Prosperous Music Festival continues tonight as locals are encouraged to get out and enjoy the talent

The fourth annual Prosperous Music Festival is set to go ahead next weekend in bars and restaurants around Prosperous town.

This year over 50 music acts will be performing at the festival which kicked off last night and is running until Sunday . The festival is organised by a committee which is working to make it the biggest and most exciting festival yet, and it is free for the public to attend all weekend.

The festival has always been free thanks to the donations of its four main sponsors Dowling’s Bar & Restaurant, Larry’s Bar, Christy’s Bar and Kildare County Council. A new edition to the festival is the Family Fun Day in St Farnan’s Post Primary School Field, which will include a Farmer’s Market and Craft Fair and games for all the family to enjoy and will start at 1pm and finish at 5pm on Sunday 21 August.

There will be an outdoor stage set up for the younger performers to showcase their talents to family, friend and their local and neighbouring communities. Children and young people aged eight years old to 13 and 14 to 19 years old may enter. For the chance to audition enter your child’s name and age to 0877724453. Also on the stage will be Pat and Paula Twomey from Teenstars and they will be hosting free auditions for the 2017 Teenstars Competition. As well as music there will also be Bounce for Fun bouncy castles, Parties 4 U with balloon modelling and games, Little Oak Equestrian Centre Pony rides, face painting, an obstacle course, a Tug-O-War competition, My Canine Companion competition (as seen on TV), Penalty shoot-out games, Toddler Zone, a sponge toss, treasure hunt, a Farmer’s Market and Craft Fair and many more.

Another new edition to the festival will be the classical music event, specifically centred on pianists in the historic Downing’s House which has links to Christy Moore and Luka Bloom, while sopranos and string performances will fill the evening with wonder and beauty. It will feature several of Ireland’s most talented piano players and will start at 7pm on Saturday, with a cheese and wine reception from 6:30pm. This is a ticketed event and tickets the price will be released closer to the event. Limited places are available so booking is essential to avoid disappointment. Contact Irene at 0876392396 or via email at [email protected]. The always popular church concert will be held at The Church of Our Lady and St Joseph from 7pm and will include performances from Jeremiah Day, Darren Lynch, Caroline Walsh, Meg LaGrande, and the OneVoice Choir from Newbridge and this event will also require a ticket. The Prosperous Music Festival is also looking for willing volunteers to help set up the activities and anyone interested can email [email protected] for more details.

Tonight there will be gigs at Christy’s Marquee, Larry’s Bar, and Dowling’s Bar & Restaurant. At Christy’s Marquee the line-up includes: Michelle and Gavin Crowe at 7pm, Curtis Walsh at 7:30pm, The New Social at 8:15pm, She Speaks at 9:15pm and Downtown Mowdown at 10:30pm. At Larry’s Bar the first act is Between The Lines at 7pm, Donnacha Hayden at 8pm, The Crooked Edge at 9:20pm, and the Bruce Springsteen Tribute Band The Rising at 10pm, while at Dowling’s Bar & Restaurant The Bog Standard will perform at 7pm,  Resistor at 8pm, Elevation Falls at 9pm, and The Red Hot Copy Peppers at 10:30pm.

On the Sunday night the gigs will be held at Christy’s Marquee, Larry’s Bar and Dowling’s Bar & Restaurant. At Christy’s the musician Arthur Pottinger at 3:30pm, Johnny Cash Tribute Joey Lee Lawlor at 4:30pm, Mick Dunne and Brian Duffy feat Eddie Kane at 6:50pm, Garth Brooks Tribute Sean Brennan at 7:40pm, The Blues Brothers at 9pm, Dissension Rising at 10pm. Meanwhile at Larry’s Bar Joe S will perform at 3pm, followed by Squish at 4:10pm, Bad Penny Rocks at 5:10pm, Privado at 6:10pm, Foo Fighters Tribute Arlandria, Helen Holligan at 9:10pm and Popgun Warfare at 10pm. At Dowling’s the gigs will start off with Chris Brosnan at 3:30pm, Gary Lawlor at 4:10pm, Murphy Gray Academy of Irish Dancing, Peco at 6:10pm, Pyramid Live at 7:10pm, BedBugzz at 8:10pm, and the U2 Tribute band Zooropa will bring the musical night to a close.

The Prosperous Music Festival is sure to be a great hit with music enthusiasts and families alike, with hundreds of people having attended last year.