The Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival returns to the Co Mayo town this weekend, promising a "top programme of folk, bluegrass and old-time music".
The festival is seen as a curtain-raiser to Westport's summer tourist season and welcomes "musicians and music fans alike from all over the world".
Pub gigs, concerts, workshops, a gospel hour and square dance are all part of the fun.
Now in its 17th year, the festival will welcome artists including The Kody Norris Show, Fog Holler and Bill and the Belles from the US, Lunch Special from the UK, The Rustic Robots from the Czech Republic and Ireland-based acts Niamh Dunne, The Rockytop String Band and Tim Rogers, among many more.
In a new "flagship project" for the festival, organisers have partnered with The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick, East Tennessee State University and Middle Tennessee State University, with representatives from all three institutions at events this year and plans to develop exchange programmes for the years ahead.
"We are already making plans for bands from the universities to be part of our 2024 programme, both as individuals and as musical collaborators," said the festival's founder, local resident Uri Kohen.
"The Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival organising committee believe that this first-of-its-kind project is vital for a better understanding of both Irish traditional and bluegrass music and the deep connections between these genres.
"We are really looking forward to working with our new partners and hope that this will be a great benefit for future festival-goers and the next generations of musicians on both sides of the Atlantic."
For more on the festival, visit: westportfolkbluegrass.com.
