No Signal are an energetic 5 piece alt rock band from all over West Cork. Coming up on their year anniversary together, they formed at the Born to Perform music youth club in Leap, and what a year it’s been. Rocking the stages of Connollys of Leap, De Barras, and Ar n-Ait, supporting local acts such as Intricate and The Bones Below, these guys are only going from strength to strength. With a demo EP of original music in the pipeline and a stacked set of grunge influenced covers, including QOTSA , Nirvana and The Pixies, this band are not to be missed. Members include: Finn Walsh, Eoin West, Ciara Coakley, Juliet Gresham and Leon Forristal.
Last Chance Coyote are a five piece band based in West Cork, consisting of Anthony Noonan of Q.U.I.E.T. Band (among others) on Drums, Ali and Stu Crampton, Vocals and Guitars who have played with numerous people over the years…and years!, Brian Hennessy on Bass who has played with far too many people to mention! Pat Crowley on Piano and Accordion of the Mary Black Band and numerous others. All are well seasoned and experienced musicians. Playing a mixture of originals and covers “a splendid time is guaranteed for all!”
Nanci Griffith & John Prine, two giants in songwriting and performance, both departed this mortal realm in the recent past. Although they leave behind a legion of fans with broken hearts, their legacy of song and story are a salve for our grief.
Join Paula K, John Fitzgerald, Ronan Archbold, Anto Noonan & Martin Kingston as they guide you through a journey of the songwriters’ music, the stories behind the songs and the feeling that maybe, just maybe, Nanci & John are with us as we come together to celebrate their legacy.
Maicín are an Irish five-piece folk rock band making what they like to call “Channel-Surf Rock”: A flickering eclectic blend of jangle pop, folk, new wave, and even boogie woogie.
Maicín began as a creative escape for songwriter Matt Hurley and drummer Aidan Kelleher, two young architects worn down by London life. What started as weekly jams to escape the mundanity of corporate life quickly became a fully fledged band. Well not quite “fully fledged”. Upon returning to Ireland, the band was completed by a mix of childhood friends and family: Darragh McNamara (bass), Méabh Fitzgerald (keys), and Ryan Daly (lead guitar).
Working with producer Oli Deakin (CMAT, Elanor Moss, Swimming Bell), the band are confidently creating a sound that is entirely their own. Equal parts angular and lush, with distorted guitars and omnichord living in precarious harmony with lap steel and harmonica. It shouldn’t work but it really does.
Their rise has been fast. In 2025, Maicín went from playing small shows in their hometown and winning the UCC’s Battle of the Bands to stepping onto legendary stages such as Barrowland Ballroom, Shepherd’s Bush Empire and Manchester’s Albert Hall. At home, they’ve played Virgin Media Park (supporting Amble), Cork City Hall, Cyprus Avenue, Coughlan’s, Roisín Dubh, Whelans, The Button Factory, The Academy (supporting Cliffords and Brógeal). Τhis year they also supported Madra Salach for a run of shows across Ireland and the UK.
For Maicín, the band is where meaning and mischief meet.
Paahto & The Bull is the guitar-duo project of Patrick “Paahto” Cummins and John Francis Flynn.
Having met and played together since 2011 and having cut their teeth at The Maple Hotel on
Dublin’s Gardiner Street, Paahto and John helped form the Irish traditional group Skipper’s Alley in
2013 and would remain long-term sparring partners and an integral cog in Dublin’s traditional and
folk music communities. Once There Was A King was another of their musical endeavours which
reached into a progressive musical space in its short-lived timespan. However, as with any
collaboration between these two players, Paahto & The Bull is beyond a meeting of two musical
minds and encompasses a very personal element.
During the covid-19 pandemic, the pair experimented with music on two guitars inspired by
Paahto’s interest in bluegrass flat-picking and John’s very original approach to accompaniment.
Beginning with just an Instagram page to post some amateur material, Paahto & The Bull decided
to take the project more seriously and gradually worked towards recording an album with the help
of Brendan Jenkinson and Ben Rawlins. The ethos for the duo has always been to focus on
simplicity and only features the musicians playing their guitars despite them both being multi-
instrumentalists and singers.
The music of Paahto & The Bull is a very honest reflection of the unique kind of sound that
Cummins and Flynn have consistently created with each other over the past fifteen years and,
although one might have expected their initial release to be a banjo/guitar product, the lateral
thinking that went into choosing a guitar duet is also very in line with the particular flavour of
progressive that these lads strive for. The statement is firm: “This is what we play. This is how we
play. And this is what we are going to play.”
Having signed with Claddagh Records in late 2025, Paahto & The Bull will be releasing their debut
album during 2026.
“Waveflyer are a five piece alternative rock band from Cork, Ireland. Formed in March 2025, they have been gigging in live music venues across Cork, Kerry and Galway ever since. They feature a female lead line-up with Molly Brosnan on vocals, Hannah Holmes on guitar, Zoe Thornhill on drums, Muireann Ní Loinsigh on violin and Ernest Sirins on bass. Writing about issues such as women’s health care, mental health struggles and navigating life as a young adult they are in the middle of recording their debut EP.”
Clonakilty-based indie rock band Intricate release their debut single “Getting Close” on May 29th. The track explores the uncertainty of your twenties, capturing the feeling of moving forward while quietly questioning whether you’re on the right path.
Recorded locally at Wavefield Studios, the track blends melodic indie rock with influences from artists such as The Kooks and Sam Fender.
“This song is about feeling stuck but still hopeful,” says vocalist Andrew Whelton. “We’re really proud of it, and we feel lucky to be among a small number of West Cork bands putting ourselves out there.”
The band have already begun to build momentum, recently supporting The Frames at DeBarras in Clonakilty—the same venue where they will launch their debut single “Getting Close”.
Jordan Lively is a traditional guitarist, singer, and songwriter from Mayobridge, County Down. Having been introduced to traditional music through the work of Scottish guitarist Tony McManus, he went on to study Irish music at the University of Limerick and now works as a full time musician in Limerick City. He is a founding member of the folk band Liffey Crossing and works with a variety of artists such as Craobh Rua and Neda Nikolic. Jordan tours in Ireland and internationally, having performed across the world in countries such as Finland, Serbia, Germany, and Luxembourg. His solo work explores his interest in the sounds of contemporary and classical music through the lens of Irish traditional tunes and ballads, drawing from traditional players such as Conal O’Kane and Dàibhidh Stiùbhard to composers like Satie.
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.
Tulca are a Cork-based 5 piece band. Rooted in folk and infused with elements
of rock and jazz, their music puts a fresh face on a classic sound. They are
comprised of five close friends and it is their tightly knit bond that is at the heart
of their music, bringing a raw intimacy to their lyrics and instrumentation.
TULCA is a tide of creativity pushing forward a whole new wave of music.