teekayd25 wrote: » There was the Liss Ard festival down this direction, which was an early version of the current "Cork X Southwest" event. I don't remember the exact lifespan but there is an old webpage here :http://www.lissard.com/event/index.html
bodhrandude wrote: » Omigod just looking at the 1999 lineup for this Nick Cave, John Martyn, John Cale (Ex Velvet Underground), Afro Celt Sound System, Carl Craig, Yungchen Lhamo, Arab Strap, Gargoyle 42 Magazine, The Frames, Smog, Phunk City, Jarvis Cocker, The Devlins, Drugstore, Will Oldham, Well of Voices, Conor Lovett, Benard Butler, Veda Hill, Handsome Family, Andy Cairns & Martin McCarrick, Liam OFlynn, Larla OLioniard, Silver Jews, Cian, Mark Eitzel, Cran, Pulp. Now thats a serious good mix of artists, some very good trad ones there too, this is more akin to EP rather than Cork X Southwest.
So what on earth would persuade these luminaries to play in a garden to a maximum of 600 people? “The attraction is that the artists get to perform in a creative atmosphere that simply doesn’t exist anywhere else, with a freedom to experiment and try out new things in a space designed to encourage expression. All the artists are donating their time free to help raise money for the foundation.” The foundation is the Liss Ard Foundation, a charity which Vieth set up in 1990 to develop the forty acres of woodlands, meadows and lakes, which make up the garden. “The idea of the foundation is to create a truly natural garden, which will come to maturity in about 50 years and to and raise public awareness about the importance of conservation,” Vieth explains. “The foundation also promotes appreciation of all aspects of the arts, culture and Irish heritage.” In case this all sounds like a stereotype, Veith argues: “It’s not a hippy thing, we do a lot of work training people in landscape horticulture, providing jobs in the area and giving people useful skills. But the garden gets its highest profile through the festival.”
