Musician and founder of Other Voices Philip King will be in conversation with Martin Hayes at this year’s Masters of Tradition festival in Bantry, Co. Cork. The festival, now in its seventeenth year, takes place on 21–25 August and includes concerts, talks and secret concerts.

King will also perform with Scullion on 24 August at Bantry House. The trio (King, Sonny Condell and Robbie Overson) released their first album in almost three decades, Long Wave, two years ago. They recently did a series of concerts at the new Lost Lane venue in Dublin. King will discuss music with Hayes on 25 August at Bantry House.

Other talks at the festival include novelist Timothy O’Grady, viola da gamba player Liam Byrne and Syrian bouzouki player Mohammad Syfkhan. Syfkhan is a refugee living in Leitrim. He came to Ireland in 2016 and now performs with the aim of connecting locals with the new Kurdish residents. He will host a talk and performance in Ma Murphy’s Bar on 24 August.

Secret concerts and performances
There are three secret concerts planned for the festival on 23, 24 and 25 August where the artists will not be announced until the event. On 25 August, the secret concert is taking place on a ferry trip from Bantry to nearby Whiddy Island. Attendees will experience the performance during a two-hour boat trip of the local seascape. 

Writer Timothy O’Grady’s book I Could Read the Sky, about emigration and life in the west of Ireland, was published in 1997 and Iarla Ó Lionáird subsequently released an album under the same name. On 21 August, there will be a concert also inspired by the work featuring Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill, Timothy O’Grady, Síle Denvir, Steve Cooney and dancer Sandy Silva. 

The festival will also see performances from Lisa O’Neill (who has just released four nominations at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards), Cormac Begley, Floriane Blancke, Yvonne Casey, Dermot Byrne, Liam Byrne, Pádraic Keane and Páraic McDhonnacha.

For further details and booking information, visit: https://www.westcorkmusic.ie/masters-of-tradition/

Download the festival brochure below.