Dave Burnett, the host of ‘Blues, Folk and all that Jazz’ (Mondays, 7pm) brought his camera to Westport for the 2013 festival. Here are his thoughts on the weekend, followed by a selection of his photos.
Three days have gone by since the grand finale of the Westport festival in which Elvis Costello, Imelda May and the Delorentos brought the house down and the sky exploded in a million colours with a superb fireworks display.
Already I am greatly missing the seductive charm, vibe and friendliness of this wonderful festival and of course the incredible music and talent that seemed to lure your ear around every corner. The weather held up for the most part and on Saturday the sun was actually ‘splittin the stones’!
Westport festival is a one of a kind for the West of Ireland and, with the emphasis on being family-friendly, there certainly was a lot of activities for the young ones and old alike. Certainly there was something for everyone here and that was also true with the 50+ acts that performed over the two days. Whether you’re into trad, country, pop, rock, blues, dance or even just a good old laugh in the comedy tent then your two days at Westport house would have been very well spent there. The campsite and all other facilities provided on the beautiful grounds of Westport house were second to none, and the smells that were permeating through the air from all the wonderfully creative food stalls was just heaven.
I would like to say a big thank you to Westport and to all the organisers and volunteers who made this little flash of paradise possible. It was undeniably a huge success and I can’t wait for next year!
Highlights for me include: Quality St., The Hot Sprockets, Gavin James, Alabama 3, Doghouse, Cry before dawn, The Riptide Movement and Kid Karate blew my socks off!