Top-class music in Festival Big Top
Headline music acts at this year’s Galway International Arts Festival which runs from July 11-23 include Brit-pop’s Suede, with special guests Frank and Walters, who will play the Absolut Big Top on Saturday, July 23.
Suede dominated Brit-rock throughout the 1990s, with three UK number one albums and were widely lauded as the instigators of Brit-pop, paving the way for the likes of Damon Albarn and Blur, and Jarvis Cocker and Pulp.
Music fans are also in for a real treat the previous week, when Elvis Costello and his band The Imposters with special guests The Undertones take to the Big Top stage on Friday, July 15.
In a career spanning more than 35 years, Elvis Costello is probably best known for his time with The Attractions, The Imposters and for concert appearances with pianist Steve Nieve. He has collaborated with such diverse performers as Burt Bacharach, The Brodsky Quartet, Paul McCartney, record producer and songwriter T Bone Burnett, and the Roots. His global anthem She featured in the hit film Notting Hill. Derry band the Undertones are best known for their hits Teenage Kicks and My perfect Cousin, and have a reputation as a terrific live band.
The following night, July 16, Dublin band Bell X1 return to the Big Top with special guest The Academic, following a hugely successful 2015 that included a sell-out acoustic tour of Ireland and playing support to Ed Sheeran at Croke Park in July. Bell X1 with their combination of electronic music and anthemic pop rock, are one of Ireland’s most popular bands, second only to U2 in terms of radio play and, according to Billboard, the second biggest live performers. Bell X1 last played the Festival in 2011, delivering one of the most memorable Big Top concerts of recent years, and their return is much-anticipated.
The Academic, a young four-piece from Mullingar, were one of the few Irish acts to play at SXSW 2016. Their latest album Different has been nominated for a Choice Music Prize for Song of the Year.
Multi award-winners Villagers with special guest and Meteor Music Award winner Mick Flannery will share what should be a melodic bill at the Big Top on Tuesday, July 19. Villager’s Conor O’Brien is a single-minded artist with considerable songwriting powers. His most recent album Darling Arithmetic recently took home the prestigious Ivor Novello Album Award, while his 2010 debut, Becoming A Jackal and its 2013 successor Awayland were hugely acclaimed and Mercury-nominated. Awayland won Ireland’s Choice Prize while O'Brien also won an Ivor Novello in 2011 for Becoming a Jackal. Meanwhile, Cork native, Mick Flannery has been compared with songwriters such as Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen for his honest, heartfelt songs, which he delivers in an understated,powerful manner.
Imelda May and special guest Damien Dempsey will perform a double-bill in the Big Top on Thursday, July21. Imelda May’s star has risen rapidly since she released her debut album Love Tattoo in 2008. It went triple platinum in Ireland, while the singles Johnny Got A Boom Boom and Big Bad Handsome Man established her internationally.
Damien Dempsey is renowned as a fine live performer whose lyrics are delivered with passion and conviction. He has supported some of music’s most iconic performers including Bob Dylan, Sinéad O'Connor, Willie Nelson and Morrissey. Damien’s sixth studio album, Almighty Love, was a critical and popular success.
■ The Absolut Big Top shows are being presented in association with the Róisín Dubh and tickets are available from www.giaf.ie and www.roisin dubh.net, at the Festival Box Office in Galway Tourist Office, Forster Street, Galway, or phone 091 566577.