Final preparations are underway for the 27th Smithwick’s Kilkenny Roots Festival, which runs from the 2nd to 5th May.
The organisers, led by Festival Director Gary Kehoe, have put together an exciting music programme for the four days.
There are 25 ticketed events featuring artists from Ireland, UK, USA, Denmark, Brazil, Australia and Canada. The hugely popular Smithwick’s Music Trail will run throughout the weekend, with over 60 gigs planned in venues throughout the city.
Some of the highlights include the return of The Delines, led by Willy Vlautin, for a “Sold Out” show at The Set Theatre on Sunday May 4th. Willy also appears in conversation with legendary UK music journalist, Allan Jones, in The Pembroke Hotel on Saturday.
New York musician Jesse Malin will also take the stage with his band at The Set on Sunday, for what promises to be an exciting and emotional event. Just over two years ago Jesse suffered a rare spinal stroke that left him unable to walk. Since then, he’s undergone severe rehab in Argentina in an effort to resume his career. He returned to live action with packed out shows in New York and London and arrives in Kilkenny for his only Irish date. Musician friends have rallied to his aid, releasing an album of Malin covers, featuring Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, Billie Joe Armstrong, Elvis Costello, and many more.
He then returns to New York to prepare for a new musical, “Silver Manhattan,” which will be part concert, part play, and document the punk-rock songwriter’s life, including his efforts to recover from the paralyzing stroke and is scheduled to run for four months.
The Watergate Theatre will host two amazing American performers during the festival.
Jerron Paxton (seen recently on Later With Jools Holland) takes the stage on Friday May 2nd. A songwriter, inheritor of tradition, and a walking, talking jukebox, Paxton approaches his craft with equal part wit and reverence, with a knack for leg-pulling and cracking wise. Things Done Changed is an album of original songs that sound beamed in from nearly a century ago, when jazz and blues were performed as a means of both personal and cultural survival. Lick by lick, Paxton builds a bridge between generations gone and generations to come, singing the heartaches and joys of the past and present.
Grammy winner Jim Lauderdale flies in from Nashville for an exclusive show on Saturday afternoon in The Watergate. Since 1986, he has released 37 studio albums and his songs have been recorded by dozens of artists, notably George Strait, Gary Allan, Elvis Costello, Blake Shelton, the Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, and Patty Loveless.
The Smithwick’s Music Trail will showcase an amazing range of acts in 25 venues throughout the city. The music runs from early afternoon until late into the night with a mix of local, national and international acts.
The festival kicks off with highly rated Belfast singer/songwriter, Arborist, at Billy Byrnes on Friday 2nd May at 7pm and will continue with over 90 events until the closing show at Kytelers Inn on Monday May 5th with American artist Carsie Blanton and her band.
Full details of all shows are on the festival website https://kilkennyroots.com/.
