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Doc MacLean

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.

“Wave you arms all about and let the Lord hear you shout with West Cork’s favourite swinging jazz band! Founding members consist of dancing duo Paul and Mae, two Tonys and an Andrew; they’ve come together to bring you red hot jazz and dirty blues. Come prepared to get your soul saved and have a raucous time dancing the night away! This isn’t grandad’s jazz band, it’s Swing, You Sinners!”

Clonakilty Youth Orchestra is a dynamic and inclusive youth-led project which has been performing since 2014 under the volunteer supervision of local composer and violinist Justin Grounds. Come and hear the next generation of musicians play their take on classical, jazz and film music, featuring a special collaboration with youth choir ‘The Awesome Wonders’