It’s time to let the imagination run wild in Waterford as the 15th annual Imagine arts festival kicks off in style this week.

Cathy Desmond rounds up the best opera and classical events coming up in Ireland and further afield

Damien Dempsey is from Donaghmede in Dublin, and his musical influences include traditional sean-nós, as well as his heroes, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley. Upcoming gigs include Cork Opera House, next Friday, April 1; and the National Opera House, Wexford, on April 2.

SINGING is an undiscovered country for traditional music icon Seamus Begley. Renowned for his accordion and fiddle playing, the Kerryman is notably less confident in his prowess as vocalist — despite a fine, nuanced crooning style. Indeed, he lives in fear that his voice might leave him down at any moment.

Bill Linnane spends a spell on Speyside and discovers how Scottish distillers have a lot to teach the booming Irish whiskey trade.

Bantry Bay will ring with the sounds of traditional music as the acclaimed Masters of Tradition series runs for the next four days in the town, having opened last night.

RTÉ bosses will take Creedon’s Wild Atlantic Way with them when they travel to Cannes on the French Riviera in October to sell new programmes on the international market.

MUSIC NEWS: U2 caught us all by surprise earlier this week with the release of their new album, Songs Of Innocence, as part of a tie-in with Apple.

A multinational assembly of trad music aficionados will descend on Killarney, Co Kerry, for the annual Gathering Festival this weekend.

FABULOUS music, sunshine and rain — then more rain… As a new generation prepares to repeat the cycle again, we asked festival veterans to remember their highlights....

Glasgow’s Celtic Connections draws performers from all over the world for 18 days of 24-hour music, says Nicki ffrench Davis

SINGER Sinéad O’Connor takes to the stage tonight as a newly married woman, playing alongside latest husband and fellow band member Steve Cooney.

Folk musicians, artists, dancers and singers from Ireland, UK, Europe and beyond will descend on Cork this weekend for the Beamish Cork Folk Festival.

THIS year’s Beamish Folk Festival has been “Shanghai-ed”.

THE latest reality TV wildman to get the chop was Daithí Ó Sé, who was last night voted off the RTÉ Celebrities Go Wild charity show.

Tommy Barker finds a country retreat whose owner sings its own praises.

THE West Kerry gaeltacht retreat of singer-songwriter Jimmy Crowley is for sale as he prepares to swap Kerry’s moody landscape for the bright lights under an American sun.

The St Patrick’s Festival in Dublin will be bigger and better than ever to celebrate its 10-year anniversary, organisers promised tonight.