Tribal gathering

It’s the time of year when all roads seem to lead to Galway. For culture vultures, the 29th Galway Arts Festival – long-regarded as Ireland’s largest and most prestigious annual arts festival – is a huge draw. This year’s programme is the first under the control of the festival’s new artistic director, Paul Fahy, and there's plenty of interesting stuff on offer. With the festival already under way, “sold out” notices have been popping up all over town – which is always a good sign!

The other key attraction in the west is the Galway Races, running for seven consecutive days, starting on 31 July. The races at Ballybrit have earned a worldwide reputation for feverish excitement, quality racing and, of course, great fun. Then, there’s the added bonus in the possibility of seeing government Ministers and their cronies making complete buffoons of themselves in the various hospitality tents in which they tend to hang out! Irresistible!
A record 210,000 attended the Summer Festival Meeting last year, with betting turnover in excess of €28 million, so it is a huge event that has a major impact on life in the city generally.

NASTY ON THE WAY
For both locals and those drawn to the city to participate in the big events, Galway has plenty to offer. The city’s clubbing scene is especially vibrant. At the heart of the buzz in Galway is GPO nightclub, which over the years has hosted such cutting-edge heavyweights as Fatboy Slim, Roger Sanchez and Mylo.
“We consider ourselves as innovators on the Galway clubscene,” says club promoter Fergus Mac Sweeney “The GPO is run by people who love clubs, love music and still know how to party!” Ain’t no one going to argue with that!
For these reasons, GPO will be at the centre of the late-night action during the festival season. Once that’s done, the venue is scheduled to undergo major renovation through late August and September. The former Drum Bar will be reincarnated as a state-of-the-art bar, restaurant and live venue. (Full details on www.gpo.ie)
In the meantime, the venue is open seven nights a week, providing the Galway clubbing populace with a tasty selection of quality music that covers all bases, from hip hop, house, drum ‘n’ bass and electro.
Here’s some of the likely highlights: on August 18 DJ Spinna will be at the club. The house legend’s latest album InterGalactic Soul was unleashed in May and finds Spinna reaching new heights.
Coming to GPO on August 25, meanwhile, is Billy Nasty. Quite the globe-trotter, Nasty has DJ-ed across the continents, leaving crowds breathless wherever he goes. As a result, he is one of only a handful of the more ‘underground’ DJs to have consistently featured in the annual DJ Mag Top 100. File under ‘Not To Be Missed’.
AFROBEAT COMES TO THE SAS
Galway has a long-established fascination with, and appreciation for, a diversity of musical genres. That is being taken to a higher level when Cuba host the sensational Femi Kuti and his dynamic 15-member band Positive Force at the Radisson SAS Hotel Ballroom on Sunday 6 August.
For the uninitiated, Femi is the eldest son of the late Nigerian superstar Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, who pioneered the sprawling big band of afrobeat, with his 40-strong Egypt 80 outfit. Throughout his career, Fela was a target for political persecution by the Nigerian authorities and was jailed on a number of occasions, with Femi – who became a band member at just 16 – standing memorably in for him while he was incarcerated. Inevitably, Femi, a sax player of great ability as well as a superb singer, set off on his own path, forming Positive Force in 1987. Here, he continued the afrobeat tradition with a band built around four horns and two percussionists, plus guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and four singer/dancers. Their 1989 debut album No Cause for Alarm – a raw mixture of funky soul-jazz and biting social comment – was highly acclaimed.
In 1997 Fela died, followed by the death from cancer of Femi’s sister, Sola, a founding member of The Positive Force. Sola’s place was taken by Femi’s wife Funke and the Positive Force legend has continued to grow. Fela is widely regarded as the most important musician to have emerged from Nigeria in years, and he is renowned as a wonderful live performer. Should be a great gig, then.
Of course, there’s lots more going on at Cuba’s Eyre Square HQ, with clubbing, live music and comedy all permanently on the agenda. On the club front, there’s action seven nights a week. Highlights include Lowdown – they say it’s Ireland’s most established hip hop and R’n’B night – on Wednesday and Byrno’s mix of R’n’B, hip hop and dirty pop on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
The Comedy Club takes over every Sunday night with MC Gerry Mallon (doors 8.30). As part of the Galway Arts Festival, Adam Hill features as special guest on July 30. Should be well worth seeing.
All in all, there’s more than enough to keep anyone on their toes in Galway over the coming weeks. Put on your dancing shoes and let’s go!

RACHEL CORRIE REMEMBERED
This year’s Galway Arts Festival (running until July 30) includes five world premieres and four Irish premieres, celebrating artistic innovation from Ireland and around the world. Dance performances by several leading choreographers from the USA combine with theatre, spectacle, music, comedy, literature, a widely expanded visual arts programme and the spectacular festival parade.
Christy Moore fans should take special note of the play My Name Is Rachel Corrie. This, for many sad reasons, is a timely reminder of what is happening in the Middle East, especially in view of the atrocities currently being committed by the Israeli government in the Lebanon and Gaza.
Corrie was a peace activist murdered by Israeli troops. Christy dedicated his last album Burning Times to her. My Name Is Rachel Corrie is directed by Alan Rickman. It runs at Black Box Theatre until Sunday July 30.Check out www.galwayartsfestival.com for further information.
And don't forget Project 06, the 'rival' independent festival set up by leading members of the city's artistic community. In contrast to the Arts Festival's international flavour, Project 06 hopes to tap the west's own cultural scene. The event runs in multiple venues until Sunday July 30. More details at www.project06.com
This could also be the first opportunity many visitors have to see the newly renovated Eyre Square. All in all, a very nourishing menu for anybody who values the arts and the role they continue to play in Irish life.