Star hits the right notes at Return
to Camden
 By Trevor
O’Sullivan
IRISH star Brendan Gleeson was on hand to make sure the eighth annual
Return To Camden Town Festival got off to a flying start at the weekend.
The first night of the event featured the album launch of London musician
James Carty, whose popularity was proved with a mass ticket sell-out.
Acclaimed Irish actor Brendan Gleeson was there to lend a hand to long-time
friend Carty and even enlivened proceedings himself with some impressive
fiddle playing.
The opening night also saw an album launch by The London Lasses and Pete
Quinn.
The success of the festival’s opening weekend bodes well for the
rest of the 10-day event according to its director Karen Ryan.
She said: “We are all absolutely delighted with the turn-out at
the weekend. We had a great crowd and it was fantastic to sell-out on
the first night. We have seen before that that tends to have a knock-on
effect for the rest of the festival.”
The huge demand for tickets has also lead to Ryan advising those wishing
to attend any events throughout the festival to secure their passes as
soon as possible.
She said: “There’s great excitement around the festival and
people need to be sure that they start getting their tickets now. I know
a lot of people couldn’t get tickets for the opening night and were
disappointed.
“So far we have had visitors from all over Britain, Ireland and
the States. Next weekend the big events include The Irish Post-sponsored
concert with Martin O’Connor.
“And Thursday night is a huge seller at the moment with Liz Carroll
who is over from Chicago along with John Doyle. The Saturday concert featuring
Cherish The Ladies and Sliabh Notes concert is also selling particularly
well. Every event has been as popular as we could have hoped for.”
The visit of Hollywood star Brendan Gleeson also proved a great thrill
to those in attendance.
Ms Ryan said: “He is a family friend of the Cartys and as James
was launching his album on Friday night they arranged for Brendan to come
over which was lovely. He was out playing music until all hours and he
is a lovely fiddle player.”
One festival-goer described the event as the highlight of the traditional
Irish music calendar.
She said: “The event was superbly attended and everybody really
enjoyed the musicians who performed. It continues to remain the pivotal
event for anyone with a passion for traditional Irish music, song and
dance.”
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