Irish Echo Sport

Blue skies, blue water, and the good ol’ fashioned Delta blues that is. Word came through yesterday that I’ll be heading up to Byron Bay for the annual East Coast Blues and Roots festival.As an Irish Echo staffer, it would be remiss of me not to point every hint of Irishness that will possibly be present. Perched atop that list is Sinéad O’Connor, visiting on her first ever Australian tour, backed up by fellow honest Dub, Damien Dempsey. Damo was out this way last year, and sold out in every venue he appeared at. And he rocked. If you haven’t bought/attempted to steal his new album To Hell or Barbados, you’re missing out on some crackin tunes.Also in the line-up are Mexican guitaristas Rodrigo y Gabriela, who base themselves in Dublin when they’re not touring the world making Metallica’s prosaic growls sound like six-string poetry. So we’ll claim them as honorary Irish. And while we’re at it, there’s Angus and Julia Stone who, ermm, are 100% Aussie, but they were touring in Dublin recently, so there’s probably still some Irish booze in their system. Éire abú.Bonus Youtube below the fold:Damo sings Maasai from his new album.