Macy Gray and the Coronas to headline Heineken Big Top at Galway festival

Galway International Arts Festival and Róisín Dubh have announced two additional Heineken Big Top headliners before the full 2019 GIAF programme is announced in May.

On Sunday 21 July, Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Macy Gray will take to the GIAF19 stage with special guests Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. Tickets, priced at €35, go on sale Thursday 18 April at 9am.

One week later, Irish rock band The Coronas will play a special end of Festival party on Sunday 28 July with support from Le Boom, Ryan McMullan, True Tides and The Clockworks. Tickets, priced at €44.50, go on sale Thursday 18 April at 9am.

The Galway International Arts Festival was first held in 1978 and spans artistic genres from theatre to opera to pop-up street shows. The Heineken Big Top stage is one of the festival's legendary performance spots, located right on the NUI Galway campus.

This year, the festival will take place from 15-28 July. Already announced headliners include Burt Bacharach (Monday 22 July), The Academic (Saturday 20 July), Two Door Cinema Club (Friday 26 July), ORBITAL (Saturday 27 July), Villagers and John Grant (Thursday 18 July), Bell X1 (Friday 19 July) and Kneehigh theatre company’s Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs.)

American singer-songwriter Macy Gray has made a name for herself as a much-loved artist after releasing her triple-platinum debut album On How Life Is in 1999. She has since sold over 25 million albums, sold out venues worldwide, acted in films like Spider-Man and collaborated with artists as diverse as Ariana Grande and Galactic. Ruby, Gray’s tenth studio album, was released in 2018, a release unafraid of mixing genres and collaborations whilst staying loyal to Gray’s characteristic raspy soulfulness.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, an eight-piece band hailing from Chicago, are one of the most prominent live bands on the current scene. Comprised of seven brothers, the sons of legendary jazz trumpeter Phil Cohran, they’ve performed and collaborated with everyone from Mos Def to Wu Tang Clan to Erykah Badu.

The Coronas return to the Galway International Arts Festival stage this summer for the first time since their sold-out performance at GIAF17 for the end of Festival party. This Dublin-based is known for anthemic ballads, festival appearances and massive stadium shows. Since the 2007 release of their first album, Heroes or Ghosts, they’ve garnered platinum sales three times and sold out tours of Ireland, Europe and Australia and released four more albums to boot. Their 28 July GIAF performance is one of the first announced dates for their Long Way Home Festival tour. They’ll be joined at the Heineken® Big Top by four rising Irish live stars, Le Boom, Ryan McMullan, True Tides and The Clockworks, to round out GIAF19 in style.

The full line-up for the Galway International Arts Festival 19 will be announced in May.