'Guitarfest' to take place in West Cork next month

A ‘GUITARFEST’ is to take centre stage in West Cork next month with a range of outdoor and virtual performances celebrating some of Ireland's greatest musicians.

Now in its 17th year, the Clonakilty International Guitar Festival (CIGF) is set to return this year for an extended period of ten days.

Organisers are aiming to once again electrify the streets of the coastal town with the sweet sound of six strings.

Taking place from September 10-19, the festival promises to celebrate the virtuosos, the three-chord heroes, the freak-out noiseniks and the bedroom noodlers.

Joined by some of Ireland's most exciting and innovative independent musicians, the festival will stage outdoor performances, virtual premieres as well as hybrid gigs that will be live-streamed with an audience.

Speaking ahead of this year’s Festival, co-organiser Ray Blackwell said:

“We can’t cram like sardines into every nook and cranny of Clonakilty as in previous festivals, so we’ve expanded the length of the event by three days.

“This way we can continue to honour the depth and diversity of approaches to guitar playing that has been the bedrock of CIGF since our first event back in 2005.” 

The programme welcomes John Spillane, John Francis Flynn, Windings, Dani Larkin, Clare Sands, Pretty Happy, Kyle Macaulay and Nicole Ní Dhubhshláine, and Red Sun Alert amongst others. 

It will also see virtual premieres of work from Eve Clague, Joshua Burnside and Laura Quirke, Lonely and the Moose, Myles O’Reilly.

A new addition this year is the Guitartown Cinema which is a roving outdoor cinema that allows audiences to experience the online festival in a way that recreates pre-pandemic gatherings.

The festival will also continue its longstanding association with Culture Night on Friday 17 of September, with some special events.

Tickets to the in-person performances will be limited and go on sale at 10am on Friday at www.clonguitarfest.com.

All of the festival's events have been prepared in compliance with current health and safety measures.

See the full programme here.