Winter Music Weekend 2009 Sixmilebridge will be the place to be on the 16th, 17th, and 18th of January next, as crowds gather for the tenth annual Winter Music Weekend. The packed programme features many of the acoustic acts who have made the Winter Weekend so special over the last ten years.
Top of the bill is a U.S. band who always impress with their incredible skill and passion for bluegrass music, Special Consensus, who will play a concert in the Mill Bar on the Friday night. Playing acoustic concerts in the Courthouse will be singers Kate Purcell and Niamh Parsons, oldtimey stalwarts the Broken String Band, local singer/songwriter Lou McMahon, and shanty singers Kimbers Men from the UK . The village will also witness the music and costumes with bells on with the return of the Golden Star Morris Dancers from Norfolk in England .
Making a much-anticipated return after blowing us away in 2004 are Tchobello, a four-piece busking band from Lille in northern France . Recidivist bluegrass heroes Prison Love renew their long-standing relationship with the festival, while blues fans will look forward to seeing Clive Barnes back in the ‘Bridge. The UK ’s Boat Band will be remembered and welcomed back by those who saw them in 2007. Dave Saunders and Sean Vaughan will play in session as ever, as will many other local and visiting musicians.
A new feature of the festival is the programme of events in the Bunratty Castle Hotel. A busy schedule includes concerts in the bar, dinner-time jazz with the Mick Cummins Trio, and a dance night on Saturday with Celtic Sound.
Back in the ‘Bridge, Sunday should be a cracker, with set dancing to Swallow's Tail Ceili Band in the GAA hall, a Classical recital AND a New Music concert in the Courthouse, and the finale that evening with the Josephine Marsh Band headlining in the Mill bar, not to mention the sessions all over the village!
With more than 35 events on over weekend, music lovers will be spoilt for choice. The hectic schedule of concerts, sessions, and pub gigs will provide enough to satisfy even the most demanding fan of quality acoustic music. Quite simply, this is a weekend not to be missed.
For full details of the programme, see www.wmw.ie or contact Brendan Walsh on 086 846 4509