Record first-week bookings as five big acts revealed for fast-selling Kilkenny Roots Festival 2026

The first list of performers for next year’s Kilkenny Roots Festival has been released, and it has been greeted with huge approval from fans of the event.

Five shows went on sale last weekend and generated record first week bookings, with a big surge in international sales.
Names announced last week were Big Star Ensemble, Rodney Crowell, The Long Ryders, Friendship and Florry – all American based acts.
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BIG STAR
Five decades ago, Memphis power pop pioneers Big Star released two albums: No 1 Record and Radio City. These genre-defining works went on to become cult classics, inspiring generations of fans through songs such as In the Street, Thirteen, September Gurls, Back of a Car, and I’m in Love With a Girl.

To celebrate the albums’ enduring legacy, an all-star collective of musicians (led by the band’s sole surviving original member, Jody Stephens) will join together on May 1 to perform many essential songs from Radio City and No 1 Record, inducted this year into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and from the highly influential Third album. Their full lineup for this exclusive Irish appearance is Jody Stephens (Big Star), Jon Auer (The Posies), Chris Stamey (The DB’s), Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub).

RODNEY CROWELL
Multi-Grammy winner, Rodney Crowell has released over 20 studio albums and has penned songs for a huge range of artists, including Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings Tim McGraw and Bob Seger. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2003. Rodney appeared at the second Roots Festival back in 1999 and returns for what will be a rare European appearance for next year’s festival.

THE LONG RYDERS
The third legendary name announced is the Long Ryders. Their sound mixes punk spirit with the cosmic country of Gram Parsons and The Byrds. Recently the band took a break from gigging and focused on material for a new album, High Noon Hymns. Recorded in California over this past summer with legendary producer Ed Stasium, it will be released worldwide next spring, just in time for their festival appearance.

FLORRY
The festival continues the policy of mixing legendary names with younger bands making their first performances in Ireland. Hotly-tipped Philadelphia band Florry bring their show to The Set Theatre for a night of Rolling Stones/The Band style rock and roll.

FRIENDSHIP

Friendship are the second Philadelphia-based band travelling to Kilkenny Roots. Their newly released fifth album, Caveman Wakes Up, has just been released.

The influential Stereogum Magazine named Caveman Wakes Up as their album of the week saying “Friendship’s fourth album finds the Philadelphia band ascending to greatness, arriving at the place they’ve spent the past decade going. It’s one of the most assured indie rock albums in recent memory, the sound of a brilliant writer coming into his own and a band honing in on the ideal aesthetic complement for his songs.”

Tickets for these shows are now on sale through the festival website, kilkennyroots.com. More announcements will be eagerly awaited over the coming weeks.