Galway bands go down a blast at Wesport Festival

Veteran singer Elvis Costello might have been a little bit liberal with the truth when he told the 12,000 revellers in a Mayo field that they were “better than Glastonbury”, but he certainly encapsulated the wonderful atmosphere of the second Westport Festival of Music when bringing the festivities to an end on Sunday night.

The English rock star with Irish roots flew to Ireland West Airport directly from the famed English music festival and, seemingly like everyone else in the grounds of Westport House, was blown away by the relaxed attitude during Ireland’s most laid-back music festival.

Costello, who has been a musical legend since the mid-1970s, produced a storming set laced with hard-hitting political songs while enjoying wonderful banter with the fans between songs.

The pristine grounds of Westport House proved to be a big hit during the inaugural event last year and the festival managed to win over another healthy crowd, even if it was apparent that the line-up was slightly weaker than last year.

Another man to embrace the spirit of the festival was veteran Christy Moore, who headlined the main stage on Saturday night. After playing some of his massive hits, getting the crowd to sing along to the likes of Lisdoonvarna, he headed into the centre of the town for a spontaneous session in the pub owned by Matt Molloy of The Chieftains.

The pub was jammed to the rafters and the whole town seemed to go wild. Christy, being Christy, made sure not to be too predictable, either, and his version of Hurt, made famous by the late Johnny Cash, was another highlight.

Magically, barring a couple of hours before the gates re-opened on Sunday morning, the rain stayed away for the entire weekend. Entertainment was spread over four stages, including a new Comedy Tent and a Róisín Dubh stage for up-and-coming bands.

The Comedy Tent lost out by being a bit too close to the music, but that did not stop a huge crowd from enjoying Apres Match star Barry Murphy’s take on German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday afternoon.

The Róisín’s stage provided a wonderful diversion from the entertainment in the main arena and was the scene for one of the weekend’s best sets as Dublin dance merchants LE Galaxie produced a stunning visual and musical show. Delorentos managed an equally enjoyable set in the same courtyard on Sunday night while Donegal band In Their Thousands brought two bus-loads of ecstatic supporters for the biggest gig of their careers so far.

There was some repetition from the inaugural festival, with The Waterboys, Imelda May, Damien Dempsey, and the Clew Bay Pipe Band all returning to an event where they made a big impression 12 months ago.

Former Galway residents, The Waterboys rocked the main stage with a set laced with old classics while the Clew Bay Pipe Band packed a tent with enthusiastic locals before being joined on stage by Mundy, Damien Dempsey, and local hero Matt Molloy.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.