The Acoustic Yard Singer/Songwriters Festival Westport 2016

May 6th – May 8th 2016

‘The Acoustic Yard’ singer/songwriter sessions’ initially started up as a monthly event in Matt Molloy’s Yard Bar in Westport in February 2014. The main focus was for singer/songwriters to have a platform to perform their own songs and for audiences to listen to original music in a relaxed environment. A key aim was to help to invigorate and stimulate songwriting and to supply an evening of entertainment.

Due to the success of this event, the idea of ‘The Acoustic Yard Singer/Songwriters Festival’ was born and developed into the festival which will take place from Friday 6th – Sunday 8th May 2016, primarily in The Town hall Theatre.

The main auditorium of the Town Hall Theatre will host the headline concerts on the Friday and Saturday nights with further concerts and workshops on Saturday afternoon. The local cafes will also host some free concerts on the Sunday with a final gig to wind up the festival in Matt Molloy’s Yard Bar in the evening. The musicians will be encouraged to play and busk around the town that weekend to bring an air of festivity to the streets.

We have already booked over 30 international acts from the USA, UK, Europe and Scandinavia playing alongside some of our own home grown talent. Artists already booked include Declan O’Rourke, Bap Kennedy, Craig and Willoughby (USA/UK), Teresa Storch (USA), Daithi Rua (Belguim), Zia Land (Norway), Kathleen Turner, Anna Mitchell and many more.

The Saturday afternoon session in The Town Hall Theatre will be of an educational nature as people from all ages can meet professional songwriters who in turn will pass on their knowledge through workshops and concerts. There will also be an art exhibition in the Town Hall Theatre for that weekend around the theme of songwriting. Our festival of original music in one of the most popular music towns in Ireland will help to show a different emphasis to life here in the West of Ireland.

WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT BAP KENNEDY WILL BE PERFORMING AT THE ACOUSTIC YARD FESTIVAL ON SATURDAY MAY 7TH 2016. ONE OF MANY ACTS DUE TO PERFORM AT OUR FABULOUS NEW SINGER/SONGWRITERS FESTIVAL.

A great new beginners songwriting course in Westport starting Tuesday 29th September at the Town hall Theatre Westport. This course will help all new budding songwriters to find topics, lyric building, melodies and basic recording techniques.There will be similar courses throughout the year for more info please use contact form below. [contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]