Duke Special and Jack O’Rourke among Acoustic fest line-up

SOMETHING SPECIAL Duke Special (second from left) with the members of folk supergroup Ulaid, who are performing together in Westport next month.

The second Acoustic Yard Singer/Songwriters Festival Westport takes place from May 5 to May 7. Headlining this year will be Duke Special & Ulaid, with special guest Jack O’Rourke, on the Saturday night at Westport Town Hall Theatre.
When contemporary songwriting and traditional music meet, the results can be something to be treasured. Such is the case with the collaboration between folk supergroup Ulaid and celebrated singer-songwriter Duke Special.
The project, called ‘The Belfast Suite’, draws on Duke Special’s songwriting skills, from pre-rock’n’roll to modern acoustic pop. He injects drama and his trademark theatricality, bringing storytelling to the fore with meditative twists and turns amid the melodic architecture.
Ulaid’s mixture of skills in arrangement, interpretation, composition and performance lend a peculiarly folk-but-modern, urban-but-pastoral air to the whole.
In theory, the collaboration that may have seemed unlikely, but it proves itself thoroughly in practice.
Also at the Town Hall Theatre, there will be a special concert celebrating the 250-year anniversary of the founding of Westport, called ‘250 years of Westport Song’ on Friday, May 5. The concert will celebrate some of the great songs and songwriters to grace the bars, cafés and stages of Westport over the years. Artists include John Hoban, Tony Reidy, Johnny Fadgin, Connie Cullen, Brian Duffy, Finn Upbeat Costello, Rosa May Kinsella and many more. These celebrated artists have helped to create and continue the town’s musical heritage.
Rare visual footage (video clips and photographs) taken 25 years ago by Willem Blok will be used as a backdrop to accompany ‘250 years of Westport Song’. Willem, who used to live in Mayo, is releasing a documentary in June 2017 called ‘25 years: County Mayo through Foreign Eyes’.
There are a host of other concerts throughout the weekend with artists like Nick Kelly (ex-Fat Lady Sings front man), Cormac O’Caoimh, Paul McDonnell, Kate O’Callaghan, Pa Curran (The Acoustic Yard Songwriter of the Year 2016), Davie Furey and many more.
Declan Sessions will roll up in their van to record some of the acts for social media and there’s a chance for new artists to join in the open mics and workshops available.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.westporttheatre.com or www.theacousticyard.com, or call 098 28459