today, as space is limited.

Songwriting masterclass, bodhrán and sean-nós workshops

As part of the festival, those looking to get hands-on can enjoy a range of engaging and exciting workshops and talks. Festival favourite Tommy Lanigan returns with his bodhrán workshop in Rothe House on Saturday 14 March at 4.30pm.

Emma Langford will follow up her headline gig in Cleere’s with a songwriting masterclass in the Pembroke Hotel on Sunday, 15 March at 1pm.

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Sibéal Davitt, a nationally acclaimed dancer, will host back-to-back sean-nós dancing workshops in Rothe House on Saturday 14 March at 12pm (children) and 1pm (teens and adults).

A unique addition to the programme this year is an intimate gig in Rothe House with Cork maestro Brian Leach. He fuses contemporary and electronic music with traditional Irish music and is a champion of the hammered dulcimer, a type of percussion-string instrument. Presented by Scattered Sessions, this event will feature a pre-show talk and takes place on Sunday, 15 March at 3pm.
Japanese trad band Pinch of Snuff will play The Set Theatre on Friday, 13 March at 8pm.

They are supported by the up-and-coming Connemara group Clada. The Kilfenora Céilí Band will return to the Watergate Theatre on St Patrick’s Day at 8pm, for what is becoming an annual tradition.

Tickets are available now from www.kilkennytradfest.com.

Stay up to date by following the festival on its social media channels.