The inaugural Galway TradFest, a new initiative by Music Generation Galway County, will take place across Galway from Monday 11th – Sunday 17th, November 2024.

The inaugural event will feature concerts, masterclasses in music, song and dance, a festival session trail, instrument taster sessions, theatre, showcase opportunities and a range of Irish traditional music activities which will give Galway’s children and young people unparalleled access to high-level Irish traditional music opportunities at home in Galway.

While Galway is known the world over for its creative community and its noted exponents of Irish traditional music, song and dance, unlike many other counties it doesn’t host an internationally recognised annual traditional music festival that embraces the County nor an extensive traditional music masterclass series in the manner that is now planned with Galway TradFest 2024. It is hoped that Galway TradFest and its educational programme (GEATA) will become an annual event which will be celebrated county-wide, and overtime attract visitors from across Ireland and the world.

The name ‘geata'(gate/gateway) symbolises that what is planned, through high-level masterclasses, mentoring, instrument taster sessions, performances, theatre and other programme activities, will represent a gateway to access and opportunity for children and young people from Galway and also those visiting the area for the event.

Galway TradFest will comprise an eclectic concert programme featuring some of Ireland’s leading exponents of traditional music, song and dance. Sharon Shannon, Beoga, Pauline Scanlon & Niall McCabe (amongst others) will all perform as part of ‘Le Chéile’ (Together) a ‘We are Music Generation Youth Orchestra Concert’ which will take place at University of Galway on November 16th. Concerts at a variety of other venues will include performances from Iarla Ó Lionáird & Tim Edey, Máirtín O’ Connor, Cathal Hayden & Seamie O Dowd, The Kane Sisters & John Blake, The Breath, Furry Village, The Half Room, Blath na hÓige, Tola Custy & Laoise Kelly, Niamh Ní Charra & Kevin Corbett, Ruth Smith & Fergal Scahill & guests, and a ‘Livefeed’ showcase concert which provides an opportunity for young bands & soloists to perform.

On the morning of November 17th more than 15 of Ireland’s best known Irish traditional performers and tutors will deliver masterclasses to children and young people at Coláiste Bhaile Chláir in Galway’s Gaeltacht region. This comprehensive range of masterclasses includes tutors such as ALDOC’s Alan Doherty (Flute), a sean nós singing workshop with Bláth na hÓige, Galway’s Fergal Scahill mentoring on fiddle, alongside TG4 Gradam Ceoil Winners Ryan Molloy (accompaniment), Conor Connolly (accordion) & Sharon Howley (cello). Founder of trad supergroup Lúnasa, Trevor Hutchinson will provide a masterclass on accompanying trad music on double bass, while multi-instrumentalist Stephen Doherty from Foxford, Co Mayo will give a masterclass on how to record traditional Irish music. Other tutors include Brendan Loughran & Edel Fox (concertina), Aisling Lyons (harp), Theresa O’Grady (Banjo), Tara Howley (uilleann pipes), Sinéad Mc Kenna (fiddle), Jos Kelly (accordion), Colm Phelan (bodhrán) and Richie Delahunty (guitar) . Workshops on Dance will be delivered by the renowned sean nós dancers The Devane Brothers & Emma O’ Sullivan. Full details of these masterclasses are available at www.galwaytradfest.ie.