Guide to Summer Festivals: Cois Fharraige

There are probably lots of people making their way down to Stradbally this morning, hoping that the traffic jams for Electric Picnic won’t be as bad as in previous years. But what will they do if all that time spent in traffic today and coming home on Monday gets too much for them? Well, they could do worse than make their way down to Cois Fharraige, taking place next weekend (September 5 to 7) in Kilkee, Co. Clare. Cois Fharraige, of course, was the winner of “Best New Festival 2007″ at the Irish Festival Awards, and has been critically acclaimed for its original festival concept and line up.

Friday September 5
Friday night will see performances from Kanyu Tree, The Coronas, The Futureheads and The Zutons. The Zutons, of course, have enjoyed huge success since the release of their debut album Who Killed The Zutons. They have just released their third album, You Can Do Anything, and one can expect to hear songs such as Valerie, Why Wont You Give Me Your Love, as well as their new single Always Right Behind You.

Saturday September 6
Saturday sees a diverse range of bands strut their stuff along the western shore. 28 Costumes, The Broken Family Band, Simon & Oscar, Seasick Steve and Supergrass will ensure an action packed day. If only because the aforementioned Supergrass will be performing twice this week in The Academy it is undoubtedly Seasick Steve who will generate the most excitement following his stunning performance at this years Oxegen festival. For those of you not familiar with the man; he has built a reputation for himself thanks to his custom made stringed instruments that give him a unique style. Expect songs from the eagerly anticipated (rumoured to be released in September) follow up to Doghouse Music.

Sunday September 7
With no disrespect to Joe Brown, the man with more albums than Key Notes has had hot dinners (and if you know Key Notes, that's quite a few!); Sunday's headliners Travis will be the star attraction. Having burst unto the scene in 1999 with The Man Who,  containing songs such as Driftwood and Turn, the Scottish folk rockers flattered to deceive during the intervening years until the release of their critically acclaimed album The Boy With No Name last summer.  Well worth seeing if only for how appropriate it is that Why Does It Always Rain On Me? will bring to an end this year's Summer festivals.

There are still some tickets for Cois Fharraige available from here.

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