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Sam Clague (guitar), Ultan Lavery (organ) and Jim Christy (drums) explore some classic organ trio repertoire and a selection of jazz, blues and boogaloo tunes from a funkier time.

Chris, a Clonakilty native who has emigrated to the UK, has been floating around the music scene for 18 years, gracing many pubs in Clonakilty from DeBarras to Faheys and everywhere in between.

Inspired by folk styles, Chris plays a mix of acoustic style covers and originals.

On his return to the Clonakilty stage after a long hiatus, he is extremely excited to play an acoustic set at the Clonakilty Community Resource Centre.

An idiosyncratic, challenging and richly lyrical singer/ songwriter, Junior Brother is the pseudonym of Co. Kerry, Ireland singer Ronan Kealy. Chosen as The Irish Times’ Best Irish Act of 2019 and nominated for the 2019 Choice Music Prize for Album of the Year, Junior Brother has built a rabid following thanks to unmissable live shows, and music both excitingly forward-looking and anciently evocative. His strange stories unfold with reckless abandon upon a distinctive guitar and foot tambourine accompaniment, influenced as much by the avant-garde as music from the Middle Ages and his home place in rural Ireland.

In addition to earning a Choice Music Prize nomination, Junior Brother’s trailblazing debut album “Pull The Right Rope”, also saw Kealy garner two nominations at the 2019 RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards, for Best Folk Album and Best Emerging Folk Act. Similarly, vigorous approval from modern-day Irish figureheads such as the Rubberbandits and Cillian Murphy has furthered Junior Brother’s stock, the latter playing Junior Brother several times on his BBC Radio 6 Music Show. Along-side further airplay, his television performances include appearances on RTÉ’s the Tommy Tiernan show, Other Voices and the Choice Music Prize Awards night in Vicar Street.

PRAISE FOR THE GREAT IRISH FAMINE

“Wry songs of anxiety and frustration”
The Guardian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[An] unfiltered acoustic mix of neuroses, loss of innocence and religious oppression…Truly unforgettable”
Mojo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Junior Brother’s The Great Irish Famine captures the range of feelings we face when learning our place in an increasingly shaky world built on a foundation of tragedy.”
PopMatters

“More ambitious than his debut, an ambition met”
The Thin Air ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“The songs of ‘The Great Irish Famine’ are from a shaken world, songs that can be both cathartic and comic, personal and universal”
Songlines ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Magnificent…A strange but wonderful trip”
Hot Press ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Monks – Back in the habit……..

Multi-instrumentalist Rawney (a.k.a. Ciarán Calnan) is an independent artist hailing from the musical melting pot of Clonakilty in West Cork. Having played in various bands from the age of twelve, most notably Setmaker, he has been focusing on solo endeavours of late and his debut EP Say It Loud is due for release on 8th July 2022.

Rawney’s sound is a blend of rock, indie, folk and pop which has drawn comparisons to some of his influences including The Frames, Mic Christopher, Incubus, Foo Fighters and Stereophonics.

Renowned for his powerful vocals and energetic live performances, Rawney has honed his craft over the past decade by performing hundreds of gigs, both at home and abroad, at various venues and festivals in Ireland, Australia, Canada, Vietnam and Spain. Songs which were written and initially performed on an acoustic guitar got a new lease of life in the studio, resulting in an exciting full band sound throughout this long anticipated debut solo release.

Recorded, produced, mixed and mastered with Brian Casey (John Blek, Rowan, Clare Sands, Tiz McNamara, Paradox) in Wavefield Recording Studios in Clonakilty, this collection of songs has been brewing for almost four years. Rawney takes on the vocals, guitars and drums himself while Casey adds his magic touch on bass, electric guitar and keys. The EP also features the talented Dolcie Keogh on violin, a partnership rekindled from their Setmaker days.

Themes of speaking up, addiction, the pitfalls of social media and not making rash decisions are touched upon over the course of the EP, and with songs in the bank, expect plenty more to come down the line.

Maija Sofia is a musician and writer from the rural west of Ireland. Her first album ‘Bath Time’ was nominated for the Choice Prize. Her new album ‘True Love’, released in September 2023 is a suite of experimental songs exploring states of devotion, mysticism and excess. It was praised in The Quietus as being  “about real people, alive and dead, and the power of objects, substances, time and place. It is the work of someone with an enviable talent, and it deserves a lot of love.” She has toured extensively, opening for Sharon Van Etten, Julian Baker, and Mega Bog amongst others and has been commissioned to write new music for the National Concert Hall, Cork Midsummer Festival, Solas Nua in Washington DC, Sirius Arts Centre, The DOCK and Dublin Digital Radio. She is a recipient of the Next Generation award and her poetry has been published in The Stinging Fly and Banshee.

Gamelan is the rich and ancient musical traditional of Indonesia using bronze gongs, xylophones, metallophones and other tuned percussion to create a shimmering texture and powerful resonance. It is a mesmerising sonic experience and west Cork is lucky to house the only Irish gamelan outside of a university city. These unique (no two sets are alike) hand-forged instruments are equally impressive visually, as they are intricately carved and brightly coloured. The listener will hear repertoire from the court tradition of the city of Surakarta, central Java, mixed with arrangements of Irish music, and new compositions.
For this concert at CIGF, musical director Kevin McNally will feature on a specially-designed fretless guitar in order to better match the unique tuning of the gamelan

Gamelan Spréacha Geala (Bright Sparks Gamelan) are a non-professional, community music group based in Skibbereen, new members are always welcome. It is part of the Wellbeing Network and supported by Cork ETB, Music Alive, Skibbereen Family Resource Centre and Cork Mental Health Services.

REVERB – A free outdoor performance in Spillers Lane on Sat 23rd

hear some of our local musicians who have won prizes at the recent Fleadh Ceoil.

Having spent the last 20 years living and performing in San Francisco and New Orleans, Jenny Mac returned to her native Clonakilty in Spring this year and makes her debut live performance in CIGF 2023. (She was one of the featured artists in the virtual CGIF 2020 with a live broadcast from New Orleans with John Roniger)

An impressive, versatile and extremely talented vocalist, Jenny honed her craft under the watchful eyes of Mossie Shanley, Noel Redding & Carole Appleby performing regularly in Shanleys and De Barras for 15 years before moving stateside. Jenny has guested with artists such as Hot House Flowers, Christy Dignam, Don Baker and Donovan and her repertoire is a nostalgic collection of jazz n’ blues, country rock and 60s and 70s classics.  Jenny and her band perform in Shanleys bar at 11pm on Friday, 22^nd of September: Be prepared for a proper “Mac attack!”