Kilkenny rocked to its Roots by festival

SOMETIMES things turn out just the way they should. For starters, yesterday morning the sun showed its face in Kilkenny, making the May weekend bank holiday actually seem like the beginning of summer.

Not to worry if it cooled down in the afternoon: part of the appeal of the Kilkenny Roots Festival, now celebrating its 15th year as Ireland’s primary genre music event, is that everything takes place indoors.

For a festival so compact, Kilkenny Roots sure packs a hefty punch. It started with a performance from Californian MC Taylor (aka Hiss Golden Messenger), who related tales of blue collar life in narrative shades that reminded you of characters from Raymond Carver.

“Cheers, everybody,” said Taylor from the upstairs stage at the Pumphouse. It was a salutation that set the tone for the remainder of the weekend.

The serious fun and games continued, with shows throughout the weekend from singer-songwriters such as Texan Amanda Shires. A petite (although for the weekend that’s in it, perhaps “pint-sized” is a more apt term) performer, Shires typifies Kilkenny Roots, one of the few genre music events that showcase the talents of artists most genre music fans haven’t heard of before.

Of course, sometimes serendipity raises its head. Richmond Fontaine’s frontman Willy Vlautin (a regular visitor to Ireland) is surely the first Impac-listed author to perform lean, literate music to packed venues at any Irish music festival.

And then there’s Alabama Shakes. Festival director John Cleere had been on the trail of the weekend’s must-see, hot-button band long before they were

called Alabama Shakes. Months ago Cleere booked the band to play at this event, but not even he could have predicted their rocketing career trajectory – and the associated hype. Their sold-out show at the Set Theatre proved that real deals in music still exist.

And so to US avant-folk singer-songwriter Richard Buckner, who efficiently articulated the spirit of the weekend in one of his between-song chats at the Clubhouse Hotel: “I don’t like most places I play in, but I have to say I’ve got a crush on this city.” Join the queue, mate.

The 15th Kilkenny Roots festival concludes tonight with a performance at 9pm by Danny the Champions of the World, at Paris Texas bar.