Packed line-up planned for 22nd Trad Weekend
JUST a few shorts months after the hugely successful Fleadh, Drogheda Traditional Music Weekend will bring some of the most accomplished and talented traditional musicians, singers and dancers throughout Ireland and overseas to Drogheda on the last weekend of November.
Now in its 22nd year, the festival will be held from Friday November 23rd to Sunday 25th in various locations around the town. There is a special emphasis on having sessions accessible to family audiences in various venues and a focus on traditional singing due to the strong tradition locally. This is achieved through sessions in cafes, restaurants, public venues, heritage locations and through master classes and schools programmes.
The weekend will kick off with something for the young music fans on Friday 23rd at 10am, at a Primary Schools Concert featuring Zoe Conway, John McIntyre and Mick O’Brien
The venue is Droichead Arts Centre from 10.30am – 11.30am and entry is just €5 per student.
The headline concert for the festival in honour of the late Caitlin Bean ui Cairbre will not disappoint! It also takes place at 8pm that night, featuring Mick O’Brien on uileann pipes, Tom Morrow on fiddle and Seamus Brett on keyboard with the award-winning Ward Sisters and local singers and musicians Kevin Branigan and Garret Brady. Again, it’s on in the Droichead and tickets are €15 adults / €5 children
The unique location of the Martello Tower at Millmount will host an intimate concert with Limerick sisters and multi-instrumentalists, Michelle and Louise Mulcahy with local musicians Síofra Devine at 4.30pm on Saturday with tickets priced €10 Adult / €5 Children
The late gig on Saturday will be in the Droichead Arts Centre at 8.30pm featuring The Next Generation – tickets priced €10. This traditional singing concert will feature Feilimí O’Connor, Cathal O’Neill and Stuart Carolan and will be followed by an open session which will be hosted by a group of young singers from Dublin and beyond who in the last number of years set up their own monthly singing club in the Cobblestone, Smithfield under the title “The Night that Larry was Stretched.”