THIS year's highly anticipated Lughnasa Festival will run from next Wednesday, August 18 to Sunday, August 22 in Macroom.

Over the five days there will be various events taking place in the town, children's events and markets in Macroom, along with a battle of the bands competition for local upcoming talent.

Following their sellout concert in the Briery Gap, new music collective Ceol Ó Mhuscrai (Music from Muskerry) will present a show featuring an array of talent on Thursday, August 19.

The concert will include a wonderful variety of music from the best in traditional singing and lively tunes to original, contemporary songs and American folk music.

Featuring on the night will be the wonderful traditional singer Fiona Kelleher from Macroom. She will be joined by a fine trio of musicians — Gearoid Ó Duinnin, one of the finest exponents of guitar playing in the traditional music scene today, as well as being a noted visual artist; renowned accordionist Richard Lucey, who has played with many bands including Altan and North Cregg; and flute player Conal Ó Grada, who is known the length and breadth of Ireland for his lively, fluid and robust style. Tickets will be available at the door and are €15.

Friday sees Damien Dempsey, Mick Flannery and Jack O'Rourke in the Marquee (which is located in the Macroom Castle Demesne) for the main gig of the festival. Tickets are on sale on www.tickets.ie and are priced at €35.

Damien Dempsey is an Irish singer and songwriter who mixes traditional folk with contemporary lyrics to deliver social comment. Born and raised in Dublin's northside, Dempsey's second album, 'Seize the Day', reached number five in the charts in 2003, and has since achieved double-platinum sales. The Dublin singer has won four Meteor Awards, including best Irish male and best folk/traditional.

Mick Flannery is a stonemason hailing from Blarney but the musician's second studio album, 'White Lies', which was released in September of last year, reached number 10 on the Irish album chart. It later went platinum and was nominated for the Choice Music Prize. In the same year, Flannery won Best Irish Male at the Meteor Awards.

On Saturday, the town square will be transformed into a huge art gallery, with artisan markets (run by Goldiefish) running kids pavement art and graffiti workshops. On that same night The Frank and Walters are playing in the marquee, and will be supported by 3 Piece Sweet. Tickets for this gig are €12 and will be available on the door.

Sunday will see the conclusion of the festival, and a fun-filled day of events is planned for all. A Rory Gallagher Tribute, The Céilí AllStars and a free disco with DJ Kevin Keenan are all to look forward to, along with Two Time Polka, who play at the Marquee that night.

Tickets are available from Plugged Records, An Realt Dearg, Uí Chroiníns (Macroom) and www.tickets.ie. More information is also available on www.lughnasamacroom.com, Lughnasa Macroom on Facebook and by telephoning 02620724.

For further details, please contact Clare at 086-8501495, Mark at 0872213995 or also from 0861226300.

- SHARON WHELTON