Under the banner of ‘Arrivals’, Sligo Live will present some of the best emerging talent on the music scene, in a series of intimate gigs held in city-centre venues around Sligo during the festival weekend.

Audiences will be treated to live performances in a variety of spaces – from cafés and pubs to arts spaces and even Sligo Bus Station.

The 2015 Arrivals line-up welcomes artists from across the indie, roots and folk music spectrum with performers from across Ireland, the UK, the US, the Netherlands, Poland, Australia, Norway and Scotland. And giving this international line-up it is fitting that Arrivals is supported by www.lookwest.ie
Arrivals gigs are free entry to the general public and festival goers are encouraged to arrive early as space is limited and gigs will commence promptly at the advertised times. Full details of the Arrivals line-up, including links to the artists, dates, times and venues around Sligo is available at sligolive.ie/arrivals or in the Sligo Live brochures now available in pubs, shops and eateries around Sligo town.

The concerts are on from Thursday, October 22 to Monday, October 26. Some of the highlights from the Arrivals programme this year include:

Between the Leaves (Thursday, Sligo Bus Station, 2pm)
Drawing inspiration from a broad range of musical genres, Sligo based two piece Elaine Gordon and Kevin O’Gorman play a variety of acoustic-based alternative folk

Damh (Friday, Cafe Victor, 12.30pm)
Damh is Donegal-born musician, David Burke. 2014 saw Damh’s first release, Toby’s Lament, which tracks a surprisingly sensitive boy-racer through a mix of lo-fi electro-pop and acoustic chuggery.

Saint Sister (Friday, Kate’s Kitchen, 2pm)
Gemma Doherty and Morgan MacIntyre draw from early Celtic harp traditions, 60s folk and electronic pop to create ‘atmosfolk’ – a mix of soulful vocal harmonies, dreamy synth and electro-acoustic harp. They recently opened for Arcade Fire’s Will Butler in Whelan’s.

Tim V. Smyth (Friday, Riverside Hotel, 5pm)
Tim V. Smyth has appeared with Brendan Benson and Gemma Hayes. As a songwriter with the critically acclaimed Hidden Highways, and more recently The Sunday School Sessions, he blends alt country and lo-fi folk. Currently he is working on a solo album and has recently performed at the Kilkenny Roots Festival.

Paddy Hanna (Saturday, Lily & Lolly’s Cafe, 2pm)
Think Elvis Costello at his most melodic, crooning effortlessly over a marching band-like rhythm section. Hanna demonstrates a wide vocal range and an accomplished delivery rarely heard these days.

Cry Monster Cry (Saturday, Hargadon’s, 5.30pm)
The story telling traditions of Ireland are clearly present in the songs of brothers Richie and Jamie Martin. They use mythology and fables as they write about love, life, death, dreams, hopes and fears, with an apparent tension between beautiful melodic harmonies and heavier darker undertones in the lyrics and sounds

Christof (Saturday, Riverside Hotel, 6pm)
Netherlands born folk singer/songwriter, Christof, has travelled the world, recounting the people he’s met and the places he’s been. In 2007 Christof arrived in Galway, playing around the city and across Ireland. A period of relentless touring throughout Europe, North America and New Zealand and 4 studio albums followed.

Out Of Towners (Sunday, The Model, 12.30pm)
The songs written by singer and guitarist Ollie Alcorn are inspired by his own experiences travelling around Australia. Robert Naczas (harmonica/dashtick guitar) Dominic Callaghan (bass) & Brian Devaney (cajon/percussion) complete the line-up.

Dean Gurrie (Sunday, Knox, 2pm)
Dean grew up surrounded by music of all genres which influenced his unique guitar style and rhythm. Hot Press commented: “The quality of Dean’s song-writing would suggest that with a little bit of good fortune a wider audience awaits for someone who has such an easy rapport with the audience”. Dean is working on his debut album.

Tandem Felix (Sunday, The Glasshouse, 5pm)
Arriving from the gig circuit that has brought us Girl Band and Spies – Tandem Felix inhabit a space and sound as much West-Coast, USA as Dublin, Ireland.
“These are classy, country tinged songs about affairs of the heart, music for grownups, for divorcees, for people who have lived.” – The Guardian.

Peter James and John (Monday, Cafe Osta, 4pm)
Peter James is a singer/songwriter from Dublin. His song writing is described as emotionally charged and effective using rich melodies with 60s/70s rock and roll as his main influences. Here he teams up again with John O’Dea, on keys, to play these up tempo and heartfelt songs.

English folk icon Ralph McTell will be making a welcome return to Sligo next weekend to perform at the Sligo Live festival.

The return is welcome both by his fans in the North West and by the man himself, who has played here several times over a music career spanning half a century.
The 70-year-old even recalls a memorable St Patrick’s night spent in Sligo many moons ago.

“I’m trying to think what year. It was a long time ago. I had a very memorable St Patrick’s night there when I was booked to play in Strandhill. It was a wonderful occasion and I enjoyed it very much.

“I also played in Sligo in the Silver Swan and I’ve been there on other occasions, but to be truthful they’re kind of lost in the mist a bit.”

Although he lived all his life in England, settling in idyllic Cornwall, from where he spoke to the Sligo Weekender, Ralph always had a deep affinity for Ireland and the Irish.

“It goes back to when I was a little boy. I grew up with Irish people around me. I had lots of Irish friends when I was a kid.

“The influence of Ireland was all around me and I have written a song called ‘Mr Connaughton’ which is quite well-known about our Irish neighbour who lived upstairs. I grew up without a dad so he was an important figure in my life.”

He said that Irish audiences too have been among the most receptive, with many of his more melancholic songs moving some to tears.

For the full interview with Ralph McTell, pick up a copy of this week’s Sligo Weekender newspaper – in shops now!