Music festival returns to Macroom after 40 years
Macroom is set to return to its roots with a new festival set to take place in the West Cork town this summer.
Taking place on Saturday 24 June, Macroom Music Fest recalls the very first open-air music festival in Ireland, The Macroom Mountain Dew Festival, which ran from 1976 until 1982 and brought the likes of Cork legend Rory Gallagher to West Cork.
Macroom is enjoying a new lease of life since the bypass was opened, which is celebrated by the arrival of this new music festival featuring The Franks & Walters, Riptide Movement and Mundy as headline acts.
Macroom Music Fest is the first event to take advantage of the freedom from traffic the bypass has given the town. While The first Mountain Dew Festival was held in the castle grounds, today Macroom Music Fest will proudly return to the gates of the Castle in the Square in Macroom town.
Festival organiser Killian Lynch says: “Macroom Music festival is an outdoor music concert to celebrate Macroom town being bypassed on 10 December 2022. The people of Macroom got their town back on that date and an opportunity to showcase it to its full potential and this is just one of the things we are doing.
“This concert is just the start and will be one of many to follow. We felt what a better way to celebrate, only to have a concert for all. Macroom is a market town in the centre of the scenic Lee Valley and has a large community feel about. It is great to see a real buzz around Macroom town now.”
The multi-platinum artist Mundy will take to the stage on day one of the festival. Mundy began his career on the energetic Dublin busking scene before signing to Sony. His single ‘To You I Bestow’ off his debut album ‘Jelly Legs' was then featured on Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’. Since then, he has gone on to release 8 further albums and toured extensively with artists such as Neil Young, R.E.M., Oasis, Emmylou Harris, and The Pogues.
The Riptide Movement are a gold-selling, Choice-nominated, number 1 rock band from Dublin. With five studio albums to their name and a string of hit songs including ‘All Works Out’, ‘You & I’, ‘Elephant in the Room’, ‘Changeling’ and ‘Something Special’.
The Frank and Walters are Cork legends and one of the most recognizable alternative rock bands since the ‘90s. Featuring Paul Linehan (lead vocal & bass), Ashley Keating (drums) Rory Murphy (lead guitar) and Cian Corbett (keyboards), they took the band name in honour of two eccentric Cork characters. Decades on from the release of their very first record, and the Franks continue to play to big audiences. With indie hits such as ‘Fashion Crisis Hits New York’ and ‘After All’, only a handful of bands anywhere in the world can lay claim to such longevity.
Tickets are €34.50 plus booking fee available at www.macroommusicfest.ie.