There have been a number of new musical additions to Irish festivals over the past couple of weeks, including Galway International Arts Festival, Body&Soul, Open Ear, Féile Traidphicnic and more. See below for a round-up of the May announcements. For announcements from April, see here.

Galway International Arts Festival (15–28 July), now in its 42nd year, this week announced the full programe. The new additions in music include American singer Joan as Policewoman, Dublin indie-pop act Thanks Brother, artistic and maritime project Pianocean, Galway Street Club, Peggy Seeger, Tuvan folk group Huun–Huur–Tu and Booka Brass Band. The festival also features the world premiere of Brian Irvine’s new opera Least Like the Other, an Irish National Opera/GIAF production directed by Netai Jones and conducted by Fergus Sheil. 

As part of the festival’s Traditional Music Showcase series, the Steph Geremia Band, John Hoban, and Alan Kelly and Brian McGrath will perform. Previously announced by the festival are Robert Plant’s Saving Grace, Orbital, Burt Bacharach and Two Door Cinema Club. www.giaf.ie

Another Love Story (16–18 August) have today announced a selection of their music line up. Singer Anna Mieke, concertina player Cormac Begley, dance artist Wastefellow and melodic indie duo Lemoncello are set to feature alongside a selection of other Irish and international artists. Cian Ó Cíobháin and Donal Dineen join the choice of DJs lined up for the weekend alongside previously announced rock band The Redneck Manifesto, German DJ Christian Löffler and post-punk folk artist Maria Somerville. www.anotherlovestory.ie

West Cork Chamber Music Festival (28 June–7 July) will  feature 110 artists including the Chiaroscuro, Borusan, Zaïde and Dahlkvist quartets. Viviane Hagner, Johannes Moser and Barry Douglas will perform a range of works as a trio. Norwegian violinist and composer Henning Kraggerud will be in concert with Ellen Nisbeth and Emmanuelle Bertrand, and his own work will also be performed during the week. BBC Young Musician winner Laura van der Heijden will give a recital with Finghin Collins and also play Tabakova’s Cello Concerto (2008) with David Brophy conducting the Festival Strings. The festival will host a Young Composers’ Forum and Quatuor Zaïde will perform Emma O’Halloran’s quartet ‘Dying is a Wild Night’. www.westcorkmusic.ie

Body&Soul (21–23 June) recently added over 50 new acts to their line-up including various Irish performers such as festival regulars King Kong Company, rising grunge act Just Mustard, Kerry-based alt-folk singer Junior Brother and contemporary electronic artist Anna Mullarkey. International acts added to the bill are US rock act The Black Lips and Australian electro-pop group Confidence Man. They join previously announced acts such as Modeselektor, Dublin rockers Thumper and Belfast-based rappers Kneecap. http://bodyandsoul.ie/

Open Ear (30 May–2 June) on Sherkin Island have just announced a series of collaborative performances, ‘Open_Aux’, as part of their programme. Experimental musician Áine O’Dwyer will perform a site-specific piece ‘Accompaniment for Captives’; sound and film artist Vicky Langan will perform with composer Aaron Dilloway; and students from the DIT BA in Visual Art have produced a sound piece which will be performed by film composer Susan Stenger. Open Ear will also include various other music and visual performances from artists such as folk singer Radie Peat, and ambient electronic artists J Colleran and Gadget and the Cloud. www.openear.ie

Belfast TradFest (27 July–3 August) is a week-long summer school and festival including classes, demonstrations, talks and concerts. Traditional musicians such as Gradam Ceoil winners John Carty, Mary Bergin and Conor Connolly, multi-instrumentalist and composer Jarlath Henderson, Niamh Dunne and Eamon Murray of folk act Beoga, and Ulster lambeg and fife player Willie Drennan have all been recently announced. www.belfasttraditionalmusic.com

Killaloe Chamber Music Festival takes place from 30 May to 2 June. This year features the Irish premiere of the 1725 opera Pimpinone by Telemann and a new commission by Sam Perkin, The Copy and The Original, for Baroque violin and modern violin, featuring Diane Daly and Claire Duff. The festival’s finale concert, featuring Beethoven, Bernstein and Prokofiev, is dedicated to the memory of John Kelly and Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin. Artists featured over the weekend include Joachim Roewer, Barry McGovern, Chatham Saxophone Quartet, Marja Gaynor, Katherine Hunka and Michael McHale. www.killaloemusicfestival.com

Slane (8 June) will this year see Metallica headline with just-announced support from Belfast punk band Stiff Little Fingers and Dublin based alt-grunge act Fangclub. Also on the line up for the day-long concert are Swedish rock ensemble Ghost and Norwegian group Bokassa. www.slanecastle.ie/concerts/upcoming-concerts/

Galway Early Music Festival (24–26 May) will this year feature a new early music group including Yonit Kosovske, Vlad Smishkewych, Redmond O’Toole and Yovanna Torres Blanco; ‘Suitcase Arias’ from mezzo Sharon Carty; The York Waits with soprano Deborah Catterall; Obsidienne Ensemble; an early Irish harp discovery day with a performance from Siobhán Armstrong and Róisín Elsafty; The Gregory Walkers with Kelsey Schuhle; and an instrument makers’ exhibition. http://galwayearlymusic.com

Forbidden Fruit (1–3 June) have announced the acts performing at their after-parties, taking place in various locations across Dublin after the main events of the day have finished. Australian house DJ and performer Mall Grab will play on 1 June, along with Irish electronic act Long Island Sound. Dublin rapper Kojaque will perform on 2 June as will Daithi and electronica/hip-hop DJ Nightmares on Wax. Performing at the main event are acts such as First Aid Kit, Elbow and Skepta. www.forbiddenfruit.ie

Cork Midsummer Festival (13–23 June) has made some new announcements. American percussion quartet Sō Percussion will perform at the Cork Opera House on 18 June, including the European premiere of Donnacha Dennehy’s Broken Unison. On 16 and 17 June, Junk Ensemble and Dumbworld present a new dance opera, A Different Wolf; and, from 21 to 23 June, the Cork Proms will present three concerts with a range of music drawing on the themes of ‘Midsummer’, ‘Broadway’ and ‘Diva’. www.corkmidsummer.com 

Sounds From a Safe Harbour (12–15 September) have just shared the first round of artists that will feature at the Cork festival. Damien Rice will perform with special guests Voice Works choir led by Gemma Sugrue. Canadian pop singer Feist will also play, performing at Cork for the first time, and the festival also features LHASA, in which various musicians will perform the work of Mexican-American musician Lhasa de Sela. http://soundsfromasafeharbour.com/

Italian Fusion Festival (13 July) will see an evening of jazz performances in Dublin’s BelloBar. Audiences will be given prosecco on arrival and can expect artists such as the Julien Colarossi Organ Trio with special guest Laoise Leahy, Dublin ensemble The Jaffa Cakes, special poetry readings and more. www.italianfusionfestival.com

Great Music in Irish Houses (11–16 June) will feature a special tribute to pianist John O’Conor this year, with three concerts featuring current and former students, and colleagues from the RIAM, including Dearbhla Brosnan and Dearbhla Collins (piano duet), Finghin Collins, sisters Ailbhe and Orla McDonagh, and Sae Yoon Chon.  The Colin Currie Quartet will perform Volans, Reich and more on 15 June. Also performing in the festival, which takes place in venues in Dublin, Wicklow and Westmeath, are Ailish Tynan, Richard Goode and the Pavel Haas Quartet. https://greatmusicinirishhouses.com/

Tipp Classical (20–21 September), which takes place in Semple Stadium, Thurles, have added a number of acts to their line-up, including Irish folk-rock act The Horslips, Shane MacGowan with guests, and a string of new acts at the new Jerry Fish stage, including Dublin rock act Bitch Falcon and The Blizzards, as well as Jerry Fish himself. They join a line-up that already includes The Stunning, Therapy? and Thin Lizzy’s Brian Downey and Eric Bell. https://tippclassical.com/

Féile Traidphicnic (5–7 July), the traditional music and arts weekend in the Conamara Gaeltacht village of An Spidéal, announced its 2019 line up this week. It includes folk duo Ye Vagabonds on the Friday, ConTempo Quartet with piper Pádraig Keane on Sunday, sean-nós singer Briocán Bairéad, Róisín Seoighe who featured in the Gaeltacht show Aisling?, fiddle-player Liz Kane and box-player Danny O’Mahony, and Galway group Back West. http://traidphicnic.com/index.html

Kilkenny Arts Festival (8–18 August) have recently announced the first wave of artists performing at the festival in August. British singer and guitarist Richard Thompson is featured in the programme as well as a performance of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale featuring Ciarán Hinds with the Fews Ensemble led by Joanne Quigley McParland. Also on the programme so far are Chamber Choir Ireland and organist Malcom Proud. www.kilkennyarts.ie

The Irish International A Capella festival (28 June–1 July) in Dublin will feature Apollo5 from London and the Apex Singers from Manchester at the opening concert, followed by an A Cappella Competition and Club A Cappella over the weekend, and a closing concert with Ardú, Euphonics, OperAcappella, Bristol Suspensions and Strictly A Cappella. www.irishacappella.com

An Chúirt Chruitireachta (30 June–5 July), the festival of Irish harp in Termonfeckin, Co. Louth, has a range of concerts as well as classes and workshops. Concerts in 2019 include harper Úna Ní Fhlannagáin and
poet Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh; Siobhán Armstrong, Róisín Elsafty and Ronan Browne; Cormac de Barra, Oisín Morrison, Paul Dooley and Séamas Ó Flatharta joined by the Drogheda singers; and Maeve Gilchrist and Nic Gareiss with the RTÉ ConTempo Quartet. www.cairdenacruite.com

The West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival started yesterday and runs until Sunday. Also coming up this weekend and next are Féile Róise Rua in Donegal, Skerries Traditional Music Weekend, World Fiddle Day and the Galway Early Music Festival.

For more festivals across Ireland and abroad, visit our Festival Calendar. To add a concert to the Journal of Music using our free listings service, and to appear in our weekly Concert Planner, see here.