The northwest is tuning up for a €3.5 million boost next summer when the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention takes place in Ireland for the first time. Some 400 musicians and 40,000 visitors are expected to travel to counties Derry and Donegal for the five-day event from June 27th to July 1st next year.
Performers from Ireland, Scotland, the US, Canada, Denmark and Norway are among those scheduled to take part. They include The Chieftains, The String Sisters featuring Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh; Liz Carroll from the US; Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill; Cathal Hayden; and the Wrigley Sisters.
The festival has previously been held in Scotland, Sweden and Canada.
Convention director and fiddle player Liz Doherty said the event was “about cultural exchange, developing new audiences, forging partnerships”.
The event was launched yesterday at the University of Ulster in Derry by Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains.