In At the Hawk’s Well we enounter an old man who has been climbing to a mystical well in a high and barren place every day for fifty years. He is seeking to drink the magic waters of eternal life that one day will fill the well. This day, on foot of a rumour told over too much wine a young Cuchulain has sailed from Ireland to find the enchanted well and share in its magical water…

Directed by: Kellie Hughes
Designed by: Jo Conway.
Blue Raincoat Ensemble: John Carty, Niall Henry, Ciaran McCauley, Fiona McGeown, Sandra O’Malley.  With Marketa Formanova (The Hawk)
Lighting Design: Michael Cummins
Sound Design: Joe Hunt

Sligo’s well known as a place of music, with great gigs from all genres happening all over the county most nights of the week from Trad and Jazz to Classical and Rock, and everything in between. Keeping up to speed with what gigs are on is not always so easy, but it’s about to get easier with two initiatives launched in time for the Lissadell weekend.

SligoMusic.ie is a new online listings service that aims to bring together a comprehensive listing of what’s on where and when. The first step in a larger initiative from Sligo Arts Service, the site is in the initial phase at the moment, but can offer a handy single destination online for music listings. The initial site is presented in partnership with SligoEvents.ie which is an independently run events resource for Sligo town and county. Created by Denise Rushe, it’s receiving 6,000 visitors a month and has received a noticeable upsurge in visits leading up to the Lissadell weekend.

If you are out and about over the weekend and not near a computer you can still access the info thanks to a Sligo developer who has designed an ingeniously simple website at www.sligo.me that feeds information from SligoMusic.ie in a way that suits all internet enabled mobile phones. Sligo.me will also develop over time into something more complex but for now you can see music listings along with wider Sligo Events listings, cinema listings, listings from The Model, The Factory and the Hawk’s Well Theatre and even tide times and train times all in one place.  update: and just in time for this weekend there are Parking and Places to Eat maps too.

It’s hoped that this weekend can be a great platform for Sligo for the thousands of visitors expected to come to the Lissadell concerts, and the people behind SligoEvents.ie, SligoMusic.ie and Sligo.me hope that they can make it easy for those visitors to find out exactly what they can get up to over this musical weekend.

Do spread the word to visitors as all the sites are free, and if you have listings that are not already included on the sites please email sligoevents@gmail.com or sligomusic@asquared.ie (for music events) to get them listed.

Wonder and excitement will fill the streets of Sligo again this year on the 24th of September, transforming the town into a cultural wonderland for Sligo’s second Culture Night.

Planning is already underway for Culture Night Sligo 2010, which promises to follow in last year’s huge success with a night of free entertainment, discovery and adventure for all the family.  With over 40 cultural organisations, joining together in this unique collaboration to open their doors with over 50 events taking place, providing an evening of inspiration and magic for both young and old.

Culture Night Sligo is coordinated by Sligo County Council Arts Service in partnership with Bus Eireann Sligo and the participating cultural organisations and individuals, the imaginative four hour programme running from 6pm to 10pm, will feature storytelling, jamming sessions, a treasure hunt, backstage tours, exhibitions, as well as an opportunity to meet artists in their studios and a host of workshops for all ages.  Alongside the return of the Sligo Music Bus’s, with Bus Eireann Sligo providing discounted bus fares into Sligo with live musicians to get you in the mood for Culture Night Sligo 2010.

Culture Night is an initiative co-coordinated by Temple Bar Cultural Trust and supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport in partnership with Sligo County Council and Sligo Borough Council.

So save the date Friday 24th September, come along and celebrate Sligo’s diverse and vibrant culture, with a night to remember for you, your family and friends!

For further information please contact Sligo Arts Service on, (071) 9111823 , or by logging on to www.sligoarts.ie or check out www.culturenight.ie

Friday 24th September, 6pm – 10pm

This Woman does not just sing on Stage she owns the Stage….

’Proper Grown Up Soul Music.’
- Bill Buckley, Jazz and Funk and Blues

…‘Can’t wait to hear more from this sharp – edged diamond.’
- Teach, Jazz and Soul

‘Death! I love this song…it’s a compelling funky jazz track!’
- Bob Davies, Soul Patrol

Fri 30th July 10.30pm €10 Barry’s Public House

Gates 4pm
Leonard Cohen on stage: 7.30pm
Interval: 8.45pm
Leonard Cohen on stage: 9.10pm
Concert finishes: 10.55pm

31/07/10 Limited tickets still avail at www.ticketmaster.ie /ph 0818 719300

01/08/10 Tickets ranging from EU80, EU105, EU115 available from usual outlets.  Tickets on Sale now

Travel Information
To reduce traffic congestion and delays & arrive a few hundred yards from your concert seat book your place today on the priority coach service.
Serving all main hotels and towns in the Sligo area www.DiscoverSligo.com

Directions: Check AA’s Route Planner for routes from anywhere in Ireland to Sligo. www.aaireland.ie/routes

Trains: Check scheduled timetable at www.irishrail.ie. Bus Eireann will have a bus departing Sligo station adjacent to train station at 3pm, 3.30pm & 4pm Fri, Sat & Sun going to concerts.

Driving: Check www.aaireland.ie/routes for directions to Sligo. Once in Sligo drivers are advised to take the N15 there will be signposts directing to concert parking

Car Parking: There is ample free car parking at the venue. Car park is 7min walk to seating.

Taxis Drop Off/Pick up: Oxfield GAA grounds. There will be a shuttle service into concert site. There is a charge of EU3 one way/EU5 return for this shuttle and it will take aprox 7mins.

Disabilities: Any vehicles with HSE Disability badge in window will be waved into Disability Car Park. Distance to seating is aprox 200 yards.

Special Coach Service from Dublin
Sat 31st July Depart Busáras 2.30pm
Returning directly after the concert. EU32. Book at www.buseireann.ie

Coaches from Belfast; www.coachestoconcerts.co.uk

Large/small coach hire
Fureys of Sligo
07191 63092
www.fureysofsligo.com

POD and AEG Live very proudly present

LEONARD COHEN

at Lissadell House, County Sligo

Ending weeks of speculation, it was officially confirmed that revered poet Leonard Cohen will perform in Ireland this summer and tickets will go on sale on Monday 26th at 9.00am. Lissadell House , County Sligo, will host the concert and provide a dramatically beautiful setting for this intimate seated outdoor concert. A first for Lissadell.

A Cohen show in Ireland is something of legend, having played 3 sold out shows in Kilmainham, 4 in the O2 and 1 in Belfast’s Odyssey in the past 3 years, garnering 5 star reviews across the board and achieving ‘Best International Live Performance ‘ for a second time at this year’s Meteor Awards.

A celebrated and much lauded singer/songwriter Cohen first emerged as a major and influential talent in the early 60s. Albums like Songs Of Leonard Cohen (1967), Songs Of Love And Hate (1970) and I’m Your Man (1990), right up to 1992′s The Future, 2001′s Ten New Songs and 2004′s Dear Heather are rightly considered classics. Uniquely for a revered musician, Cohen’s literary plaudits rival those for his music.

His songs have been famously covered by the great and the good, each version a fascinating attempt to move closer to Cohen’s enigmatic muse. From Judy Collins’ “Suzanne” to Jeff Buckley’s seminal rendition of “Hallelujah,” Cohen’s songs have travelled as far and wide as their author. U2, REM, Sting, Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright and the late Johnny Cash are among other famous devotees. It is estimated that his songbook has been covered over 1,330 times by other recording artists.

“When Leonard Cohen takes to the stage, it’s no less than a cultural event of Biblical dimensions”
Sunday Independent

“What I witnessed was soul inspiring on every level, I have never been so moved by a performance, Everything about the night was magical”
Irish Independent

“When he pushes his voice that extra yard for Hallelujah, his 10,000 guests rise as one in a standing ovation. Well, when you’re in the presence of someone with such class and vintage, it’s only good manners”
Irish Times

Why Lissadell? Leonard Cohen is both a fan and a student of W.B Yeats. W.B.Yeats visited and stayed at Lissadell in his youth, and this location was great inspiration to Yeats in his many works. Marrying Cohen’s love of Yeats, the performance of one of the greatest singer songwriters of modern times, and the magic of Lissadell, an event of breathtaking magnificence will unfold.

”That old Georgian Mansion”  Lissadell House, as referred to by W.B. Yeats (In Memory Of Eva Gore-Booth And Countess Markiewicz) was a holiday home to the poet .

Sweeping down to the wild shores of the Atlantic Ocean, The Lissadell House gardens have been lovingly restored in recent years by Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy who bought the property in 2003.

The Temple House festival, which promises to be a little bit different and provide an unforgettable experience for festival goers, will have a diverse line-up of music and entertainment featuring a host of Irish and international acts including live music from Howard Jones - The Undertones - Reef - The Wailers – The Stunning – Damien Dempsey – New Young Pony Club – The Saw Doctors - Terry Hall (DJ) – Peter Hook (DJ) - Donal Dineen - RSAG -  O Emperor – The 202s -Ronan O’Snodaigh - Miracle Bell – The Whiteliars - My Evil X – Sive – Twin Kranes – Davide Swarup - Beat Poets - The Aftermath -  Relief - The Aftermath – Paddy Usher Band – The Chapters – Jezzebelle – Hamlet Sweeney – Carosel - John Conneely - Jackk and Jones – Noise Control - Society X – The Bubba - Oddsocks Revival – plus many more to be announced over the forthcoming weeks.    Early bird tickets priced €59 (including camping and booking fees) are on sale up 15^th August from  www.tickets.ie.    Tickets will be €79 euros from 15 August.

They’ll be doing a free show for all the kids in Sligo, at The Model from 1-3pm this Sunday 25th July to launch their  free summer programme of weekend workshops for kids.

Come and take a ride into the decrepit world of these bumbling crusaders that have peddled far and wide from the mountain tops of Siberia to the Glens of Antrim. Ruby Barren has devoted her life to perfecting her art form and setting impossibly high standards that only she can achieve. Her daughter Tulip, a child prodigy, desperately attempts to live up to her mother’s expectations only to be upstaged by her two left feet.

So come on Sunday to marvel at the:Death-Defying Trapeze, Back Cracking Contortion, Jaw Dropping Acrobatics, Fearless Aerial Feats, Giant Ball Juggling and Live Musical Mayhem…may all your days be circus days!

This performance takes place outside the new entrance of The Model on Connaughton Rd and all are welcome.

Are you interested in volunteering at the Lissadell gigs at end of this month? I am looking for volunteers from 3pm – 11pm on 30th July @ Westlife; 31st July @ Leonard Cohen & 1st August @ Leonard Cohen working as information stewards. Food and transport from Sligo will be provided. Volunteers must be over 18 years of age. T&Cs apply.

If you are interested and available please email me at catherine@electricpicnic.ie

Positions will be allocated on a first come first serve basis

Please note there are also a number of paid roles available too.

“Moments of Possibility” by Alan Ardiff

Hamilton Gallery, formerly known as The Cat & The Moon Gallery, presents an exhibition of bronze sculptures by artist and goldsmith Alan Ardiff. The exhibition continues until August 2nd. The Gallery opening hours are 10am to 5pm Mon to Sat including August Bank Holiday Sun & Mon.

Alan Ardiffs kinetic works have been exhibited both nationally and internationally, including the RHA, Dublin; SOFA, Chicago; Museum of Decorative Arts, New York.

Ardiffs large-scale bronzes act as a vehicle for self-expression, eloquently depicting the artists’ ongoing interrogation into aspects of what he describes as “the bigger picture”. Smaller works focus a fond eye upon more immediate, individual dilemmas, conveying a strong sense of the striving, struggling human lot; humorously borne here. The artist’s constant, quiet sense of humour remains centre stage throughout, offering a sense of hope and, sometimes, joy amid the mélange of perceptions and emotions which seemingly beset the human condition. “My inspiration comes from the clouds above and the grass below and all the human interaction in between”.

Hamilton Gallery, 4 Castle Street, Sligo
See www.hamiltongallery.ie for further details and images.