ENTERTAINMENT Clare Island will be hoppin’ with Mr Whippy and friends

There’s island hopping… and then there’s Clare Island hoppin’ and a boppin’. This June Bank Holiday weekend will see the inimitable Mr Whippy Soundsystem take to the high seas, bound for the beautiful Mayo island for three days and nights of music, dancing and general revelry at Bay View House and Sailor’s Bar.

As many in Westport will already know from many years dancing their socks off (you know who you are) at Westport House and McGing’s bar, Mr Whippy Soundsystem is the brain-child of local designer and DJ, Dermot McCabe. Dermot took it upon himself to restore a beautiful 1972 vintage ice cream van into a mobile vinyl-record treasure trove and DJ-booth, and the Mr Whippy Soundsystem was born. For the past decade or so, the van has been travelling to festivals all around Ireland each summer.

The weekender on Clare Island promises to one to remember. Mr Whippy will be joined by a host of music makers, record collectors and party starters, with ‘a selection of selectors’ playing disco, Afro, Latin, soul, tropical, reggae, jazz, hip hop, house and beats music on Mr Whippy Soundsystem’s speaker cones.

DJ menu

Some of the DJs confirmed so far include SoulSistah B, Pajo, Boogiemann, Glenn Davis, Lex Woo, Aran McMahon, Browne Sugar and Ruan.

Heavily influenced by the UK soul, jazz and house music scene, and growing up listening to her older brother’s record collection, SoulSistah B’s emphasis is on ’70s and ’80s soul music and early ’80s boogie.

Pajo – a Donegal man living in Mayo – kick-started his DJing passion during the acid jazz days of the ’90s and since has amassed a wide and varied collection of electric soul. His prowess has seen him DJ at everywhere from The Kitchen and the Pod in Dublin to The Blue Note and Áras Na nGael in Galway and The Clarence Hotel in Sligo.

Back in Ireland after many years in Berlin, where he ran dance-floor nights and worked as a booker for an underground dance and house club, ‘super selector’ Boogiemann will bring be bringing house, jazz and afro-latin music to the Clare Island party.

DJ Glenn Davis, a vinyl collector since the mid ’90s, has been running successful club nights in the Capital as part of Dublin’s Groovement Soul collective. Since getting into music production, Glenn has produced soulful jazz-tinged deep house music and released records on a wide variety of labels.

Lex Woo has been a long-time collaborator with Mr Whippy, with over 20 years on the decks together at Anseo’s ‘A Jam Named Saturday’ in Dublin, the legendary Synge Street all-day musical feasts, and many other shows. “Lex is an incredible DJ,” Mr Whippy says, “with a very deep love of music and heavy knowledge in his all-vinyl collection. There is a real dancefloor magic when Lex is on the turntables.”

While now semi-retired, it was not long ago that renowned Mayo DJ Aran McMahon was Ireland’s clubland answer to UK DJs Gilles Peterson and Patrick Forge. His ’90s Salthill club Feet First, Jazz Juice at Galway’s GPO and Shake at ’nuff venues are the stuff of legend.

Mayo-born, Manchester-based Browne Sugar (Rory Browne Tobia) draws inspiration from artists like Job Jobse, Toni de Vit, Kerri Chandler and Palm Trax, to create an uplifting blend of oldschool house, disco, funk and piano-led grooves.

A multi-instrumentalist from Westport, Ruan has rocked parties and gigs at McGing’s in Westport, Anseo in Dublin and on the Mr Whippy Soundsystem van, and the recent UCD Ball at Clontarf Castle. As Mr Whippy puts it, “She may be a chip off her aul’ fella’s ice cream block, but she’s no flake with her energy for the boogie, bringing a sprinkle of gorgeous grooves and a sassy sparkle to the seashore dance floor.”

Mellow cello and fab jazz

It’s not all DJs and vinyl though, as live music is on the menu too. Sunday at noon will see a performance by celebrated cellist Patrick Dexter – who became a household name during the pandemic, when videos of him playing his cello outside his Newport cottage went viral.

The wonderful Donal Hoban Quintet – Micro Groove Orchestra will also play live, during a Sunday afternoon barbecue. The quintet is comprised of Hoban himself on drums, John Flatley on keyboard, Chris Darby on bass, Mervyn Sayers on saxophone and Michael Buckton on guitar. Your writer recently caught a fantastic performance by the Donal Hoban Quintet in McGing’s, and she can say with confidence that this island gig is sure to be real treat.

For more information on performers, tickets and accommodation options, check out either of the Facebook pages Mr Whippy Soundsystem or Clare Island Bank Holiday Weekender, or Mr Whippy Soundsystem’s Instagram.