Music fans flock to Cork city for bumper jazz festival

LORD MAYOR Kieran McCarthy has welcomed the return of the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, saying the event “packs a punch to the heart by bringing people together”.

The world-renowned festival got underway on Thursday and runs until Monday with an extensive line-up of both ticketed and free events taking place over the next three days.

Worth over €45m to the local economy, the festival smashed all records last year, attracting more than 100,000 people to the city.

Cork Airport said it expects to welcome more than 53,000 passengers Leeside this October bank holiday weekend, with many flying in from the UK and from continental Europe for the festival.

Speaking at the launch of the jazz festival in the Metropole Hotel, the Lord Mayor said the sense of togetherness the festival fosters is more important now than ever before.

“For me, what I see in our festival are strong connections,” he said.

“It really is a community of people genuinely interested in supporting and helping each other, and that is what I would like to see more of in our communities across Cork city — stronger connections.

“Building stronger relationships comes with more opportunities to talk, share, and support each other.

“Many people have also left after enjoying their gig and learning a bit more on why community matters.

“And, dear friends, in the world we find ourselves, post covid, societal reconstruction, war, climate change, and where positive societal values such as equality are threatened, connections, empathy, and caring matters more so than ever before.

“Strengthening and building communities matters more so than ever before.

“Togetherness matters more so than ever before.

“What the festival stands for matters more so than ever before,” he said.

Mr McCarthy also reflected on how embedded the jazz festival is in the city’s history and added that the “boldness and ambition” of the festival should continue to be championed.

He concluded his comments by thanking Guinness for its long-running sponsorship of the event, the festival’s committee, and venues across the city for supporting the jazz festival.

The Lord Mayor also thanked visitors for “choosing Cork to explore and enjoy during the festival” and Corkonians “for their continued belief that the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival is very much worthy of their affection and support”.

Celebrating its 45th year, the world-renowned Guinness Cork Jazz Festival will feature more ticketed shows than ever before.

Some of the headline performances set to take place over the weekend include Kurt Elling, Morcheeba, Corinne Bailey Rae, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Jenny Greene, and many more.

Main-stage venues for the 2023 festival include the Metropole Hotel, The Everyman, Cork Opera House, Cyprus Avenue, Triskel Arts Centre, Live at St Luke’s, St Peter’s Church, and Cork City Hall.

Plenty of free events are also on offer over the weekend.

Highlights over the weekend include Jazz in Elizabeth Fort with musicians from the Music Generation programme taking to the stage from 1pm to 4pm and Jazz on the Plaza where there will be live music at Emmett Place this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon.

• For more information on this weekend’s Guinness Cork Jazz Festival 2023, or to book tickets, visit guinnesscorkjazz.com.