Bringing Joy for a very good cause
Jinx Lennon is among the impressive line-up performing in Joy in the Park.
It’s a free event taking place this Sunday in partnership with Cork Mental Health Foundation and it’s a celebration of all of the best things in music, entertainment, community and more.
Most importantly, Joy in the Park highlights the importance of minding our mental health and well-being by bringing our community together.
The line-up is fantastic and hopefully it will also bring a rare sunny day to this miserable July.
Fitzgerald’s Park and our other public parks have remained criminally underused for big events but thankfully that has changed a little in recent years. In a music climate where venue options aren’t always many, it is logical that our parks would come into play as an option, and this weekend’s Joy in the Park will see the whole park being used to good effect.
I used to host an annual summer jam in Fitzgerald’s Park with Cork singer Gemma Sugrue and we later ran some acoustic shows every Tuesday night in around 2014. Nearly 10 years on, it’s mad to think that the likes of Cian Ducrot, Allie Sherlock and others were performing there regularly as youngsters. It was always a cool place to help showcase young talent.
Most recently I’ve regularly played or attended Africa Day there every May, which is always great, and I was also lucky enough to have hosted some events there at the tail end of the pandemic. The Good Room’s Magic Nights by the Lee were fantastic free events that also brought a diverse range of Cork’s finest acts to the park, and it was great to see such a wonderful use of the space both in summer and winter.
There have been other events there, but Joy in the Park is more than just a music and entertainment event, and it will use the whole park for various stages and points of contact for what will be a real festival vibe.
Musicwise there’s many big names. Karen Underwood, The Frank and Walters, Pontious Pilate and the NailDrivers, Aoife Scott, John Spillane, Jinx Lennon and many more are all involved, and there are a number of different stages too. Spoken word, poetry, comedy, talks and many other discussions and panels are on the agenda and in this time of global uncertainty and stress it really can’t be overemphasised how important it is for people to have such outlets at their disposal.
As I mentioned it’s very much a family friendly event too and the Circus Factory, Kinderama, Music Bingo and multiple others will be present too, with other attractions on the day including storytelling and face painting. At the stage I’m DJing at there will be some great acts such as Bubba Shakespare, Stephen James Smith, Cork Headway Choir and I’ll be joined by young rapper Burkie, who recently gained lots of attention after his ‘We Ain’t Mad At Ya’ track went semi-viral. The track was a tribute to a friend who had taken his own life, and it serves as another reminder of why conversations and events such as Joy in the Park are so important.
Joy in the Park has expanded nicely since last year so let’s hope it can continue to add momentum in the next few years. It really is a spectacular line-up and a beautiful venue too. Cork city was buzzing during the Marquee and Musgrave Park shows but I’ve spoken here repeatedly about the need for more options in what is sometimes a lopsided music calendar here.
The early summer shows and the Jazz festival continue to dominate, so it’s cool that late July will gain some added impetus too, at a time when there’s a lot of visitors around.
We’ve also got Cork Pride following quickly, so the next few weeks will be exciting.
Sadly, the weather has been terrible for ages this summer and it’s playing havoc with some of the festivals and other events. Forever Young festival took place last weekend up in Kildare and it was severely affected by the weather, and the organisers had to limit the numbers of those attending. It’s always risky running anything here, so let’s hope the weather picks up for Joy in the Park and all of the other forthcoming festivals in Ireland!
