23rd January 2015
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
The 6th Annual Ballincollig Winter Music Festival, running from Thursday 29th January to Monday 2nd February, will see over 70 musicians descend on the town for what promises to be a five day celebration of music featuring the very best of national and international talent.
Headline acts confirmed for Upstairs @ The White Horse, Ballincollig’s nationally renowned music venue, include Martin Hayes and Steve Cooney on Thursday 29th; Chieftain Matt Molloy with John Carty and Arty McGlynn on Friday 30th; Dublin based award winning songstress Cathy Davey on Saturday 31st. Laoise Kelly and Tiarnán Ó’Duinnchinn will perform a special afternoon concert on Sunday 1st February with Cór Chúil Aodha and The Four Star Trio; while seminal Irish band, Hothouse Flowers, with very special guest Drew Holcomb, will bring the headline concerts to a close on Sunday night.
The five day festival is also jam packed with the very best of Irish traditional music, and will feature the likes of Matt Cranitch and Jackie Daly, Brian Morrissey, and The Céili Allstars, amongst a host of others – the majority of which will perform in free sessions over the weekend.
Joe Carey, organiser of the Ballincollig Winter Music Festival said “We have an incredible line-up of acts. Audiences will get a chance to see the likes of the Hothouse Flowers and Cathy Davey up close and personal in the intimate setting, Upstairs @ The White Horse. This makes for a unique and highly charged atmosphere, to the benefit of both performer and audience member.”
All in all, this edition of The Ballincollig Winter Music Festival boasts a rich bounty for those with a love of world class music, cementing the fact that Ballincollig is the place to be once again in late January.
The Festival, now a steadfast in the calendar for music lovers in Cork, has also been highly regarded over the years for its educational and community focus, and this year proves no exception, with workshops, masterclasses, presentations and Music In Community projects planned from start to finish.
Music In Community or MIC, is a not-for-profit initiative established by Joe Carey from The White Horse, along with musician Joe Philpott and Cork Youth Orchestra Chairman, Adrian O’Mahony, that aims to shine a musical light into all corners of the community, and promotes, manages, and facilitates music of all genres. Headline performer Liam Ó’Maonlaí from Hothouse Flowers will accompany MIC into the community of Ballincollig on Monday 2nd February to interact with the Westgate Foundation and Headway, amongst others.
Speaking about the initiative, Festival organiser, Joe Carey said “Through Music in Community, our aim is to utilise music to combat disadvantage among the young, the old and the socially disadvantaged and to encourage their greater integration and social inclusion within the local community.”
Tickets are on sale now. For more information please see www.tickets.ie or call 021 4871388.
Members of the Fuzion team (L and R) who are promoting the event.
