While ongoing Covid restrictions mean that Tradfest’s usual January blitz of sizzling trad music in Dublin’s Temple Bar is not possible, the good news is that this year’s festival will extend over six months.
From January 28-31, Tradfest will present four nights of streamed live concerts from The State Apartments in Dublin Castle featuring leading Irish performers including Dervish, Altan, Eleanor McEvoy, Donal Lunny, Tolay MaKay, Mark Redmond, Mike Hanrahan, Eleanor Shanley, Mairead and Triona Ni Dhomhnail and many others.
Tickets are now on sale (costing 4.99 Euro) from www.tradfest.ie and tickets will give access to view the shows for up to three days. The concerts will stream at 8pm GMT and will be available to view worldwide.
Live indoor concerts are also planned across Dublin city centre in venues such as St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin City Hall, Dublin Castle and the Pepper Cannister Church but only when government guidelines allow such activity and adhering to strict safety considerations.
Tradfest’s usual showcase for emerging artists will also go ahead with seven performances by rising stars selected by a Tradfest panel and initially screened to a panel of international festival bookers before being distributed globally. An album will be produced based on these showcase performances.
Rules allowing, summer 2021 will see a series of Tradfest music events in the pubs and public spaces around the cobbled streets of Temple Bar, Dublin’s heaving cultural quarter and creative hub.