Sligo Live at The Racecourse, Sligo

A prior engagement kept me away from Friday night’s revels, but the word on the street was that Declan O’Rourke, with a hugely energised performance, Canadian bard Ron Sexsmith and hometown favourites Dervish played their hearts out to an audience who hung on their every note and chord, setting the bar very high for the weekend.
Gatherings like Sligo Live are not only about the music: they are about meeting old friends and rolling back the years, laughing, crying, and playing catch-up. In the context of the festival, they may have been doing a bit too much of this as there was a coterie among the crowd who were noisy, inattentive and disrespectful to the music and its practitioners. Why, oh why, do people who pay to come to these gigs, not stay outside till they’ve exhausted all idle chatter?
That cavil aside, it was a heck of an event, the much-anticipated reunion of Midnight Well providing the undoubted highlight. Saturday kicked off with a great set from The Border Collies. Having come from the Rory Gallagher tribute fest in Ballyshannon, Seamie O’Dowd and Rick Epping also did an incendiary set. But come the hour and Midnight Well were really on form – God, it was hard to believe that they hadn’t gigged together for a whole 27 years! My only reservation related to the decision to include some short solo spots, which definitely broke the mood. But the ensemble playing and singing was brilliant. The Proclaimers brought that night’s affair to a raucous closing, setting us up nicely for the Sabbath.
Sunday was another treat. Beginning with Triona and Mairead Ní Dhomhnaill, those of us with a critical role were left grasping for superlatives, and the need for an expansive lexicon increased as the evening wore on. The coalescence of Chicago and Clare in the heavenly music of Hayes and Cahill was spectacular. Sinéad O’Connor’s devotional material was less to my taste: she sang powerfully and beautifully, but I must admit to preferring her secular work.
It was left to Solas to bring proceedings to a stunning close, jigs, reels and songs all atumble in a glorious melting pot. Sligo Live was, without doubt a huge musical success, but it would have been even better if there had been a bit more hush at crucial moments. Hopefully next time!