Eventually, everyone comes to Kilkenny. So they say, at least.
The city and county have seen some of the biggest names in the music world – Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Paul Simon and more – in recent years. This weekend, more big names from the music world, local, national and international, will make their way to a new tented venue in the shadow of Kilkenny Castle as the Live At Castle Mills series gets its inaugural staging underway.
Public Image Limited, Northern Ireland rockers Ash and Kilkenny’s Kerbdog all take to the stage on Friday night, while Saturday sees more Kilkenny musical royalty in Engine Alley share the stage with Cavan native Lisa O’Neill and The National’s Matt Berninger, whose solo European tour touches down in the Marble City for his only Irish appearance this year.
It’s the first year for Live At Castle Mills, supported by Kilkenny County Council’s Night Time Economy scheme, organisers bringing a new curated programme of live music to Kilkenny, in a brand new venue space, within easy walking distance from the city centre along the canal. Think Cork’s ‘Live At The Marquee’ series, but in a Kilkenny setting with ambitions to grow just as big.
For its opening gambit, organisers have gone all-in on the boutique experience with the artists for year one chosen for their depth, legacy and atmosphere, while the big top venue brings a clear layout and calmer crowd experience, ‘built for enjoyment, not endurance’.
This weekend, locals and visitors alike will get to experience it first-hand.
Destination Kilkenny
For Berninger, Saturday’s headliner and a Grammy Award winner with The National, his visit to Kilkenny comes on the tail end of a hectic European tour that has seen stops this month alone in Poland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey, while he’s due to perform in Greece tomorrow (Wednesday) before heading our direction.
When he gets here, it’s very possible he may end up staying.
“I think I just got lucky”, he told KCLR about how his Irish appearance this year came about.
“I know that The National and I have always had great shows and stuff in Ireland, and there’s a very real and genuine connection between my life as an artist and with Ireland.”
“But yeah, this show, I have friends that are there in Kilkenny now, and Kilkenny is some place that my wife and I have talked about moving to. Just like, ‘maybe we should move to some place like Kilkenny, and just picked it, you know?'”
“Then this opportunity (Live At Castle Mills) comes. My wife and daughter are going to come, and we might never leave, actually.”
Nosferatu
But is this something just floated in an interview to catch the headlines, or has the groundwork on a potential relocation to the sunny south east been laid?
“A lot of times on tour, I will hide in the hotel room and have to go into that sort of Nosferatu zone just to survive a long tour”, continues Berninger in our pre-show interview.
“But touring solo like this, I get out more, and I do a lot more. I’m particularly excited that it’ll be towards the end of the tour. Like I said, we have friends around there, so I think I’m gonna be out and about a whole lot. Maybe we’ll have time to find a little cottage somewhere.”
Don’t be surprised if, much like Bruce Springsteen making his presence felt with a night out at K-bowl in MacDonagh Junction, you find Berninger and co. exploring the sights and surrounds of Kilkenny city and county over the coming days.
“We’ve played a lot of little places (as The National) and different sorts of festivals, but I don’t think I’ve soaked in the magic of Kilkenny yet. So I’m really looking forward to it.”
“But it is funny; it was kind of the main place my wife was like ‘maybe we should go, just move there’, so I’m like, ‘well, I just got a gig there, so can check it out.”
Whether he stays or goes is an entirely separate matter, but we do know that he’ll be here, in Kilkenny, with his band for Live At Castle Mills this Saturday evening.
Win tickets on KCLR this week
Tickets are available from CastleMills.ie, with Berninger’s team separately offering tickets to a VIP soundcheck experience, meet and greet with a private 20-minute set on Saturday afternoon, again available from CastleMills.ie.
Better yet, stay tuned to The Afternoon Show between 1-4pm all this week with tickets for both nights at the festival, plus that VIP experience to be won.
