And If Nubya Garcia at the Mermaid Arts Centre was on the wish list, then the bad news is that the star, who is one of big breakthrough artists of the recent UK urban jazz boom, sold out in record time.
Mieko Miyasaki and Franck Wolf, who are also billed for the Mermaid have also sold out and, Norman and Corrie, the Scottish duo who will be playing the Mermaid, on Saturday, May 3, are selling fast.
The good news is there are still plenty of acts across the three days – ticketed and free – and organiser George Jacob is very enthused with the reaction to the line-up this year.
“We’re absolutely delighted at the response and early bookings that we’ve had to this year’s festival programme, and are of course happy to be able to say that shows are managing to sell out weeks in advance of the weekend,” he remarked.
“We always believed that that would be the case when we succeeded in booking Nubya for her first Irish concert. She’s a big star in jazz, has a huge cross-over appeal, and a big following amongst young music fans in particular.
“The only regret is that the box office have had to field so many inquiries from disappointed fans – but hopefully everyone will find something of interest, and there are lots of options to choose from elsewhere on the programme.
“Alongside the main ticketed shows, there’s a great programme of free shows worth checking out at The Harbour Bar, The Hibernia, Duffs Bar and The Martello – where there are some really fantastic bands lined up to play free shows right throughout the bank holiday weekend.”
Alongside the evening concerts at the Mermaid – which are each double-bill presentations – the festival will stage day-time matinees at the town centre venue, as well as early evening recitals at Bray Town Hall, and a busy programme across the weekend at Bray’s landmark Harbour Bar, and at other bar and hotel venues across the town.
Whale Theatre in neighbouring Greystones will also present evening concerts on this year’s festival programme, with former BBC Young Musician of the Year, tenor saxophonist Xhosa Cole playing the venue on Friday, May 2, and Nduduzo Makhathini playing the venue on the Saturday night of the festival weekend.
Many of Ireland’s great jazz musicians from Ireland will also feature, including Grammy Award winning pianist Francesco Turrisi, Bray native Max Zaska, award-winning singer Christine Tobin, and bandleader and composer Ronan Guilfoyle, who will launch his latest project, Bemusement Arcade, as part of this year’s Bray festival.
Xhosa Cole
Whale Theatre, Greystones, Friday, May 2, 8pm. Tickets: €25
Saxophonist Xhosa Cole has been blazing a trail since he first emerged on the UK jazz scene as the wi...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]