Dolans Presents is this week delighted to be one of the host venues for Limerick Jazz Festival 2021. Now celebrating it's 10th year, this year's festival will be a special celebration of local, emerging, and international talent. A host of local and international acts will take part in this festival which is fast becoming a must-attend event on the Irish music calendar.
Limerick Jazz has been promoting music in the mid-west of Ireland for over 35 years and runs spring and autumn seasons featuring the best of live Irish and international contemporary Jazz.
After months of uncertainty, cautious planning and readjustments, we are delighted to be in a position where we can play host to some exceptional musicians in both live and online capacities.
This Wednesday 22nd September we will welcome the Conor Guilfoyle Octet to Dolans Upstairs venue. Led by one of Ireland’s leading drummers and educators the members of the octet are handpicked from his former students of the Newpark Jazz programme (now DCU) and represent some of the finest young players on the scene today.
Dolans Pub will host the popular Limerick Jazz Workshop on Thursday evening, a night that will see students perform from 7pm. Limerick Jazz Workshop has been providing jazz education to a very diverse group of over 200 students since 2007. Performers of all ages united by their love of jazz and their willingness to run the risks of live performance.
We are very excited to welcome Nacho Mena Quintet & Vein (Switzerland) featuring Domenic Landolf Sax to Dolans Warehouse on Saturday 25th September. These musicians stand out for their creativity and impeccable interpretation. They are all leading bands with vast international experience. All the compositions are original and the majority by Nacho Mena. A fusion of Chile-Brazil and the US, since Nacho has lived in those three countries and has incorporated his musical roots.
Saturday will also see our Upstairs venue welcome Nigel Mooney back. Hailed as 'Ireland’s King of the Blues', Nigel Mooney is long established as Ireland’s leading jazz singer/guitarist. Steeped in the blues from an early age, Mooney formed his Gripewater Blues Band in the early 1980’s, spearheading Ireland’s blues movement, performing with and opening for the likes of B.B. King, Lowell Fulson, Bo Diddley, Dr. John, Hubert Sumlin and Louisiana Red.
The festival will close with the ever-popular Sunday afternoon Jazz session at Dolans Warehouse. Featuring the Joe O Callaghan Quartet and four very experienced musicians who have played on the Irish jazz scene for many years. This is the first time all four have played together as one group. They will be playing high energy electric jazz, playing compositions by Joe. The band consists of Joe on guitar, Derek Whyte on bass, Izumi Kimura on piano and John Daly on drums.
John Daly from the Limerick Jazz Festival said “We are delighted to announce this year’s festival programme. We have worked hard to develop a line-up that works in the unusual times we live in with a mix of great online and live events. Limerick was the only jazz festival in Ireland to feature live music in 2020, and in 2021 we are delighted to be the first jazz festival in Ireland to welcome back live music, and that the gradual easing of public health measures has allowed us to cater to a much bigger audience than might otherwise have been the case.”
Tickets to the individual events can be purchased through Dolans website. We hope you'll join us for what promises to be a cracking week of jazz in the heart of Limerick City.
