Cork X Southwest - Saturday

The Liss Ard estate is an exquisite location for a music and arts festival. Ponds, lakes, waterfalls, lush gardens and thick forests abound, criss-crossed by narrow walkways and trails. One gem was the De Barra’s Sitting Room stage. Nestled snugly behind Liss Ard’s Georgian mansion within a beautiful walled garden, the eclectic line-up reaffirms the quaint Clonakilty pub’s reputation as one of the best live music venues in the country.
Traditional Irish ensemble Meeting House were the first act we caught there. Having recently come off a European sojourn, they provided the perfect Saturday afternoon soundtrack with their energetic, melodic sound. Of course the real star of the day was Patti Smith. What was billed as a spoken word show turned out to be a full-band experience which included a cover of Neil Young’s ‘Helpless’ and a poignant reading dedicated to Robert Mapplethorpe, the subject of her recent memoir, Just Kids. The hundreds gathered hung on the every word of the enigmatic artist, whose powerful voice and understated but intoxicating charisma show no signs of diminishing with age.
Feargus O’Farrell’s Interference followed shortly afterwards with a set which moved mellifluously and effortlessly across a number of musical genres including folk, trad and rock. O’Farrell’s timeless voice was always to the fore, bathed brilliantly in subtle musical accompaniment by the eight-piece ensemble. Once the sun had set on De Barra’s Sitting Room, we moved to the Main Stage to see Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook and new outfit The Lights revisit the seminal Unknown Pleasures record. They finished with a frenzied version of dancefloor staple ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ which provided a neat segue to the final musical heavy-hitter of the evening’s bill, Echo And The Bunnymen. After a slow start, the crowd gradually came on board for a set that left the lucky punters in Skibbereen with the warm glow that only a truly sublime musical experience can provide.