Welcome to the 2006 edition of the Tain Festival, to be held all round Dundalk over the Halloween Bank Holiday weekend. Its our 3rd year and this time round we are finding our dancing feet.

As always we want to bring you the best music we can from different parts of the world. Often times the most creative music is to be found in more out of the way places and springs from musical traditions that don't very often feature on radio schedules. The trick is to bring it close to the people and to make it entertaining. We think we have managed both.

If you are on the town over the weekend there will be music.
Particularly on Friday evening when the Mac Teo Street Theatre Company bring their magic to the town for the very first time. If you want to eat out, you can do so to live music. If you fancy a jar in one of the listed bars there will be traditional music. If you want to go to the pictures you can go to a musical picture, thanks to the good offices of the Louth Newry and Mourne Film Commission. Hell, if you want to go shopping in the Market there will be music there too.

And then there will be music in the places you would expect to hear it.
And if the highest order too. Corbetts and McManus' in Seatown, the Spirit Store on the Quays, Oriel Park or the Phoenix up the town.

But the jewel in the crown for us this year are the three shows we have lined up for the Town Hall Theatre. The Arts officers , Brian and Sile in Louth County Council and Dundalk Town Council and the Theatre manager Barry McKinney have been brilliant in allowing us to present shows in the Town Hall in a very new way. The Friday night show with Kila and The Waterboys Steve Wickhams outfit "No Crows" and the Saturday Night Up and Coming gigs are stand up shows with full bar facilities.
It will be a rock venue for those two nights and we hope for many more to come. The Sunday night show with the wonderous Harlem Gospel Choir will be seated . For a while at least !

We want to thank all of the following for their help, encouragement and
sponsorship.
Key sponsors, Nor East Beers. Suppliers of Erdinger and Budvar.
Our friends at Web Surgeon and Priority Printing,
The Louth Newry and Mourne Film Commission, Newry Dundalk Farmers Market for the Halloween events, Dundalk Arts Office for the amazing spectacle that is in store on the Friday evening. Louth Hospitality for once again shaking the funding tree. East Coast and Midlands Tourism who have stuck with us each year to now. We hope it is beginning to bare fruit.
All the venues, bars, cafes, restaurants, football stadia who are hosting gigs and most especially to the musicians and artists who will be performing this year and have met us half way in putting together a line up that we hope you can support.

Read the listings , Visit the Website and come along to a show..
See ya all!