Another festival for music lovers takes place in Laois this weekend
The Music Generation Laois Rock and Pop Bands performing at the Music Generation Laois, Music at The Malt House last year. Photo: Alf Harvey.
THE hugely popular annual Music at the Malthouse festival makes a welcome return to Stradbally this year.
Presented by Music Generation Laois the annual festival showcases partnerships between musicians from Music Generation Laois, the Laois School of Music and guest artists.
This year it takes place on Saturday and Sunday 10 and 11 May in the Malthouse venue in Stradbally.
The event kicks off on Saturday at 7pm with a concert featuring Music Generation Laois Ensembles with special guests. This will feature virtuoso Scottish harper Catriona McKay with the Music Generation Laois Harp Ensemble. Cathy Jordan (Dervish) and Filipe Carbonell (No Crows) will perform alongside the Music Generation Laois Trad Orchestra. Johnny Óg Connolly (TG4 Gradam Ceoil Composer of the Year 2025) will also play with the Music Generation Laois Trad Group.
The BOP Orchestra (Building Orchestral Pathways) will take to the stage on Sunday at 2pm.
BOP is a collective orchestra project featuring young and adult musicians from Music Generation Laois, Laois School of Music, Music Generation Offaly, Academy of Music Tullamore, and Music Generation Westmeath under the direction of musician educators from across Music Generation programmes in Laois, Offaly and Westmeath. The guest conductor will be Diane Daly from the Irish Chamber Orchestra. The music programme will include Beethoven, Brahms and popular pieces.
Ensembles also feature on the Sunday afternoon and include The Dunamaise Strings, a new adult string ensemble from Laois School of Music, Tullamore Academy String Ensemble which is made up of young musicians and adults from Academy of Music Tullamore and Music Generation Westmeath's Flute Ensemble.
