Craic On

This year, Europe’s biggest festival of Beatles music, Beatles Week in Liverpool and Europe’s biggest DylanFest, Stuck Inside of Moville, go head-to-head. Beatles Week will take place in Liverpool from August 21st to 27th. Stuck Inside of Moville takes place, this year, from Aug 22nd to Aug 25th, Thursday to Sunday. Beatles Week in Liverpool attracts 350,000 visitors each year and there are events happening all over the city but especially in the Matthews Street area where the Cavern Club is.

This is the 7th year of Stuck Inside of Moville, the DylanFest on the Lough, which this year will be attracting musical acts from Sardinia in Italy, from Holland, from Germany and France and from the UK and all over Ireland. It takes place in the quaint town of Moville in County Donegal and the neighbouring fishing village of Greencastle. Both places are on a salmon fishing sea lough, Lough Foyle, which provides a picturesque backdrop. There will be music indoors and outdoors over the 4 days.

Said organiser, Gerry McLaughlin, “It’s a bit unfortunate that they are on at the same time as I am a big Beatles fan myself but haven’t been to Beatles Week yet. Indeed, we run Ireland’s only annual festival of Beatles music, the BeatlesFest on the Lough, the following weekend which is in the same format and over 4 days and nights from August 29th to September 1st. Some of the acts will be heading straight from Beatles Week to the BeatlesFest on the Lough with flights from Liverpool to City of Derry aiport (25 miles from Moville) taking only half an hour”.

The whole period from August 22nd to September 1st is a Sixties Festival in Moville & Greencastle and they are asking people to wear Sixties Gear and make-up and have asked the local charity shops to stock up on it.

Said Gerry “I don’t think there is any great rivalry between Beatles and Dylan fans and there are a lot of crossover fans. The Beatles themselves were big fans of Dylan who influenced them and Dylan once said “We should erect statues to The Beatles. They’ve made America great again”.

Both festivals are completely free and there are still gig slots available and there will be several Open Mics. For more information contact [email protected]