Stellar lineup announced for 26th Kilkenny Roots Festival

A stellar lineup of acts was announced for the 26th Kilkenny Roots Festival at the launch this evening at the Smithwick’s Experience venue.

The festival will celebrate its 26th year from May 3 to 6 with incredible acts From the USA, UK, Canada and Ireland.

The lineup features from the The Handsome Family, Robert Finley, Joachim Cooder, Sam Outlaw, Willy Mason, Jeffrey Martin, Dan Stuart, Peter Case/Sid Griffin, Jeffrey Foucault and Hayseed Dixie from the USA and Canada.

Acts travelling from the UK include Brown Horse, My Darling Clementine, The Zipheads and The Cosmic Country Review, while Ireland is represented by John Blek and The Rats and The Whitehorse Guitar Club.

The appearance of Robert Finley and his band is a huge coup for the event. He has just released his fourth album, Black Bayou, to rave reviews. The album is an 11-track tour de force that coalesces gospel, blues, soul, and rock into a raw, thundering tribute to Finley’s home state of Louisiana. Telling tales of the bayou from childhood to now, the 69-year old Finley takes listeners on a journey that showcases his growly vocals, sultry falsetto and cements him as a living legend.

For decades, Finley worked as a part-time street performer, leader of the gospel group Brother Finley and the Gospel Sisters, and as a carpenter until he was deemed legally blind and forced to retire from carpentry. In 2015, Music Maker Relief Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports aging blues musicians, discovered Finley busking before a gig in Arkansas.

With their help, Finley made a musical comeback and released his first album, Age Don't Mean a Thing, in September 2016. Robert Finley takes the stage at The Set Theatre on Friday, May 3 at 8.30pm.

The festival kicks off with highly rated American singer/songwriter, Jeffrey Martin at Billy Byrnes on Friday, May 3 at 7pm and will continue with over events until the closing show at Kytelers Inn on Monday, May 6 with Canadian artist, Sam Outlaw.

Tickets for the individual shows are available at kilkennyroots.com. In addition to the ticketed shows, there will be over 70 gigs on the free Smithwick’s Music Trail in venues throughout Kilkenny city. There’s a mixture of old and new acts on the trail and all styles are catered for, from swing to bluegrass, rockabilly to cajun, folk, blues and beyond.