Nostalgia: Music magic at Live at the Marquee in Cork since 2005

The ever-popular ‘Live at the Marquee’ (LATM) gigs kicked off this week, marking the commencement of yet another year of the concert series.

This year the famous blue and yellow striped tent is in a new location — at the former Tedcastle’s Yard on Centre Park Rd, just across the road from its previous home.

Pop trio the Sugababes were the first act to take to the stage of the 5,000 person capacity tent, with LATM finishing on June 25 with Tom Odell.

Over the next four weeks, various domestic and international acts will feature including the newly announced Theo Von, who will be performing his stand-up act on June 9.

Other new and returning acts include The Coronas, Christy Moore, Gavin James, Lyra, Ne-yo, Bicep, Van Morrison, and Bryan Adams.

Irish Artists

Speaking to The Echo earlier this week, founder of the LATM series Peter Aiken, of Aiken Promotions, commended the Irish artists who play at the venue, saying they are the “bread and butter” of LATM.

“Without the Irish acts, the marquee would never have worked, they’re the ones who keep it going,” he said.

2025 will mark a major milestone for LATM as it celebrates its 20th year.

The inaugural year in 2005 coincided with the momentous occasion of Cork as the European Capital of Culture.

Motown queen Diana Ross headed up a star-studded concert series that year which also included other international heavy hitters such as Nick Cave and Brian Wilson.

“Irish artists Van Morrison, Paul Brady and Ronan Keating are also sure to be crowd-pullers at the ‘Cork 2005: Live at the Marquee’ concerts,” an Echo article from that year said.

“Announcing the event, concert promoter Peter Aiken said that he was delighted to bring the acts to Cork, given its status as the European Capital of Culture.

“Cave performed here alongside Shane McGowan at a children’s charity benefit concert in the early nineties, and at the now-defunct Liss Ard festival, but has never performed a full gig,” the article continued.

Excitement

Speaking to this publication in March that year, Mr Aiken said: “Many of the performers have never played here before and there is a real excitement about this event. We are thrilled to be part of it.

“We are certain it will be a great success and the varied line-up ensures there is something for people of all ages and musical tastes to enjoy.”

Mr Aiken had said there was a “strong possibility” of his company promoting a major annual event in Cork given the response to the line up announcement.

“We are predicting there will be a great demand for these tickets and we see no reason why we cannot make this an annual affair,” he said.

The next year the line-up continued to impress with top international acts such as Bob Dylan and Kanye West.

Dressed in his signature Stetson hat and black coat, Dylan made his Cork debut walking on stage to the roar of 4,000 people as he opened with ‘Maggie’s Farm’.

In the summer of 2006, a year after releasing his chart-topping album The College Dropout, Kanye played two sell-out shows at the Marquee, having performed in Dublin the winter prior.

Other big names who played at LATM over the years include Lady Gaga, Jay Z, 50 Cent, and Elton John.