Live music dead in Sligo?

CountingCrows

Sligo seems to have lost its way when it comes to live music in pubs. If you head to any other town in Ireland (most notably Carrick/Galway) almost every pub has a good live cover band at the weekend.

Many moons ago the Journeyman used to always have the "one man & his guitar" thing going on but sadly no more.

McHugh's - DJ
Belfry - DJ
Fiddlers - DJ
Left band - live music but often Jazz

Surely there's an opening for a "decent" pub to start playing host to decent live bands?

ze stef

Hi ,
On wednesday's there is Leon Mooney in Furey's... You should go he's good;
The MCGarrigles host gigs on Saturdays...
I think that the Clarence will have some live band.
There is still some trad everywhere!
and i am sure there is more live gigs planned in Sligo!
See you around

Tazzle

Heya! I'm not from Sligo or anything, but I saw this thread on the front page. Just thought I'd clue yous in on two fellows I saw at the Regina Spektor gig in Dublin a few weeks back. I'm sure they'd be around some locations in Sligo, http://www.myspace.com/tucanmusic I don't think I could accurately describe their genre, it's completely instrumental but immensely entertaining to watch and listen to. Anyway, check them out and support your fellow Sligoers

CountingCrows

ze stef wrote:

Hi ,
On wednesday's there is Leon Mooney in Furey's... You should go he's good;
The MCGarrigles host gigs on Saturdays...
I think that the Clarence will have some live band.
There is still some trad everywhere!
and i am sure there is more live gigs planned in Sligo!
See you around

Agreed that there are plenty of gigs on occasionally, my point is that if you go out on a typical Saturday night your chances of hitting a decent pub with a good live band are slim to none.

slavigo

Agree whole heartedly with the OP. Was in Donegal town not so long ago and there seemed to be ample choice of pubs to go to with live bands.

On a separate note SligoLive is coming up and I see Tucan (referenced above) are playing as guests of Alabama3.

All the live gigs outlined here:
http://sligolive.ie/tickets.html

muffler

Maybe there are no decent singers around Sligo

Dervish may have killed the live band scene :eek:

il gatto

Worst live music scene of any Irish town I've been out in (and that's quite alot actually).
I don't know where to send someone when they ask. Left Bank? McGarrigles? It has gone downhill massively from 5-10 years ago. It's more likely that you won't find a band in any town center pub on a Saturday night. There's the occasional exception, but that's about it. It's one of the reasons I no longer frequent anywhere in the town. Friends back home, might go for a few to catch up, but I wouldn't bother for the sake of seeing a crap DJ rattling off the charts or the overplayed classics which might be fashionable at the moment. Hit The Road Jack? Walk The Line? Don't Stop Believin'? All great songs, but I can live without hearing them played at ear bleeding volume in between the Pussycat Dolls and Christina Aguillera while vodka filled youths shout along to whatever words they can remember.
Bring back The Weir:(

JoeyJJ

Seen Alabama3 in limerick a few years ago, great live band, I like their music so that helped.

I see the clarence down as a venue in the sligo live thing, any news on when it is going to open.

Rozbeef

left bank being redone, should be a music thing upstairs. the clarence should open next month. maybe there's still hope.

AlmightyCushion

The only times I've really gone to the leitrim were when there was a band out the back. It used to be great fun. Does any one know why they stopped that?

il gatto

I think there was complaints about noise pollution in the Leitrim.
I suppose there is some hope with the Clarence and the Left Bank, but these places will just not be the same as a proper, vibrant music scene. There'll be security on the door, tickets for sale the previous week, and lots of frankly rubbish bands being backed by promoters because there got mentioned in Hot Press once.

SligoJoe

Shoot the Crows on tuesday nights. Steve (Waterboys) Wickham with guests.

Well worth a visit

Scoobydoobydoo

We went to Sligo at Easter, and wanted to see some live trad music in a bar, but couldn't find one anywhere, we ended up a bit deflated back in the hotel. We did our homework beforehand but it was a waste of time.

Also, what the hell is the story with the Left Bank, what did they do to the Garavogue? We used to go in there for food and stuff on trips to Sligo and loved it, don't like the new set up at all, and we won't go there. Pity.

AlmightyCushion

Scoobydoobydoo wrote:

Also, what the hell is the story with the Left Bank, what did they do to the Garavogue? We used to go in there for food and stuff on trips to Sligo and loved it, don't like the new set up at all, and we won't go there. Pity.

It's closing down apparently.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055149584

il gatto

Sligo is not a vibrant town at any time (except maybe Christmas), and when the students leave, it's down to a Saturday night only, and even then it's fairly bad. If locals can't find live music, how could a tourist expect to? I feel sorry for tourists when I see them wandering around on a Thursday night during the summer, looking for some sign of life.
I'm sure some will feel I'm over stating it, but it's true. If you were visiting the town with a couple of friends during the summer what are your chances of finding decent nightlife outside of a Saturday? Slim to nil, I would imagine.

donegalman1

I gather the Left bank shall be taken over within two weeks by Voodoo in Letterkenny. In Letterkenny they do live music and I am sure they'll push their club style too.