Dungarvan gets in step ahead of this year's TuneFest

Preparations are well under way in Dungarvan ahead of this year’s TuneFest music festival which will take place from June 21 to 23.

With seisiúns-a-plenty beckoning, the event will feature some of the foremost names within the world of trad and folk music and some of the headline acts will include: Cherish the Ladies; Talisk and Danú.

However, there will also be music workshops, dancing, pub sessions, youth buskers, CD launches, and free, outdoor gig rig performances.

TuneFest Dungarvan, is one of Ireland’s most exciting, emerging traditional Irish music festivals and this year’s event will bring together some of the most talented traditional Irish musicians and singers from Waterford, Ireland and overseas.

The festival prides itself on being family friendly and always includes opportunities for young musicians to perform and learn with street busking and tutors.

The headlining concerts will take place each night of the three-day festival with the event kicking off on Friday, June 21, at 7.30pm in Dungarvan Town Hall Theatre, when Cherish the Ladies will perform.

One of most heralded Irish music ensembles in the world, the Grammy-nominated Irish American supergroup formed in New York City in 1985, to celebrate the rise of women in what had been a male-dominated Irish music scene.

Led by champion flute and whistle player Joanie Madden, the group includes accomplished musicians including Mary Coogan, Mirella Murray, Kathleen Boyle, Nollaig Casey and Kate Purcell.

Support on the night is from ‘Tri Thine’ , a vibrant young group of musicians hailing from counties Meath, Tipperary, Cork and Fermanagh. The group met in Meitheal Summer School in 2022. They won the group competition and were awarded a performance slot in Tunefest.

The organisers of the festival told Waterford News & Star that due to the overwhelming popularity of Cherish the Ladies the likelihood is that the gig will sell out and booking, on Eventbrite, is advisable to avoid disappointment. Tickets for the gig are priced €25.

On Saturday, June 22, workshops will take place in Ard Scoil na nDeise, at 10am. Tuition for fiddle, concertina, whistle, banjo, accordion and bodhran will take place followed by a free concert with students and tutors.

From 9.30am, that day, Ard scoil na nDeise will also be the venue for a ‘Try the Pipes’ event with Na Píobairí Uilleann and there will also be a Pop-up Gaeltacht from 9.30am alongside the trialing of pipes.

A busking competition for young musicians will bring tunes to the streets from 2pm, on Grattan Square and at 3pm, in the Town Hall Theatre, there will be a, ‘There’s no show like a Joe Show’.

The event, which promises to be an unforgettable afternoon with Joe Power, will feature a lively mix of music, stories and songs featuring multiple guest artists including Bobby Gardiner, Donal Clancy, Donnchadh Gough and Benny McCarthy.

That evening there will be a session trail in pubs and venues including: Tudor House, Merrys’, Downey’s, The Achor, The Local and The Moorings while the festival’s gig rig will host free talent from 3.30pm to 5.30pm. The acts performing will include include Thri Thine, Taobh Na Mara Ceili Band and The Wren.

Later that night Dungarvan will rock to the sounds of Tallisk who are Saturday’s headline act. Taking place from 8pm at Club Creation, this ground-breaking, chart-topping, genre-bending, globetrotting folk group from Scotland promise an unmissable night of high energy music. Formed in 2014, in Glasgow, the group is one of the most talked about folk bands of the 21st Century, with three albums and numerous awards under their belts to-date.

Tickets for the gig are also available via Eventbrite, priced €20.

The final day of the festival, Sunday, June 23, will feature a CD launch upstairs in the Old Bank, at 2pm.

The launch will be free to attend and will celebrate new music from John Wynn and John McEvoy, and The O’ Loughlins. Session trails will also continue and when night falls, the volume won’t because the final concert of the weekend will feature Danú, one of the leading traditional Irish ensembles, in the Park Hotel, at 7.30pm.

An extremely popular group, Danú will bring a high-energy performance through a glorious mix of ancient airs, popular ballads, céilí, jigs, reels, polkas and modern tunes with an Irish trad twist.

The guest act on the night will be former All-Ireland Senior Céilí Band champions, Taobh Na Mara. A full house is expected and like the other gigs, tickets for the show are available through Eventbrite, priced €30.

Now in its fourth year, Tunefest is organised by a voluntary committee embedded in the local trad community.

Despite being relatively new to the Irish festival scene, the event’s success is enhanced and somewhat attributable to tremendous local talent and the music credentials and contacts of those involved in the programming.

The passion for trad music in and around Dungarvan is notable and the local grá for trad is in no small measure thanks to a strong and vibrant trad community led by its proximity to the nearby An Rinn Gaeltacht and the thriving Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Eireann branches.

In addition to the fun of the festival itself, Dungarvan town is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country and with easy access to the Waterford Greenway it’s an ideal location for such a festival.

The festival organisers have also teamed up with local hotels and accommodation providers to offer special packages for those looking to stay in Dungarvan for the weekend.

Speaking ahead of the event, one of the organiers, Donnchadh Gough, who is a well-respected uilleann piper and bodhrán player with Danú, said: “We are thrilled to be counting down to this year’s highly anticipated festival, our sessions will have the streets and venues of the town hopping, with the best of ancient airs and modern trad.” “We hope that locals and visitors to the town will turn out to soak up the ceoil and craic this June,” said Donnchadh, who is also the owner gastropub, The Local, which serves a dish of trad music most nights.

"We have one of the best line-ups of Irish and international musicians joining us over the weekend,” said Donnchadh.

“This is a festival that truly has something for everyone, whether you're a budding musician yourself, a die-hard trad fan or just want a fun weekend away,” he added.

“We can't wait to see everyone there.” Tickets for TuneFest Dungarvan are on sale now through tunefest.ie and eventbrite. The festival is funded by Waterford Council, Diageo, Heineken,Comhaltas, Foras na Gaeilge Cairde Credit Union and local businesses and would not be possible without the support of volunteers and local supporters.

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