Skaandreggae festtohitCork
EXCITING FESTIVAL LINE-UP AT THE CRANE LANE
THE Crane Lane Theatre will host a number of exciting free gigs over the coming days under the banner of the Cork Ska and Reggae Festival.
Dedicated to bringing Cork fans of the genres the very best in new and established acts, festival organisers have put together a mouthwatering line-up of Irish and international bands for the free gigs.
Renowned for their high-energy live shows, Cork eightpiece Souldriven will set the ball rolling with a gig at the venue tonight (Thursday).
The band has been kicking down the doors and blowing the ceilings off venues across the country with their brass-infused mixture of soul, funk, jazz and blues.
The sheer musical virtuosity of band members, combined with their collective stage presence, makes each Souldriven gig an experience that is guaranteed to set toes tapping and pulses racing.
Reggae purists will be in for a real treat on Friday night when Natty Wailer and the Reggae Vibes return to Cork to play the venue.
The keyboard player with Bob Marley and the Wailers for almost a decade, Natty has also recorded and toured alongside a veritable ‘who’s who’ of the reggae scene including Familyman, Dennis Brown, Lival Thompson and Johnny Clarke.
After leaving the Wailers in 2000 Natty formed his own entourage ‘Reggae Vibes’, continuing the rich and vibrant tradition of the genre and pursuing his wider purpose of multiculturalism through his music.
St Patrick’s Day will see no less than four acts take to the stage of the venue, kicking off with a 2.30pm set by perennial Cork ska favourites Pontius Pilate and the Naildrivers.
The band, which has been playing together for the past decade, has shared the stage with such luminaries as Bad Manners, The Selecter and The Undertones and their energetic original songs fit seamlessly with note perfect covers by bands such as The Jam, The Clash, The Specials, Madness and The Beat
Whether you describe their music as punk, ska or rock is irrelevant because at the end of the day it sets toes tapping, and hearts racing, invariably bringing audiences to a frenzy of unfettered musical bliss.
This will be followed at 4.30pm by a two hours in the company of reggae/funk collective The light Runners. Featuring Congolese musicians Daniel 600 and Troca Pablo from the world famous soukous band Zaiko Langa Langa, they combine fluid vocal harmonies and tight instrumentals to produce a distinctly African tinged reggae sound.
Souldriven will return to the venue for another set at 7pm, with Cork band The Service set to bring the day’s proceedings to spectacular, foot- stomping close when they take to the stage at 9.30pm.
The band has been playing Ska, Reggae, 2-Tone and Rocksteady to appreciative audiences since 1994, packing out venues across the country with their easy sound and enigmatic stage presence.
Their two-hour set pays homage to some of the great Ska and Reggae legends covering songs by Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat and Madness.