Ireland’s largest jazz event, the Guinness Jazz Festival, will take place in Cork for four days over the October Bank Holiday Weekend, promising a top line-up of jazz musicians. In 2008, up to 1000 musicians from all over the world will entertain jazz fans in various venues throughout the city from October 24th to the 27th. Acts taking to the stage include The Yellowjackets, Cindy Blackman, David Murray and Paco Peña Flamenco. For a fun packed weekend, non-stop jazz and lots more, the 2008 Cork Jazz Festival is a must. Read on for more…
History…
In the past, the country’s largest jazz event, sponsored by Guinness, has attracted some of the world’s greatest names in jazz including Ella Fitzgerald, Art Blakely and Dizzy Gillespie to name but a few. Every year at the end of October, Cork city hosts four days of festivities, showing the many jazz styles such as bebop, swing, freeform, dixieland and traditional.
The Guinness Jazz Festival has 31 years of experience and is now one of the top three jazz events in the world. Over the years the festival has played a major role in the development of Jazz in Ireland.
The first Cork Jazz Festival was held in 1977 by a local hotel as a way of attracting visitors to the city out of summer season. Since its foundation it has seen the best of the worlds talent and each year Guinness presents awards in various categories to recognise the best of the festival’s performers.
What to expect…
This year in excess of 40,000 jazz fans from all over the world are expected at the event and it promises to be very entertaining with a line up of events to suit all the family. Cork city transforms with the sound of jazz running through pubs and clubs across the entire city. During the day, soak up the festival atmosphere as you wander through the city with street entertainment etc. and by night, there’s a fantastic selection of jazz acts to choose from.
When is it on…
The Guinness Cork Jazz Festival is taking place over the October Bank Holiday weekend from Thursday the 24th to Monday the 27th of October.
The venues…
Events are held in various venues as well as pubs and clubs all over the city. The main concert venues are the Everyman Palace Theatre, Cork Opera House and the Triskel Arts Centre. The Guinness Festival Club at the Gresham Metropole Hotel offers jazz on five stages day and night.
For more information check out the Cork Jazz Festival website.
Need somewhere to stay? Take a look at our Cork city hotels listings and Cork city accommodation page.
