Justin Grounds: ‘Francesco’ 20 year anniversary show
In 2005 composer, violinist and songwriter Justin Grounds left home with a bag of clothes, a guitar some recording gear , a camera and a dream to dive deeply into a long journey, both inward and outward, living the songs and letting them guide his path. Over more than a year his journey found him writing poetry from the top of a rock in Joshua Tree, singing with monks on a mountain in Oahu, writing songs with Hawaii band The Girlas in a candlelit Kawa bar, squatting in a Hollywood apartment, living in a community for the menatally handicapped, putting on a gig in a local homeless shelter in the gritty downtown eastside of Vancouver, and wondering around San Francisco with a few dollars in his pocket, but a heart full of doves. Settling in an old farmhouse near Melbourne, Australia, he put down roots for a while and pieced together the songs and recordings he had made along the way.
The record ‘Francesco’ is a musical document of a young artist finding his vision in the world, and was released on the Creative Vibes label in Australia in 2006, gaining acclaim and reviews likening it to Jeff Buckley and Nick Drake. The striking final song on this eclectic record, recorded in front of two microphones in a dark Canadian studio at midnight, seemes to sum up all that has come before it; “Time…it brings jewels and it brings pain/And sometimes they’re the same.”
Grounds settled in Clonakilty, Ireland in 2008 and quickly became a part of the vibrant music scene here, as a violinist and collaborator, which saw his musical vision expand to the eclectic range of work he produces today, both in his studio and in the community at large.
This special one-off show is a celebration of the record that started his musical journey 20 years ago, and the songs that grew out of a deep yearning and love for the world he found, in all it’s raggedness and beauty. Grounds will be joined by 2 special guests – Marcus Flack (drums) who helped produce and mix ‘Francesco’ back in 2006, and is coming in from Amsterdam; and bassist Dodge Paterson (OUTRI), who has collaborated with Grounds in many projects over the last 25 years, and is coming in from Newcastle UK.
Reared on the highlands of south Monaghan with dubious politics and the odd ballad, the Marron brothers channelled their political radicalisation into haphazard noise they call music.
Fearing they hit a wall, the brothers stumbled across the wizard of mid Louth, James Luckie.
Now with the unstoppable folk configuration of two brothers and another fella they have been described by Hot Press as “if Woody Guthrie joined The Velvet Underground,” the band have denied these rumours claiming it sounds more like a mangled badger got into a scrap with James Luckie.
If you like pints, pageantry and political indoctrination, you might just tolerate Porter Boys Social Club on their quest to make ballads loud, punk catchy and debauchery fashionable again.
The Gladstone Band is a trad and folk trio formed in 2024 in Dublin, and is made up of brothers Adam and Patrick Hutton, Tim Sheridan, and Jamie Kealy. Their stripped-back, high-energy sound harkens back to that of the early Dubliners, while their layered harmonies recall musicians such as Stan Rogers. They play a mix of traditional and folk standards, alongside their own original repertoire.
Growing up in a household in which music was easy to come by, the Huttons naturally began playing music in their local pub scene. The bilingual Irish-English group originally played with guitar and concertina before adding fiddle player Tim Sheridan in early 2025 and drummer Jamie Kealy in December of 2025.
In less than two years since consolidating their line-up, the band has sold out their headline show at Whelan’s Upstairs venue in December 2025 and sold out a single release show at the Cobblestone in April 2025. The band has also done support slots at The Grand Social (Main Room) and at Workman’s. The group has played events such as Dublin Tradfest 2026, Banjo & Bovril Festival 2026, Whelan’s (Trad and Folk Festival 2025), and Electric Picnic 2025 (Hazelwood Stage and Puball Gaeilge). The group was personally selected by theTG4 production team to record for their “Beo ó EP” TVshow, featuring on episodes aired 31/08/25 and 04/01/2026. The group has also appeared on Irish language radio stations such as RTÉ Radio na Gaeltachta and Radio na Life.
The group recently performed in London for St Patrick’s Day and is booked to play multiple festivals across Ireland this summer, such as Electric Picnic 2026, Éalú Le Grá, Féile Solas, Clonakilty Guitar Fest, and Skerries Tradfest. The group has also recorded an album with Jejune Recording Studios, which will be released in stages over the summer months. Finally, the band is organising a small tour of Ireland in the autumn, which will include venues in Clonakiltyand Sandinos in Derry City.
Forty-five years ago Doc MacLean was playing Charlie Patton songs in Son House’s Rochester, New York living room. More recently he’s been self driving across Africa with a battered National guitar and a small PA, playing theatres, concert venues, and sometimes in places where things are burning by the sides of the road. In the north, it’s been steady touring of Ireland, the UK, Canada and the United States.
Doc started on the Flying Fish label out of Chicago. With his musical partner, Colin Linden (Dylan, The Band, T-Bone Burnett, Keb Mo’), he played, toured and recorded with Sam Chatmon’s Barbeque Boys, Blind John Davis, Little Brother Montgomery, Sunnyland Slim, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee…Opened shows for Muddy Waters, John Hammond, Jr., Johnny Winter…
Now a celebrated, solo storyteller-songwriter in the delta tradition, Doc performs as many as 200 shows annually across Canada, United States, Ireland, UK, and greater southern Africa. An excellent, real deal, festival, small theatre and small venue opportunity.
Drifting. Late nights. Neon. Put your bets on the Dark Horse: Be part of the tour. Songs and stories. Blues from the dark side of the road. Doc’s 4th Irish tour.
“The soundtrack to Sin City…” – Rolling Stone
“An emotional re-mapping of the delta blues…” – Blues Revue Magazine
“Real deal, dig this show…” – New Depression
“A consummate storyteller…” – People
Negro Impacto are the independent Irish duo who have been quietly setting the standard for alternative RnB and against-the-grain artistry in the Irish
music scene. With the mesmerising vocals and writing style of Chi-chi and the genre-bending production of multi-instrumentalist StrangeLove, their fast
trajectory and indie sound has been capturing people’s attention near and far. What started as a casual collaboration after meeting at a skatepark has
grown into one of Ireland’s most exciting contemporary music acts. The Dundalk natives draw inspiration from a diverse range of influences including the likes of Tyler, The Creator, The Internet, Frank Ocean, DJ Harrison, Steve Lacy and genres spanning gospel, rock, soul and beyond.
Their live performances showcase a collaborative synergy that extends well beyond Chi-chi and StrangeLove, in the shape of their live band. The quality
sound and highly entertaining show of Negro Impacto has allowed them to grace stages at the likes of Primavera Pro Barcelona and Other Voices, while supporting acts like Madness, Ojerime, and STRFKR.
Over the past 18 months, Negro Impacto have hit milestone after milestone – from a standout performance at the Mladi Jazz Festival in Prague to stages in London, Electric Picnic, and a special invite to perform for the President of Ireland at Áras an Uachtaráin. Their 2024 single FANGIRL earned them their first Spotify Fresh Finds UK & IE cover, followed by 1800, which made them cover stars of Spotify’s FREE FORM playlist and landed them a placement in the FX Network comedy series Adults (EP1) as well as the in-store H&M playlist. 2025 has seen the RTÉ 2FM Rising alumni level up again – with festival slots from Forbidden Fruit to All Together Now, We’ve Only Just Begun to Beyond the Pale and a rapidly expanding international presence. Their sophomore EP ‘TV Dreams’ (independent release) has racked up over 600k streams and counting. This project is a masterful exploration of genre, musicality and lyricism, opening the door for even more fans to step into their world.
Nightdress are an indie folk band with a strong undercurrent of rock, their sound a smooth combination of the grit of Radiohead and the raw vulnerability of Big Thief. The Cork four piece weave their own style, driven by emotion and storytelling.
Moonset are an indie rock band from Cork. Their sound draws influence from artists such as Wolf Alice, Paramore and Boygenius delivering energetic yet emotional music.
In the early 1980s, Artie Silver was everywhere. His face was on every bus in town. On April 5th, 1983, his life was turned upside down when he returned to his home from an international tour a day early to surprise his wife, Sharon, only to find her in bed with his then business manager, Carl Weathers. With his personal life and finances in tatters, he tried to continue performing but was clearly broken and spent much of the concerts crying and whimpering. Fans lost interest in him and he evaporated from the public eye for much of the 90s and 2000s. Now he has begun to rebuild his career singing songs of the betrayal and loneliness that riddles the world of business.
the Scoil na mBuachaillí public debut of ’We Can Be Stars’ – written for George Lowden by the students of SNAMB in grattiude for George’s gift of a guitar to the school last year a ‘Sheeran’ by Lowden Acoustic Guitars
Join the Cigf25 Festival Allstars for a raucous Blues Session at the legendary Fahey’s Bar! This event pays homage to the rich heritage of blues music, which originated in African-American communities in the Deep South following the Civil War. The blues is deeply rooted in the soulful expressions of work songs, spirituals, and field hollers, capturing the essence of the struggles and triumphs of everyday life.
