Cork Jazz Festival kicks up a storm at launch in the Opera House

It has long been a tricky task for the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival to strike a balance between commercial appeal and musical credibility, but this year’s line-up has been praised both sides of that divide

Cork-based singer, rapper, and trumpeter Diamond at the opening of the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival. Diamond performs at Live at St Luke’s Friday night. For more see guinnesscorkjazzfestival.com

A wet but wonderful weekend was forecast as the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival was launched on Thursday evening amidst the early deluges from Storm Austen. 

The season’s first named storm was just one of tens of thousands of visitors heading to the southern city for the 48th edition of an event that began in the Metropole Hotel back in 1978.

In truth, the festival has weathered plenty of storms through the decades, surviving recessions, personnel changes and changing music tastes to still ensure packed bars, venues, and streets every October bank holiday weekend.

“It is a major contributor to Cork’s economy, supporting businesses and jobs across the city,” Lord Mayor of Cork, councillor Damian Boylan, reminded attendees at the launch at Cork Opera House.

Colin Kenny of festival sponsors Guinness also paid tribute to the festival committee, volunteers, and others whose work made the weekend possible.

It has long been a tricky task for the festival to strike a balance between commercial appeal and musical credibility, but this year’s line-up has generally been praised by people on both sides of that divide. 

Sold-out shows already include pop-band Boney M, Afro-jazz collective Kokoroko, and big-name DJs Annie Mac and Berlioz.

Festival organisers say that more than 500 musicians will perform across 100 events and almost 80 venues throughout the city, with the town of Kinsale also linking up with its own music trail.

As well as ticketed concerts at various venues, there are a number of free performances through the weekend. 

Keyon Harrold and Marcus Strickland at the opening of the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival at Cork Opera House before their show at The Everyman. 

Ongoing renovations at the Crawford Art Gallery have meant the open-air stage formerly at Emmet Place has been moved to Elizabeth Fort. 

Brass bands will play at the Barrack St site for free on Saturday and Sunday at 1pm and 5pm, while Oliver Plunkett St is the location for the ‘Jazz Stroll’ featuring a number of ensembles on Friday at 6.30pm.

The Everyman recently added a second show for Luke Thomas and the Swingcats following the sell-out of their first gig, while Triskel — the HQ for the weekend’s ‘serious’ jazzers — is also reporting healthy ticket sales. 

Cork City Hall is one of the venues catering for non-jazz fans, with the Boomtown Rats headlining that venue's series of concerts.

Punters in Cork can expect a mixed bag weather-wise for the rest of the festival, with respite from the rain on Friday, in advance of further poor conditions through Saturday daytime, and relatively decent spells for the remainder of the weekend.

The festival is expected to deliver a significant boost to Cork’s hospitality, tourism and wider business community this weekend, with hotels, restaurants, pubs, venues and businesses across the city preparing for one of the busiest weekends of the year. Nearly 60,000 passengers are travelling through Cork Airport over the weekend.

• Des O'Driscoll, Arts Editor