Mundy and The Frank & Walters to play Macroom Music Fest

New festival recalls Macroom Mountain Dew Festival, which ran from 1976 until 1982 and brought Rory Gallagher and other big names to the Mid-Cork town

Mon, 19 Jun, 2023 - 02:00

Sean O’Riordan

A new music festival is set to kick off in Macroom this Saturday, featuring The Frank & Walters, Riptide Movement, and Mundy as headline acts.

Macroom Music Fest recalls the very first open-air music festival in Ireland, The Macroom Mountain Dew Festival, which ran from 1976 until 1982 and brought Rory Gallagher and other big names to the Mid-Cork town.

The new festival will be the first music event to take advantage of the town's relative freedom from traffic following the partial opening of the N22 bypass.

While the first Mountain Dew Festival was held in the castle grounds, Macroom Music Fest will be held at the gates of the castle in the town square.

The multi-platinum artist Mundy will take to the stage on day one of the festival. Mundy began his career on the energetic Dublin busking scene before singles ‘Gin & Tonic Sky’ and ‘Life’s a Cinch’ became hits for the Offaly musician.

After signing to Sony, he was catapulted into the spotlight when ‘To You I Bestow’ off his debut album Jelly Legs was featured on Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’.

The Riptide Movement play in Macroom this weekend.

The Riptide Movement are a gold-selling, Choice-nominated Dublin band with five studio albums to their name and a string of hit songs including 'All Works Out', 'You & I', 'Elephant in the Room', 'Changeling', and 'Something Special'.

The Frank & Walters, meanwhile, are one of the most recognisable alternative rock bands hailing from Cork.

Festival organiser Killian Lynch said the people of Macroom got their town back when it was bypassed and this is an opportunity to showcase it to its full potential.

“This is just one of the things we are doing," he said.

This concert is just the start and will be one of many to follow.

"We felt, what better way to celebrate, only to have a concert for all? Macroom is a market town in the centre of the scenic Lee Valley and has a large community feel about it. It is great to see a real buzz around Macroom town now,” Mr Lynch said.