Dermot Kennedy launches new global Irish music festival

Irish singer songwriter Dermot Kennedy has announced Misneach, a new annual Irish music festival taking place in Sydney and Boston next St Patrick's Day.

Misneach, which is Irish for courage, will be held across the two cities, which have been central to the Irish diaspora, and Kennedy has also revealed the Irish acts who will be supporting him at the twin festivals.

Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment on Wednesday night at the launch of Ireland Music Week in Dublin venue Lost Lane, the 32-year-old Dubliner said, "I wanted to set up this festival to celebrate Ireland and our culture.

"I think we’re all so proud of Irish music and always have been. Our culture reaches so far across the world so I wanted to do something that celebrates Ireland and our culture.

"We have always generated music and artists who punch well above their weight."

This first editions of Misneach will take place in Sydney on 16 March and Boston from 18 to 19 March and will see the Dublin singer headline shows alongside local artists from each city.

Kennedy, who has enjoyed massive success in Ireland with his albums Without Fear and Sonder and hits such as Outnumbered, has also handpicked three Irish acts from this year’s Ireland Music Week line-up - Cork five-piece Cliffords, Dublin hip hop artist Fynch, and Dublin's Big Love - to appear at Misneach.

"I had a playlist of fifty bands and artists that are taking part in Ireland Music Week and I listened through it," he says.

"Fynch really stood out to me for his delivery in terms of how he wrote and performed and then I heard a live version of the song Lily by Big Love, and it just kind of hit me. I thought, why haven’t millions of people heard this song?

"Cliffords are just an amazing band that I am so excited about. When I listen to the music of these three bands, I just can’t wait for other people to hear them."

Asked if Misneach was his way of paying it forward after he received encouragement from artists like Glen Hansard in the early part of his own career, Kennedy said, "I guess it is but it’s not even done with that intention.

"Glen Hansard letting me sing a song in Vicar Street as part of his gig was huge to me. I couldn’t believe it and it changed my perspective on everything.

"Those opportunities meant an awful lot to me and helped so much. Because if there’s ever a point where you feel frustrated or a bit demoralised about your career, moments like that give you an awful lot of hope. It’s very exciting for me to maybe give someone else that chance."

Now in its 22nd year, Ireland Music Week continues this week across Dublin venues Lost Lane, The Grand Social, The Button Factory and Workmans Club as it showcases the best of new Irish music.

And the annual event continues to prove that music from Ireland of all genres continues to be in rude health.

"That’s down to the quality of the music being made," Kennedy says. "I think we’re always done that. To some degree, the rulebook is out the window. I’m making my third album now and I thought about what’s the best way to approach it but I don’t think there’s any set way about it anymore.

"I think events like Ireland Music Week are about getting back to the music because as an artist who is trying to build a career you might think you have to get involved with social media and be a certain way but I think it’s refreshing to realise that people just want to hear good music."

More music news, reviews and interviews here