And Now Lets Look Around...

Cork Choral Festival, Cork
Filling Cork city and county with the glorious sounds of over eighty choirs from April 27 to May 1, the Cork Choral Festival includes an extensive fringe programme. Events get underway with an opening gala performance of The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace, under the baton of the composer himself, Karl Jenkins, in association with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Headline highlights include the Sirin Ensemble from Russia, and Ommm, a young French jazz quintet famed for their playful a capella experimentation. Many of the events are free, but tickets for the gala performances range from €21 to €50, depending on seating. www.corkchoral.ie

The Gathering, Maynooth, Co.Kildare
Returning to NUI Maynooth’s North Campus for a second run-out, this April 28 all-dayer features The Coronas, Mr. Hudson, The Saw Doctors, The Rubberbandits, Mickey Harte, The Minutes and Futures Apart among its first wave of acts. Tickets priced €25 for NUIM Students and €35 for everyone else are available from www.tickets.ie.

Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, Belfast
Running from April 28 to May 8 in half-a-dozen of the city’s leading venues and the specially-erected Festival Big Top, this year’s diverse line-up includes Bell X1, The Human League, Mark Steel, James Vincent McMorrow, Mary Gauthier, Mike Scott, Drive-By-Truckers, Polar Bear, Dan Sartain, Camille O’Sullivan and Cashier No. 9, who’ll be showcasing their fabulous David Holmes-produced new album. www.cqaf.com

City Of Derry Jazz And Big Band Festival, Derry
Celebrating ten years in 2011, the Derry City Jazz and Big Band Festival is hoping for a repeat of their wildly successful 2010 run, which saw a whopping 35,000 music lovers swoop into Derry. Jools Holland will be tinkling the ivories in the Millenium Forum along with his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, while The Nerve Centre plays host to a tribute night to the incomparable jazz-folk legend Joni Mitchell. Brass Jaw, Keith Harkin and The Durty Dropouts will also be laying it down, and there’s dance workshops in jive, swing and the oh-so-retro lyndy hop. Running from April 28 to May 2, tickets start at £5. www.cityofderryjazzfestival.com

Vantastival, Dunany, Co.Louth
A celebration of all things on four wheels, Vantastival returns for its second year from April 29 to May 1. As well as bringing celebrated acts like Alabama 3 and Whipping Boy to Louth, the fledgling festival has put together a stellar Irish bill that includes Miracle Bell, The Cast Of Cheers, Sweet Jane, Bipolar Empire, Windings, We Cut Corners, The Riptide Movement and The Hot Sprockets. Extra-curricular activities include a buzzing Campervan Cook Off and screenings by the Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival. A BYOB policy makes this one a wallet-friendly affair. Weekend tickets are €85. www.vantastival.com

Festival Of The Fires, Hill Of Uisneach, Co.Westmeath
Literally setting the Summer alight will be the Festival of the Fires in Co. Westmeath – a vibrant revival of Ireland’s original festival, Bealtaine. Guaranteed to get your sense of wonder tingling, Festival of the Fires mixes an awareness of tribal community and ancient ritual with exciting Irish music acts. This year’s event, on April 30, features The Saw Doctors, Republic Of Loose, Kíla, Paddy Casey, Mundy, Preachers Son, The Revellz and The Aftermath. Tickets priced €35 are available from ticketmaster.ie. www.festivalofthefires.com

Drogheda Arts Festival, Drogheda, Co.Louth
Renowned for its eclectic mix of art forms, The Drogheda Arts Festival returns from April 30 to May 3, bringing Irish and international music, poetry, art, theatre and street performance to Louth. Soundtracking the weekend will be Fidil, David Leddy, Coro Mondine and The Paramount Jazz Band, the latter jetting in from Boston for a show in the TLT. Elsewhere, the line-up includes two world premieres – a new production from Calipo Theatre Company, Pineapple by Philip McMahon, and Sounds Of The Silk Road by composer Dmitri Yanov Yanovsky, performed by the Louth Contemporary Music Society. The festival is also reclaiming Drogheda’s main thoroughfare as an urban playground, with BMX performers, free-running, skating, streetdance, beatbox and other urban arts taking over the town. Tickets range from €10 to €31, but dozens of events are free of charge.
www.droghedaartsfestival.ie

Gay Theatre Festival, Dublin
Returning for its eighth year, Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival prides itself on promoting positive gay identity and representing a multifaceted gay culture through drama, music and comedy. Taking place in seven Dublin city centre venues from May 2 to 16, this year’s programme features Irish and European premieres of productions from theatre companies in Ireland, UK, USA, Canada and Venezuela. Highlights include Under The Rainbow, a musical tribute to Liza Minelli and Take Desire Away, a powerful solo performance by star of Yes, Prime Minister and The Bill, Mansel David. With 190 performances and 34 shows crammed into a packed 16 night schedule, a perusal of the festival programme is essential. Most tickets are €15 or €10 for matinées. www.gaytheatre.ie

Life Festival, Mullingar, Co.Westmeath
Electronic and dance music fans of every hue will be making the journey to Belvedere House Gardens & Park in Mullingar from May 27 to 29 for the sixth Life extravaganza. Taking care of headlining duties and making his Irish festival bow is Detroit techno legend Jeff Mills. Among those ably supporting him are John Digweed, Dr. Lektroluv, Johnny Clarke, Slam, Michael Prophet, Neelix, Café˙del Mar, The Orb Soundsystem, Banco Di Gaia and Channel One.
Tickets priced €75 (Sunday) and €127.60 (weekend) are available from www.tickets.ie. www.life-festival.com

Cat Laughs Comedy Festival, Kilkenny
The legendary Kilkenny Cat Laughs Festival returns this June Bank holiday weekend for its 17th year (count ‘em!). Taking place from June 2 to 6 across 14 venues, the line-up for 2011 includes the ever-scandalous Tommy Tiernan, Limerick equine-inclined hip hop sensations The Rubberbandits and trash-talking funnyman Jason Byrne, as well as David O’Doherty, Neil Delamare, Andrew Maxwell, Colin Murphy, Maeve Higgins and Karl Spain. Visiting talent includes Stand Up For The Week’s Jon Richardson, Inbetweeners star Greg Davies and YouTube star Bo Burnham. Tickets range from €7 to €24.
www.thecatlaughs.com

Cold Pro, Miltown Malbay, Co.Clare
Making its bow this year is Cold Pro, a hugely promising surf, sounds and soul extravaganza, scheduled for June 4 and 5 in the brilliant surfing environs of Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare. There will be a strong emphasis on real, quality surfing, with some of Ireland’s leading lights in action, while the wanton – and wonderfully! – eclectic music line-up includes Imelda May, Jamie xx, Kate Walsh, Le Galaxie, Scott Matthews, O Emperor, Miracle Bell and Peter Hook, who together with his new band The Lights will be performing Joy Division’s classic Unknown Pleasures in its entirety. A limited number of Early Bird camping tickets are still available priced €70. www.coldpro.org

Forbidden Fruit, Dublin
Forbidden Fruit is a positively juicy new two-day festival affair set to take place on June 4 and 5, in the grounds of Dublin’s Royal Kilmainham Hospital. Proceedings on Saturday have a distinctly rock ‘n roll flavour with The Flaming Lips, Yo La Tengo, Wild Beasts, Jape, Ham Sandwich and The Phoenix Foundation all on the 'must see' list, while Aphex Twin, Battles, Jamie xx, Caribou, dan le sac Vs. Scroobius Pip and Solar Bears top Sunday’s more electronically-inclined bill. Weekend tickets are €90 from ticketmaster.ie or €49.50 a day ticket.
www.forbiddenfruit.ie

ShamRock Music Festival, Cavan
If it’s a weekend of fist-punching and air guitar solos you’re after, newbie festival ShamRock offers a celebration of the time-honoured institution of the tribute band. Providing soundalike entertainment in the Cavan Equestian Centre from June 3 to 5 will be Oasish, The Fillers, LiveWire AC/DC, The Stone Roses Experience, Metalitia, Coldplace and Greendate. Artists performing as themselves include Damien Dempsey, Republic Of Loose, Gemma Hayes and the “one and only” Chesney Hawkes. Tickets are €65 for the three days. €2 from every weekend ticket bought on the ShamRock website will be donated to Barretstown Children’s Charity. www.shamrockmusicfestival.com

Cork X Southwest, Skibereen, Co.Cork
On June 4 and 5, Cork X Southwest brings a very fine line-up indeed to the Rebel County, including Echo And The Bunnymen, Patti Smith, Yuck!, God Is An Astronaut, ‘Spider’ John Koerner, Balkan Beat Box, Mick Flannery, Fred, Favourite Sons, Nick Kelly, Joe Pug, Ivan St John, Axel Krygier and Jape, all housed in the stunning grounds of Lissard House Estate in Skibbereen. Tickets for the weekend are €95. www.corkxsw.com

Body And Soul, Clonmellon, Co.Westmeath
A spin-off from the Electric Picnic, this Westmeath festival replicates the quirky, carefree atmosphere of the Body And Soul area everyone flocks to during their time in Stradbally. Body And Soul, which takes place on June 18 and 19, takes place in Ballinlough Castle, Clonmellon, which boasts 100 art-friendly nooks and crannies. The line-up so far includes The Field, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Toro Y Moi, Lamb, Mount Kimbie, Darkstar, Holy Fuck, The Correspondents, Arborea, Brandt Brauer Frick, Cloud Castle Lake, Lisa O’Neill and Daithí Ó Drónaí. Early bird tickets are €99 (weekend with camping). Sunday tickets are €55.
www.bodyandsoul.ie

Temple House Festival, Ballymote, Co.Sligo
Following its first highly successful adventure last year, this 5,000-capacity boutique affair returns to its titular country house estate in Ballymote, Sligo from June 10 to 12. Among those confirmed so far are Declan O’Rourke, Andrew Strong, The Walls, Kerbdog, Heathers, The Danger Is, Interference, The Flaws, Readers Wives, The Minutes, Roisin O, Smiths legend Mike Joyce, who’s bringing his DJ bag with him, and acoustic troubadour Andy McKee, whose YouTube videos have collectively been viewed over 100 million times. Tickets from €50 at ticketmaster.ie. www.templehousefestival.com.
Sea Sessions Surf Music Festival, Bundoran, Co.Donegal
Returning to Bundoran from June 24 to 26, this year’s Sea Sessions features Ziggy Marley, Bell X1, The Go! Team and Delays among its headliners. Dance fans can catch DJ sets from Grandmaster Flash and Norman Jay. Irish acts include Royseven, Japanese Popstars, Brian Deady, Kanyu Tree, Ham Sandwich, The Minutes, Windings, Cashier No. 9, CODES, O Emperor and Fred. Sea Sessions will also be hosting the first Association of Surfing Professionals specialty event. Weekend tickets are €79.95 with four-night camping passes costing an additional €20. www.seasessions.com

Indiependence, Mitchelstown, Co.Cork
With its feet firmly planted on the DIY side of the fence, Mitchelstown’s Indiependence festival is promising it strongest line-up yet this year with The Frank & Walters, Ham Sandwich, dan le sac Vs. Scroobius Pip and The Coronas all confirmed for the weekend of July 29 to 31, and dozens more including some real biggies still to be announced. For details on ticket prices and the rest of the line-up, keep an eye on hotpress.com. www.indiependencefestival.com

Castlepalooza, Tullamore, Co.Offaly
Now firmly established, Castlepalooza returns to Charleville Castle on July 30 and 31, and if last year’s line-up is anything to go by, you can expect only the most exciting homegrown acts for the Tullamore festival, as well as a handful of carefully chosen international artists. Keep your eyes peeled on hotpress.com for word on the 2011 bill, but until then, early bird tickets for the boutique festival are still available at €59 for two days including camping.www.castlepalooza.com

Festivals That Run And Run!

Live At The Marquee, Cork
It’s become one of the highlights of cultural life in the southern capital. Every Summer, through June and July a vast array of top-end acts head for the city of Cork to play in a customised, luxury marquee. Now in its seventh year, it’s the kind of gig that even experienced pros rave about. No wonder 2011’s line-up is so strong with legends like Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Christy Moore and Tom Jones vieing with Irish icons like The Frames, Imelda May and pop superstars Westlife for attention. The full line-up reads: The Frames (June 11); Erasure (June 15); Bob Dylan (June 16); Imelda May (June 17); Katherine Lynch (June 18); Tom Jones (June 19); Grinderman (June 20); Paul Simon (June 21); Bryan Adams (June 22); Imelda May (June 23); Alexandra Burke (June 24); Christy Moore with Declan Sinott (June 25); Fleet Foxes (June 26); Elton John (June 28); Bell X1 (July 1); and Westlife (July 9)

@ The Park, Marlay Park, Dublin
One of this year’s festival innovations is a series of Marquee-based gigs in Marlay Park, in Rathfarnham, under the @ The Park banner. It’s an idyllic setting beneath the Dublin mountains – and the marquee will ensure that the gigs will be fan friendly, no matter what the weather is like on a given day. Already announced for the series are The Coronas with K.T.Tunstall, The Danger Is and Róisín O (July 22); Villagers and Beach House (July 23); Rodrigo y Gabriela with Seasick Steve (July 31); and Bell X1 and Editors (August 6). Expect more announcements for an event that is likely to become an annual fixture from now on.