Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

Going Coastal – a weekend festival aimed at uniting somewhat disparate musical communities along the western edge of Ireland – returns to Galway this weekend for its third year.

With gigs taking place in the Róisín Dubh, Massimo’s, The Blue Note and Áras na nGael, it costs a grand total of €15 to catch all 24 acts from Friday to Sunday.

The bulk of that investment is aimed at Friday night, when a bill of twelve bands and artists take over both floors of the Róisín.

That bill, which includes Some Remain, Emily Panter, Tulca and All Thumbs, is populated by musicians from Galway, Sligo, Cork, Limerick, Donegal and Kerry.

This is as much a collaboration of curators as it is artists, and Friday’s selections have been divided between John O’Connor of A Modern Movement, and local punk-outfit-turned-event-organisers Shark School, who themselves played at an earlier iteration of the festival.

“The idea every year with Going Coastal is we bring other people and promoters in to curate lineups,” O’Connor says.

“With the Friday, we wanted to do something big and something different; we wanted to bring people in that were younger, and the name that was on the tip of our tongues straight away was Shark School.

“The girls have sold out the Róisín Dubh three times now, with Femme Fest twice and Fish Fest once. They just have their finger on the pulse of what is happening on the west coast.”

Part of the ethos of Going Coastal is to maintain and evolve working relationships with past performers.

Shark School are one example; on Saturday night too, a lineup of DJs in The Blue Note has been pieced together by another alumnus in Hannah Hession. O’Connor hopes that opportunity begets opportunity for those involved.

“There’s a good thing here where the established acts and newer acts get to meet each other. Throughout the years, we’ve seen acts that have met at Going Coastal playing a gig further down the line with each other. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to cultivate those links.”

Some of those playing over the weekend are just finding their way as regular performers. That was the case for Shark School when they first played Going Coastal, and the slot proved to be a real catalyst.

Pictured: Shark School…one of the star attractions at this week’s Going Coastal festival in Galway.