Westport earns its place in the top twenty Irish festivals

The Westport festival team announce:

With only a week to go to the 8th Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, Uri and his team were delighted to learn that the festival was included in a list compiled by the Irish Times of the top twenty festivals in Ireland.

The festival, which is expected to be the biggest one to date, will include more then fifteen acts in ten venues over three days. This year will see the return of some familiar acts such as the Rocky Top String Band and Tim Rogers, alongside some top Irish acts who will play the festival for the first time, such as the Down and Out Bluegrass Band and the Watery Hill Boys. There will also be no less then five international acts - for some of them, it will be the only Irish appearance this year.

There will be the usual open sessions as well as two very unique events:

* the Luthiers showcase. where four instrument makers will exhibit their work and will give a workshop of their art.
* another event which is custom-made for the festival is Mando Mhaigh Eo - a mandolin quintet will play all handmade instruments, and will play in front of a crowd for the first time.

Westport's festival is the first bluegrass event of the summer and we are very much looking forward to see all music fans enjoying three days of top music. Regular updates are available on the festival Facebook page.