As part of this year’s Bray Jazz Festival, which runs from Thursday 2 May to Monday 6 May, a number of concerts will take place around County Wicklow in an ‘On the Road’ series. 

On Friday 3 May at the Calary Church in Roundwood, singer and violinist Dowry will perform at 8pm; Kadialy Kouyate from Senegal and Indré Jurgeleviciute from Lithanuia will play a double bill at Russborough House in Blessington on Saturday night, 4 May; No Tongues from France will play Tinahely Courthouse on 5 May; and the George Collegian Trio from the USA and Ireland will perform in the Arklow Methodist Church on Monday 6 May at 8pm.

The festival, which is now in its twentieth year, has over fifty events taking place over the May bank holiday weekend. Among the headline acts are pianist Fred Hersch and jazz guitarist John Scofield who will perform at the Mermaid Arts Centre on Friday and Saturday night respectively. On Friday at the The Well venue, Mats Gustaffson’s Fire! group from Sweden will perform, and, at the Mermaid on Sunday, German cellist Anja Lechner and French pianist François Couturier, who collaborated on the 2014 ECM album Moderato Cantabile, will be in concert.

Other international and Irish acts over the bank holiday weeekend include Norma Winstone and Tommy Halferty (Sunday), Tin Men and The Telephone (Sunday), Lucia Cadotsch’s Speak Low (Saturday), Kenosha Kid (Saturday) and Scott Flanigan (Sunday).

The Harbour Bar is hosting a number of free gigs, including Shookah (Thursday), ReDiviDeR and the Conor Guilfoyle Octet (Friday), Greg Felton Trio, Paj, The Soro Quartet and Yankari (Saturday), Aleka Potinga Quartet, Maya Goldblum/Queen Bonobo, Shy Mascot, and Cooks But We’re Chefs (Sunday), and ÄTSCH and Dick Valentine (Monday). There is a also more than 20 shows as part of a Jazz Festival Fringe.

Listen to our Bray Jazz Festival playlist below. For full details and booking, visit www.brayjazz.com. 

This festival preview is supported by Bray Jazz Festival.