- Culture
- 04 Apr 01
Aer Rianta’s Annual Arts Festival takes place this year from the 6th to the 12th of February at Dublin Airport. Now in its seventh year, the festival is a massive undertaking and is the first and only event of its kind to take place at an airport terminal, anywhere in the world. Featuring both performing and visual arts, this year’s festival promises to be the most ambitious and exciting to date and a quick glance at the impressive line-up should confirm exactly why, writes Colm O’Hare.
Scheduled to appear at this year’s event are performers of the calibre of Aslan, Frances Black, Jimmy McCarthy, Mick Hanly, Ray Lynam, Something Happens and The Revenants. Two recent comedy shows which have taken Dublin by storm are also featured: Jon Kenny and Pat Short in One Hell Of A Do and Eamonn Morrissey in his one-man show, One For The Road. The visual Arts will be catered for by 66 different artists exhibiting over three hundred paintings and sculptures. The final day of the festival, Saturday 12th February will be Family Day with scores of zany happenings and fun for the all the family including The Lambert Puppet Theatre, Face-painting, Carriage Rides, Children’s Disco etc.
All of the events are totally free of charge and there’ll be full bar and catering facilities provided during the course of the festival. A special reduced parking charge of £2 will be available to people attending the event, representing excellent value against the normal parking charge.
Last year over twenty thousand people attended the Aer Rianta Arts Festival and this year’s event is expected to exceed that number. This is, of course, in addition to the approximately 140,000 people who will be travelling through the airport during festival week and the seven thousand people who are employed at the Airport. Over two thousand people alone made the journey out to Dublin Airport last year to see A Woman’s Heart in concert, causing traffic jams right back to the roundabout on the main Dublin/Belfast road. This year’s big crowd-pullers are likely to be Aslan (headlining on the Friday night) and Something Happens, so the advice is: get there early!
The festival is divided broadly between the visual and performing arts. This year the format of the shows on the main stage in the Departures concourse will be based on theme nights. Beginning on the Sunday Night with Light Opera, the shows continue right through the week with a different slant each night designed to cater for all tastes in music. Monday features cabaret music, there’s country music on Tuesday, Irish singer/songwriters on Wednesday, and cutting edge rock on Thursday. Friday has been designated “International Platform” night and is sure to draw the biggest crowds, with Aslan headlining.
The festival was conceived initially to involve the local community and to give the airport an added boost during the normally quiet month of February. It also aimed to provide a showcase for Irish artists and performers as well as local community groups. It has now grown to become one of the cultural highlights on the arts calendar and is the biggest free gig of the year! No mean feat for such a young event.
Flight the power!
Billy McGuinness tells Colm O’Hare the plane truth.
Aslan's rise to prominence in the last six months has been nothing short of phenomenal. The band broke up amid controversy and recriminations at the height of their first run of success and it looked like they'd be consigned to the history books.
After five years and one day apart, they got together for a supposedly one-off gig in Finglas. Sensing that the old magic was still there, they quickly went into a studio, put down a couple of new songs on tape and the result, 'Crazy World' was their biggest ever hit and is now destined to become a classic Irish pop single.
It's been one of the most played songs on Irish radio and, over three months after its release, it's still nestling in the upper reaches of the charts. Aslan are now poised on the brink of a major international breakthrough and the band will be headlining at Dublin Airport on Friday 11th February. As guitarist Billy McGuinness points out, it should be a very special gig for the band and their growing horde of devoted fans.
"It's our home turf," he says. "It's just up the road from Finglas and Ballymun where the band has its roots and the fact that the gig is free means everyone can come along and help make it a great night. I was there last year at the A Women's Heart show and it was very impressive" he continues. "The sound was really good and the stage and lighting were more than adequate. We sometimes get asked to do various benefit gigs and the PA facilities can be a problem, but Aer Rianta seemed to have spared no expense in transforming the place into a real rock venue.”
The timing of the show couldn't be better for Aslan either. The new single, the follow-up to 'Crazy World', will be released on 4th February. Entitled 'Where's The Sun' it's destined to be as big, if not bigger than its predecessor and the band will be going into overdrive on the promotional front in the wake of its release.
"I think we'll be doing about a half-dozen or more TV slots including Kenny Live, Beatbox and The Den to promote the single," he says. "Then we're heading to America on the 14th February. We'll be playing a special showcase gig in New York in a club called Tramps. It holds about a thousand people and all the big record companies will be there."
Aslan are now being handled in the States by Bud Prager of ESP Management, a music industry heavyweight who also looks after supergroups like Foreigner among others.
"If things go well in the States," says Bill, "we could be spending the summer over there. There's even talk of doing a big show in New York for the Irish World Cup fans. That would be absolutely brilliant if it came off, but either way we're confident that this'll be a great year for Aslan."
Playing Dublin Airport will bring back fond memories to Aslan as they used to rehearse near the airport when they formed nearly twelve years ago.
"It was in an old pigsty," laughs Billy, "somewhere at the back of the airport and it cost us £5 a week to use the place. We spent about six months rehearsing solidly out there so the airport is familiar territory for the band."
This time around things will be different and Billy sees it as one of the most important gigs for Aslan this year.
"It'll be the first big show we've done since The Point on New Year's Eve," he says, "and the fact that we're headlining will make it all the more enjoyable for us. All our friends and family will be there to support us as well so it should be a great night.
"I've been through a good few airports in my time and I've never seen anything like the show at Dublin Airport," he says. "So fair play to everyone involved in the event. I'll definitely be dropping out to some of the other gigs especially the night Something Happens and The Revenants are playing."
Aslan hit the stage at 9.00pm sharp and the advice is - get out there early, it's certain to be the musical highlight of Aer Rianta Arts Week.
THE SKY’S THE LIMIT!
The man who makes it all possible speaks to Colm O’Hare
Brian Byrne is the General Manager of Aer Rianta, Dublin and is responsible for all operational and commercial activities at Dublin Airport. He is pleased with the growth of the Arts Festival and is proud of Aer Rianta’s success in improving the image of Dublin Airport.
“The Arts Festival was primarily conceived to give something back to the people of the locality and to involve them in the life of the airport,” he says. “Most people see the airport as a purely functional, commercial environment and the festival tries to make it seem a more human, more friendly and inviting place to the general public. The success of the event has exceeded all our expectations and it will continue as long as it remains popular with the public.”
Dublin Airport has gone through a period of rapid growth in recent years and in 1993 catered for 5.9 million passengers – a figure which is expected to be exceeded this year. This has meant increasing pressure on the facilities at the airport, causing air travel to become more stressful than it was in the past. Brian Byrne is aware of the extra strain put on travellers in recent years . . .
“Our job as airport operators is to give the customer as pleasant and enjoyable an experience as possible while travelling, with the least amount of inconvenience” he explains. “We don’t always succeed every time on all fronts but we are constantly trying to improve the conditions and the atmosphere at the airport. In a major survey of airports we come out in the top six every time and we were the first airport to achieve the ISO 9002 Recognised Quality System Award.
“The Arts Festival is just one aspect of our continuing commitment to Dublin Airport and to the surrounding hinterland,” he adds. We hope people who haven’t been at the airport for a while might come out and have a look around and partake of the festivities.”
The Festival is held in February because it’s traditionally the quietest time of the year at the airport making it easier to stage such an event.
“Obviously, we couldn’t hold the festival if it had an adverse affect on the smooth running of the airport,” he says, “but the airport is normally at its quietest at this time of year. The staff, too, get a great buzz out of organising and participating in the festival and it gives them a much-needed boost in morale as well.”
Brian also stresses that the Arts Festival is just one of the special events which are designed to make the airport a more welcoming place.
“This is not the only event we organise,” he says, “but it certainly is the biggest. We’ve just had a successful Christmas display which was very favourably received. In fact, we left it in place a few days longer than normal to facilitate Perry Como and his people who came in through the airport to film his Christmas Show. Dublin Airport is now recognised as the number one Christmas airport in terms of the effort undertaken to decorate the terminal and make it welcoming for Irish people returning home, as well as for visitors.
“And for the World Cup next year we’ll be doing something special,” he concludes. “We’re already planning to decorate the airport in an appropriate manner. You can take it from me – we’ll definitely be getting into the spirit of things.”
WHAT’S GOIN’ ON...
A HANDY GUIDE TO THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SEVENTH AER RIANTA ANNUAL ARTS FESTIVAL
The music on offer at this year’s Aer Rianta Festival continues the high standard set by previous years. The main performances take place at the large open space to the left of the Departures floor, where a huge stage and PA and lighting rig is installed. There will be limited seating provided and the shows are scheduled to begin at 9.00pm each night (except for Sunday’s show which starts at 8.00pm)
• Sunday Night opens with a Light Opera evening featuring Nigel Lees-Williams (bass) Cara O’Sullivan (soprano) Niall Morris (tenor) and Mark Armstrong (piano).
• Monday sees Dickie Rock, Eurovision singer, certified hearthrob and the man who taught Johnny Rotten to gob, take the stage. He has been entertaining the yound and the young at heart for many years now and knows how to put on a show, so prepare to swoon!
• Tuesday features Ray Lynam – without question Ireland’s No.1 male country singer and an artist who has brought new credibility to Irish country music in a career spanning almost two decades. Having recorded ten albums and twenty singles to date, Ray has played at the Wembley Country Festival no less than 13 times and last year toured the States, the UK and around Ireland. A new album is expected from Ray in April this year featuring tracks by Irish songwriters and he plans to return to the US for some more dates later in the year.
• Wednesday is a real treat for fans of Irish artists working in the singer/songwriter idiom, with a triple bill featuring Mick Hanly, Jimmy McCarthy and Frances Black. With ‘Past The Point Of Rescue’, Mick Hanly has the unique distinction of writing The Most Played Country Song on American Radio last year and he’ll be performing material from his recent, critically acclaimed album Happy Like This. Jimmy McCarthy is best known as the writer of songs such as ‘Ride On’, a hit for Christy Moore and ‘No Frontiers’, recorded by Mary Black. He’s an accomplished live performer as well and this will be an opportunity to see one of Ireland’s most successful songwriters at work. Frances Black has recently parted company with Kieran Goss after a successful couple of years together. One of the songs she recorded with Kieran Goss was included on the Woman’s Heart album and until recently Frances has been featured on the never-ending tour of that successful show. With a new band in tow, she is about to launch a fully fledged solo career and she should prove a popular choice with the crowds.
• Thursday is for connoisseurs of guitar driven rock with a double bill of two of the most popular live bands around. Something Happens, have already released three albums, toured America and Europe and are currently working on new material. The band released one of the Irish singles of the year with last years ‘CC Incidentally’ and they’ve been consistently favoured by the critics, both live and on record. The Revenants were formed out of the ashes of The Stars Of Heaven and their debut album on Hunter S. Records, Horse Of A Different Colour was widely acclaimed on its release, making the Hot Press critics’ album of the year list. Their current single ‘Marry Money’ is garnering considerable airplay and the immediate future is looking bright for the band.
• Friday sees local heroes, Aslan take the stage in the Departures area. The speed of their success since their rejuvenation last year has been nothing short of phenomenal. The single ‘Crazy World’ is one of the most played songs on Irish radio since its release – in fact one of the most played ever – and their new single is due for release on Feb 3rd. Hailing as they do from the Finglas/Ballymun area, just down the road from the Airport, this is a real coup for the Festival and the place is sure to be stuffed to the rafters for their performance.
WHAT A MEZZ!
The Mezzanine bar on the Departures floor of Dublin Airport will be re-christened “Club Mezz” for the duration of the Arts Festival and it offers some tasty music, featuring mainly up-and-coming bands each night during the event.
Monday night kicks off with The Wilde Oscars, a Dublin band whose sound has been described as “a melting pot of electric and acoustic funk with a heavy jazz and reggae influence.” The band were chosen as finalists in the Coca Cola/Beatbox new bands challenge last year and their 5-track demo Food received extensive airplay on national and local radio.
Tuesday at the ‘Mezz’ sees the brilliant and eclectic Harvest Ministers take the stage. The Ministers, fronted by the enigmatic William Merriman, have been a consistently solid live draw on the local gigging circuit since their formation five years ago. Signed to the U.K.-based indie label Sarah, the band released their full-scale debut album Little Dark Mansion to widespread critical acclaim and it was voted No.12 in the Hot Press Top 30 albums of 1993. The band also featured on the recent HMV Unplugged live CD recorded at the Sunday afternoon sessions in the Grafton St store.
Interference provide the entertainment on Wednesday night. This band have had rock hacks rummaging through their reference books in an effort to describe or categorise their multi-faceted and highly original sound. With a mix of rap, hip-hop, jazz, intertwined with classic rock and funk, Interference have worked with everyone from Liam O’Maonlai to Maria McKee and the band featured lead singer Fergus’ 88-year-old grandmother on their first EP ‘Looking For Someone’.
On Thursday, Freres Jackman and the International Elevators bring their unique brand of pop, ska and reggae-tinged tunes to The Mezz. Signed to the delightfully named Mickey Rourke’s Fridge record label, their mini-album Dropped was released on the summer solstice last year but the band strongly deny any affinity with hippies! Continuing in this esoteric vein, they completed a tour of the Shetland Islands last year and they plan to visit there again this year for the traditional burning of the boats ceremony.
The final gig at the Mezz features The Mary Janes. Described by the NME last year as “heralding the arrival of grunge-folk,” they had a busy year which was nicely rounded off by supporting both An Emotional Fish and The Sawdoctors. This year looks even more promising for the three piece. Signed to Hunter S. Records (home of The Revenants) The Mary Janes plan to record their debut LP in March.
So there it is. A week’s worth of the best in new music. Remember the gigs at “Club Mezz” are totally free of charge and start at 8pm each evening.
JANE SAYS...
...COME UP AND SEE US SOMETIME! PREFERABLY ON 11th FEBRUARY
Judging by their hectic gigging schedule, The Mary Janes are one of the hardest working bands in the country. Last year they played over two-hundred gigs including Féile, Fleadh Mór and a mini-tour of Britain. This year the Dublin-based three-piece hope to record their debut album – if they get the time!
Formed less than two years ago they’ve attracted much record company interest but are in no hurry to get tied up with a major label, preferring to team up with Hunter S. Records, the Irish independent label who’ve already released the critically acclaimed debut by The Revenants.
The Mary Janes headline at The Mezz on Friday 11th February and are sure to round off the week of gigs with a rousing display of melodic, acoustic pop fare.
Singer and guitar player, Mic Christopher admits to being a bit apprehensive when he heard the band would be playing a gig being staged at the airport but is now looking forward to the show.
“Yeah, it’ll be a bit strange playing at an airport terminal,” he ponders. “Most bands just pass through them so it’ll be nice to spend a bit longer there than we normally would. We’ll be there on the same night Aslan are playing so there should be a good buzz out there on the night. The place will probably be stuffed to the rafters.”
Not that The Mary Janes are strangers to airports these days. The band were special guests at the Hot Press-sponsored Irish rock weekend at The Venue in London last week where they joined a host of Irish hopefuls, including Engine Alley, The Revenants and The Big Geraniums.
The Mary Janes are known for their beautifully crafted melodies, soaring vocals and reflective lyrics but surprisingly enough they don’t have a drummer.
“We did have a drummer once,” says Mic, “but he absconded and joined a showband so we didn’t bother getting a replacement. We’ve managed to get along quite well without one and it actually suits our sound which is kind of folk-rock I suppose.”
Not having a skin-basher in tow has the added advantage of reducing sound problems and leaving more room in the transit van for the other band members. A considerable benefit to a band touring as much as The Mary Janes do these days.
“It’s much easier to set up the gear and get the soundcheck over with,” agrees Mic. “I wonder do drummers ever realise all the trouble they cause. Whether it’s in the studio spending hours trying to get that ‘perfect snare sound’, or on the road trying to mike up the kit? Drum machines were probably invented by a frustrated sound engineer,” he laughs.
Whatever about the relative merits of being drummerless, The Mary Janes won’t be short of rhythm when they hit the stage at 8.00pm on Friday 11th February at “The Mezz”. Be there.
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AIRWAYS TO HEAVEN
Niall Toner on country music in the departure lounge
Country Music is arguably the fastest growing form of popular music in the nineties with superstars like Garth Brooks and Mary Chapin-Carpenter outselling some of the more established rock and pop stars.
It’s always been popular in this country and Niall Toner has been flying the flag for country music in Ireland for longer than most. Having played in a variety of combos down through the years, the best known being the humorously-monikered Hank Halfhead and The Rambling Turkeys, he’s also a radio presenter and has written country music columns for various publications over the years.
Niall performed at last year’s Aer Rianta Arts Festival and is looking forward to a return visit this year. He’ll actually be putting in two appearances at this year’s event in two separate guises.
On Wednesday 9th February at 10.00am he’ll be getting together with a couple of friends and special guests for an acoustic session up on the Mezzanine.
“It’s something I do from time to time and I enjoy it immensely,” he says. “I’ll be joining a few friends and we’ll be doing an all-acoustic set. It’ll be mainly country blues and bluegrass, that sort of stuff, and it normally goes down very well with the airport audiences. Though we sometimes get funny looks from foreigners who might not be expecting to hear country music at an Irish airport,” he adds. “Some of them probably think they’ve been diverted to Nashville.” (laughs)
On Thursday 10th at lunchtime he’ll be wearing his Hank Halfhead hat on the main stage at the Departures Area. “With Hank Halfhead and The Rambling Turkeys it’ll be one hundred percent original material,” he says. “We’re in the process of recording our debut album which will be out later this year and we’ll be doing songs from that as well as lots of other stuff. So it should be a great gig, I know all the band are excited about the show.”
Niall is more used to doing late nights at Bad Bob’s or the famous sessions at The Harcourt Hotel. How does Dublin Airport as a venue compare with his normal run of gigs?
“Well obviously there isn’t as much drink flowing around at the airport as there would be at most of my regular gigs but apart from that it’s great,” he says. “I’ve actually played at the airport at a couple of special occasions in the last year and it’s a gig I really enjoy. I have to say as well,” he continues, “that I thoroughly support the concept of a company like Aer Rianta supporting the arts in this way. They’ve done a great job in developing the festival and all credit should be given to them.”
ENDLESS ART
Are you just a philistine (the non–art–lover, that is, not the band). Then wing your way to the Gateway To Art exhibition and enjoy a sheer art attack...
A significant feature of the Aer Rianta Arts Festival is the Gateway To Art exhibition which has now expanded to become one of the biggest group art shows in the country. Since 1988 over 170 artists have exhibited at the event and this year’s show will feature the work of sixty-six artists and include almost three hundred paintings and sculptures.
The show attracts the attention of many people who wouldn’t normally go into a gallery and is designed to cater for all tastes in visual arts. The works of art will be for sale to the public and of particular benefit to the artists is the fact that Aer Rianta don’t take commission on any of the sales made. It is a big draw for first-time buyers of art – indeed many buyers have made their first ever purchase of art at the Gateway to Art exhibition. The paintings and sculptures will be displayed in the long corridor, known as the Link Building, to the right of the Departures area.
A unique aspect of this year’s show will be the inclusion of the work of a specially selected young and previously unheralded aspiring artist. This gives the artist concerned the opportunity to exhibit along with more established artists and the chance to showcase his or her work in a major exhibition. The year’s featured artist will be Deirdre Dunne, a graduate of the Crawford College of Art and Design. Her work will be located on the Arrivals Concourse and this will be displayed under the theme of Link To The Future.
The full list of artists exhibiting in the Gateway To Art show reads as follows:
John Behan • Liam Belton • Carmel Benson • Basil Blackshaw • Veronica Bolay • Michael Boran • Colm Brennan • Vincent Browne • Campbell Bruce • Linda Brukner • Michael Bulfin • John Burke • Mary Burke • Joe Butler • Eithne Carr • Maria Clark • Peter Collis • Paul Colman • Oliver Comerford • Jackie Cooney • John Coyle • Gerard Cox • William Crozier • Cliodhna Cussen • Rosaleen Davey • Mickey Donnelly • Rita Duffy • Michael Duhan • Seamus Dunbar • Bill Fallover • Leo Higgins • Lucy Hill • Raphael Hynes • Sarah Iremonger • Peter Jones • Eithne Jordan • Dick Joynt • Michael Kane • Helena Kelly • David Kinane • Ann Lynch • Brian Maguire • Catherine McCormack • Eileen McDonagh • Shane McDonnell • Sean McSweeney • Nick Miller • Paddy Moloney • Gwen O’Dowd • Margaret O’Hagan • Niall O’Neill • Stephen Rothschild • Noel Scullion • Dermot Seymour • Neil Shawcross • John Shinnors • Bob Sloan • Joseph Sloan • Paki Smith • Jacqueline Stanley • Imogen Stuart • Donald Teskey • Michael Verdon • Una Walker • Samuel Walsh • Christine Wyss
Ten songs about airports
but not food!
1. Jet Paul McCartney & Wings
2. Airport The Motors
3. Jet Airliner Steve Miller Band
4. Leaving On A Jet Plane Peter, Paul & Mary
5. This Flight Tonight Nazareth
6. Luton Airport Cats UK
7. I'm Mandy, Fly Me 10cc
8. On The Wings Of Love Jeffrey Osborne
9. Bennie and The Jets Elton John
10. Skywriter Jackson Five