Sky’s the limit for Sixmilebridge Festival

Sixmilebridge is to receive international TV exposure this week after a film crew captured the magic of last week’s Shannonside Winter Music Festival for a Sky TV programme.
The hour-long programme, Out & About in Ireland,  will be broadcast on Sky tv channel 201 this Thursday at 9pm and will be repeated on Sunday at 10pm and Monday at 11pm after production company Irish tv visited the village.
The programme shines a spotlight on what has been described as “one of Ireland’s musical hidden gems”. The Shannonside Winter Music weekend attracted visitors and musicians from all over Ireland with blues, trad, jazz and folk all on the festival menu. A number of international musical acts from across Europe also performed.
“There is something about Clare music that is magical and I am sure people will really enjoy this programme. Out & About in Ireland will give viewers a unique insight into the tradition of music and song in Ireland and showcases the strong relationship between traditional Irish music and other genres like blues and jazz,” festival director Brendan Walsh commented.
The programme features performances from blues singer Mary Stokes, Clare-based bluegrass group The Swell Berries and the UK-based The Carrivick Sisters.
The festival also received glowing praise from none other than Sarah Savoy who headlined the festival with her band The Francadians.
“The festival is an impressive job of organisation and what I liked most about the way it was done is that it gave me an opportunity to see some of the other acts.
“Normally, I just stay in my hotel room but this time, I got to see excellent groups like Kimber’s Men, I Draw Slow, Swell Berries and Mary’s (Stokes) excellent blues combo.
“I’m leaving with a huge pile of CDs that I can’t wait to listen to them while we’re on the road this month – great music for great memories,” she recalled.
“I also want to say that this town knows how to party and I felt like I was back home in Louisiana. A lot of people followed us to each of our gigs and by the last night were singing along to some of the songs even though they didn’t know what the French lyrics meant.
“The pub scene here, everyone dancing and shouting and singing, is something we don’t see much on this side of the ocean with folk music and it really added so much to our own experience.
“We also found some great new friends among the really warm people who have helped to organise the festival. Thank you so much for having brought us here to see what a great scene y’all have going on,” she added.