Portobello’s Getting Its Very Own Music Festival

Great news for Dubliners, a cool new festival called Canalaphonic will take place on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th May, throughout Portobello and Rathmines. The festival schedule is shaping up pretty nicely, with bands playing on a barge at Portobello Harbour, with a whole rake of club nights and live gigs afterwards in venues nearby. There will also be a boutique market at Portobello Harbour on the Saturday, along with barge trips, and family fun activities.

Throughout the festival there will be art/craft exhibitions, markets, pop up acoustic sets and guerrilla spoken word performances throughout Rathmines and Portobello. In terms of sustenance local cafés, restaurants, and takeaways will be offering discounted prices to festival attendees.

The festival will provide an outlet for unsigned and independent musicians, artists and performers.

In terms of music policy attendees will have a choice of gigs of genres like rock, blues, indie, mod, roots, trad, swing, singer/songwriter, comedy and spoken word taking place in intimate venues.

So far the lineup includes Gavin Glass and the Holy Shakers, The Hot Sprockets, The Stomptown brass band, Nick Kelly, Corner Boy, and loads more. The Bernard Shaw, Bello Bar, Blackbird and Mart in Rathmines are just some of the venues hosting Canalaphonic events.

We reckon this is an awesome new addition to Dublin’s festival scene, let’s just hope we get the weather for it – a few tunes and cans by the canal in May sounds idyllic!