Here’s our picks and playlist for this year’s Sounds From A Safe Harbour Festival

Sounds From A Safe Harbour has returned for another outing bringing an incredibly eclectic range of artists from around Ireland and much further beyond together across a selection of different venues around Cork.

The festival, curated by Bryce and Aaron Dessner of The National, Director of 37d03d Mary Hickson, Cillian Murphy and Enda Walsh, starts today and continues for the next five days. The third edition of the festival hosts a smorgasbord of music, dance, art and everything in the gaps and there’s something for everyone from major performances by the likes of Feist and Jon Hopkins to 40 free shows across the weekend on the Heineken Free Music Trial in association with Nialler9.

Unsurprisingly, the festival has a strong turn out with regards to indie and folk. Canadian bluesy folk singer Mélissa Laveaux lights up Coughlans on Saturday whilst festival heavyweights Andrew Barr, Bryce Dessner, Clarice Jensen, Dustin O’halloran, Emma Broughton, Joel Shearer, Leslie Feist, Laveaux, Pauline Delassus and Todd Dahlhoff come together to pay tribute to the music and life of the late Lhasa De Sela on the closing Sunday night, a show that is sure to be special. 

For people looking to dance, Sounds From A Safe Harbour has a formidable selection with Jon Hopkins, Romare, SirWas and Cork’s own Fish Go Deep keeping the party going.

Elsewhere across the festival, Irish talent is constantly on display with Bantum, Denise Chaila and God Knows teaming up on Friday night at Plugd, a hip-hop treat from JarJarJr and Nealo on Saturday night at the Kino and promising shows from the likes of folksters Elaine Malone and Laurie Shaw, some good old-fashioned trad from The Mary Wallopers and a DJ set from Bad Bones at different stages of the weekend.

To hear more from the line-up check out our special Sounds From A Safe Harbour playlist below.

Listen on Spotify

Tickets and the full-line up are available here and keep up to date with the Free Music Trail here.

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