As one festival disappears, another springs up ... there’s just no keeping good ole country ‘n’ western down, says Damien Murray

The non appearance of this year’s Midlands Music Festival may have disappointed country music fans, but this weekend’s inaugural staging of the UTV CountryFest must surely have put a smile back on thousands of those faces.

Closer to home and boasting a larger contingent of homegrown country artists, in addition to some of country’s biggest international names, this exciting event — the largest country-music gathering here this year — is a welcome development on the festival scene.

The two-day festival (tomorrow and Sunday) at Dungannon Park in Co Tyrone features over 50 international, UK and Irish acts performing on three separate stages and in a saloon-style marquee, each hosted by UTV and U105 presenters.

The impressive line-up is headlined by Nashville legend and ‘king of country’, George Jones, in his first appearance in Ireland since he visited the King's Hall with his late wife, Tammy Wynette, many years ago.

He Stopped Loving Her Today, She Thinks I Still Care and The Race Is On are just some of the songs that stand out in his five decades in country music.

Other big-name attractions from the other side of the Atlantic include Ricky Skaggs and his Kentucky Thunder Group, Nanci Griffith, Gene Watson, Clinton Gregory, Stonewall Jackson, Vernon Oxford and Gretchen Peters, while Jimmy Buckley, Mike Denver, Robert Mizzell, Philomena Begley, John McNicholl, Shaun Cuddy, Roly Daniels, Brian Coll and Louise Morrissey are among the many Irish performers taking part.

In addition to their appearances at the UTV CountryFest, Nanci Griffith will also be performing at Letterkenny’s Mount Errigal Hotel on Tuesday and Gene Watson will be playing at both Londonderry’s Millennium Forum on Monday and at the Tullyglass House Hotel in Ballymena on Tuesday, when he supports the festival’s headline act, George Jones, who also performs at the Ballymena venue on Tuesday.

Jones’ short tour also includes dates in Letterkenny on Wednesday and Castlebar next Friday and Saturday (for full details of all performances and the UTV CountryFest, visit www.jwpromos.com ).

A reminder that Feile 08 also kicks off tomorrow in Belfast city-centre’s Bank Square with the former lead singer from The Specials and a founder member of Fun Boy 3, Neville Staple, followed on Sunday by Meteor Award nominees, The 4 of Us, and international trad outfit, Flook, on Monday.

Other Feile highlights include a special Clonard Monastery concert by Brian Kennedy on Wednesday, with support from Emer Kenny, and the not-to-be-missed Feile Women’s Singing Group, and an Eastern European and Salsa musical extravaganza next Friday at the Andersonstown Leisure Centre featuring Havana Son. See our round-up of highlights on P2-3 or www.feilebelfast.com for more details.

It has been announced that Australian singer-songwriter, Paul Kelly, will be Damien Dempsey’s special guest at his Belfast gig in the Empire Music Hall on Thursday.

Dempsey’s new studio album, The Rocky Road — comprising new arrangements of such well-loved and familiar songs as The Rocky Road to Dublin, The Foggy Dew, The Hot Asphalt, Ewan MacColl’s Schooldays Over and Shane MacGowan’s Rainy Night in Soho — marks a departure for the critically acclaimed singer.

The collection of traditional Irish songs and modern classics on includes collaborations with his heroes John Sheahan and Barney McKenna of The Dubliners and Sharon Shannon.

damien.murray@hotmail.co.uk