Toe-tapping times ahead at Temple Bar Tradfest
Shake off the winter gloom at one of Ireland’s biggest traditional music festivals, which runs for five days (22–26 January) and features over 150 artists across more than 100 events.
Based in Temple Bar, the cobblestoned hub of Dublin’s cultural universe on the south bank of the River Liffey, Tradfest is wall-to-wall music showcasing the best of traditional Irish music as well as multiple offshoots into folk, blues and fusion.
For twenty years, Tradfest has championed Irish traditional music while welcoming artists from near and far to share their unique sounds and bring something fresh to the party. That party has now outgrown the Temple Bar area and stretches across Dublin and beyond with performances in several of the city’s iconic historic buildings as well as in pubs and indoor and outdoor performance spaces.
Highlights of the 2025 festival include veterans Scullion at Dublin Castle, Tom Paxton, Ralph McTell and friends at The National Stadium and Frankie Gavin and De Dannan at St Patrick’s Cathedral.
Kíla Féile will be back this year with their unique fusion of Irish tradition and global influences and the Pavee Club will celebrate the rich musical tradition of Irish Travellers.
International guests will include Ines Khai, a Guadeloupean singer-songwriter, Neda Nikolić, a frula player from Serbia, and two-time Grammy Award nominee and blues troubadour from the US, Eric Bibb.
Two special events will celebrate the talents of multi-award-winning actor Stephen Rea and musician Barney McKenna. Across four nights in The Lark Theatre, Balbriggan, a range of events will honor Stephen Rea through words and music, while in Howth, Barney, one of the original members of The Dubliners, will be remembered over two nights of music, stories and craic.
The Smithwicks Sessions offer free gigs in some of Temple Bar’s most beloved pubs with Showcase Nights giving the best new talent an opportunity to shine. And the TradFest trail features sessions across the city giving everyone a chance to get up close to the musicians and even join in.
Tradfest is an opportunity to sink into the spirit of Irish music, to enjoy the familiar sounds of fiddle, flute and bodhrán and to discover something new in a welcoming environment where locals and visitors come together to enjoy the music.
In between the concerts and sessions, explore the culinary flavors of Ireland, such as Irish stew or Dublin Coddle, in one of the many excellent restaurants in the Temple Bar area. Or embrace the winter vibe and cosy up in a pub with a warming Irish whiskey or pint of the black stuff.