West Is Best

Shane MacGowan, Richard Thompson, Aimee Mann, Beth Orton, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Ron Sexsmith, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Pucho and his Latin Soul Brothers. Just a small sampling of the myriad of musical attractions on offer at this year s Galway Arts Festival, which runs from July 18th to July 30th inclusive. Home grown acts appearing in Galway this year include Sharon Shannon, The Walls, Brendan Power, Mike McGoldrick & Band and Solas among a host of others, while a packed programme of theatre, film, dance and children s events should see Galway retain its reputation as the most exciting arts festival in Europe

A Very Brief History
This year marks the 23rd year of the festival which started life back in 1978 when Sawdoctors manager Ollie Jennings and a group of friends involved in the thriving University Arts scene got together to run a week long series of events. Since them the Festival has gone from strength to strength attracting upwards of 60,000 visitors to the city each year. Galway Arts Festival 2000, marks the inaugural festival of new director Rose Parkinson, the fourth person to hold this position in the festival s twenty-three years on the stage.
This year s theatre programme at Galway features a wealth of performers from Europe, Asia, America and Australia and juxtaposes the work of established artists with new younger companies.
Highlights include the first ever visit to Ireland of the world renowned Steppenwolf Theatre Company from Chicago with their production of the Tony Award winning Sideman by Warren Leight. Sideman can be seen during the first week of the festival, from Tuesday 18th to Saturday 22nd July at the Black Box Theatre and is presented in association with the Irish Times. Along with Chicago s most established company, the festival will also feature its newest Irish Repertory of Chicago present Eugene O Neill s masterpiece Long Day s Journey Into Night which transfers to Galway directly from its Chicago premier. Starring veteran stage and television actor John Mahoney, Long Day s Journey Into Night is presented in Galway from Monday 24th to Sunday 30th July in the Town Hall Theatre.
New Irish work is a strong feature of this year s festival, with Galway s Macnas Theatre Company presenting the world premier of The Lost Days Of Ollie Deasy, which reunites the creative team behind their last major theatre show Diamonds In The Soil. Directed by Mikel Murfi and designed by the Macnas design team led by artist Patrick O Reilly, The Lost Days Of Ollie Deasy is at Leisureland from Wednesday 19th to Sunday 30th July. Other Irish work featured at the festival includes Bedrock with Ken Harmon s Wideboy Gospel and Pan Pan Theatre who present their devised piece Standoffish, while Galway shows include Little John Nee with The Ballad Of Jah Kettle, Druid with their second Druid Debut which showcases the work of new writers and actors, and a Galway Youth Theatre take on Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet.
European theatre is represented by the Franco-Chilean Teatro del Silencio with the radical and challenging Alice Underground which breaks through the barriers separating drama, dance, theatre and circus, and Spain s Increpacion Danza who present F.G.L. (oidos de Lorca) a beautiful and evocative tribute suite to Lorca which fuses contemporary dance and Flamenco. Teatro del Silencio perform at the festival in their own Silencio Tent from Wednesday 26th to Saturday 29th July, while Increpacion Danza appear in Galway for one night only, on Tuesday 18th July in the Town Hall Theatre.
From Korea, PMC Production Company present Cookin , a spectacular and exhilarating show that will explode onto the Town Hall stage from Thursday 20th to Saturday 22nd July. Brilliantly staged, Cookin blends drumming, dance and theatre and is one for all the family.
Some of the UK s most exciting and innovative companies make their Irish debuts at this years festival, with Frantic Assembly presenting their acclaimed Sell Out combining physical theatre and textual drama in high energy performance. Sell Out is at the Black Box Studio on Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th July. Also from the UK, Stan s CafH present the shortest event of the festival It s Your Film lasts for just one hundred and eighty seconds and is performed each time to an audience of just one, and Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding premier their new surreal comedy-theatre performance Auto Boosh at Cuba on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd July.

The Great Outdoors
International outdoor spectacle features some of the best of Australian physical and street theatre visiting Ireland for the first time. Companies featured include Stalker Theatre Company with Fast Ground where stilt-dancers, a saxophonist and a percussionist present a spectacular choreography, while Erth Visual & Physical Inc. present two shows; Waterheads, a quirky walkabout event and Gargoyles, an aerial performance piece. Also from Australia come Blue Boys with a surrealist window theatre event, performed each day in Moons window and Chrome who will wander the streets of Galway interacting with all, willing or not... These Australian shows are sponsored by National Irish Bank and supported by the Australian Embassy.
All manners of creatures and things of the air take flight in this year s festival parade, Listening Wind, performed by Macnas on Sunday 23rd July at 6pm throughout the streets of Galway. Macnas are supported by Thermo King Europe. All outdoor events are again sponsored by Millennium Festivals, which is supported by the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation and by the National Millennium Committee.

Film Fleadh
Once again the Galway Film Fleadh which runs from from July 11th-16th boasts an exceptional programme of Irish European and international cinema.
Galway s reputation as the foremost festival of Irish film is confirmed with a competitive programme of new Irish shorts new Irish animation and new Irish documentaries. There is an exciting programme of new Irish feature documentaries including Shimmy Marcus powerful and entertaining work Aidan Walsh Master of the Universe, SE Merry Doyle s Alive Alive O and Peter Canning s Patrick Cary Filmmaker. This timely work celebrates the life and work of the Dublin-born cameraman who died in 1993.
Nature is the main theme of this year s Fleadh. It will show two programmes of Paddy Carey s exceptional films Yeats Country and Waves. Also included in the Nature theme is the Greek film Earth And Water, the Iranian Colour Of Paradise and Terence Mallick s classic Days Of Heaven.
Included in the international programme is the European premiere of the charming American film Goat On Fire and Smiling Fish International Documentaries include the Canadian film Grass which presents a humorous and balanced history of recreational marijuana use in the late 20th century. Long Night s Journey Into Day examines the stories of human suffering behind the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa.
Coinciding with the Film Fleadh will be a series of debates masterclasses and seminars The EU backed Fleadh Fair which runs over three days will give Irish and European film makers a rare opportunity to meet with international producers, sales agents and distributors.

Music at Galway Arts Festival
As always, music of all genres and persuasions forms a major component of the Galway Arts Festival and this year is no exception with a stunning range of international, Irish and local acts blending together.

Aimee Mann
The recent successes of the soundtrack to the movie Magnolia and her own solo album Bachelor No 2 have rightly restored Aimee Mann to the limelight following a fallow period. Having suffered the indignity of her record company refusing to release Bachelor No 2, Mann eventually issued the album through her official web-site. Following huge critical acclaim it has sold well. Blessed with the voice of an angel and an unerrring abilty to spin melancholia into hummable hooks this is one not to be missed.
Aimee Mann plays The Warwick on 18th July.

The Blind Boys of Alabama
Anyone who witnessed their Dublin shows last summer will testify that the Blind Boys of Alabama are one of the most electrifying touring acts in the world today. They ve toured with everyone from Al Green to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and they never fail to set audiences alights. A spiritual experience in every sense of the word and not to be missed.
The Blind Boys of Alabama play the Augustinian Church on Thursday July 20th.

Beth Orton
Three albums into her solo career, Orton is now established as one of British music s leading lights. Her most recent album Central Reservation topped many critics list of best album of 1999. A hypnotic, mesmerising performer this is a rare chance to see her in a solo setting
Beth Orton plays the Black Box on Friday 28th July.

Richard Thompson
Needing little introduction to Irish audiences, Richard Thompson is widely acknowledged as the single most influential British songwriter/guitarist working today. His career stretches back over thirty years to his days with classic UK folk/rock collective Fairport Convention. His most recent album Mock Tudor was rightly hailed as a classic and one of his best. Thompson is an exhilarating live performer. Expect to hear his much covered song Galway To Graceland when he visits the City of The Tribes.
Richard Thompson plays the Black Box on Saturday 29th July.

Shane MacGowan
Described (by his own official webesite no less) as that man of many words and few teeth , Shane MacGowan has been releasing music in some shape or other for over 20 years now. From the early punk days of The Nipple Erectors through his wild days with The Pogues up to his current band The Popes MacGowan is now recognised as a singularly gifted songwriter and interpreter of the much maligned ballad tradition. With an impressive body of work to call on, his live shows are never less than celebratory affairs.
Shane MacGowan plays The Black Box on July 30th.

Ron Sexsmith
A regular visitor to these shores, Sexsmith made his Irish debut with a memorable show at the Roisin Dubh during the 1996 festival. Now with three critically acclaimed albums under his belt, Sexsmith has gained a well deserved reputation as a sensitive lyricist and accomplished songwriter.
Ron Sexsmith plays the Roisin Dubh on Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th July.

The Walls
With a new album (Hi-Lo) just released Steve and Joe are back, with a funkier, fresher sound, but also with their knack for writing great melodies and tunes intact. Live they are a formidable unit: tight, together and grooving.
The Walls play The Warwick on Thursday 27th July.

Sharon Shannon
Discovered by Mike Scott of the Waterboys in the late eighties when he recorded in Galway, Sharon Shannon has become one of the most distinctive and inspired instrumentalists to have emerged from the traditional scene. With four solo albums to her credit she continues to tour the world extensively. For these two festival performances she will be joined by her band and some very special guests.
Sharon Shannon plays the Roisin Dubh on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July.

Food & Drink in Galway
As well as being the undoubted cultural and artistic capital of Ireland Galway is also a drinker s heaven. The sheer abundance, variety and close proximity of drinking establishments around the centre of the city makes it worth visiting at any time of the year. Galway pubs are unique, user friendly and most offer entertainment of one sort or another from impromptu traditional music sessions to live bands and DJ s.
Dominick Street is an area which in recent years has become one of the liveliest stretches in Galway. (To get there cross the Wolfe Tone Bridge at the end of Quay Street, take the first turn right and stroll a few paces up by the canal). One of the best known pubs in Dominick Street is Taylor s Bar, an inviting premises with traditional dicor and one of the largest beer gardens in Galway. Taylors have music on tap most nights which varies between traditional, folk, country and Cajun.

Sword Security
When it comes to the successful staging of an event such as the Galway Arts Festival safety and security are of paramount importance. Sword Security are a Galway-based security services company managed by a professionally trained and experienced management team. Sword is one of the West of Ireland s leading suppliers of event security personnel. They are the sole providers of security to the Galway Racecourse Festival, one of the largest racemeetings in Europe and their clients have also included MCD, Black Box events and numerous other promotion and event agencies.

Mulligan Records
One of the best known record shops in the West of Ireland, Mulligan Records (based at 5 Middle Street Court in the centre of the city) boasts one of the most comprehensive selections of Traditional, Folk, Jazz, Blues, and World music to be found anywhere. With expert staff on hand to help you source that hard-to-find album, Mulligan is well worth a visit the next time you re in Galway.