Cork Jazz 2023: Surprise sets, flooded streets, and an unbeatable buzz

As summer began to gradually wind down, and then come to an all too abrupt end, I was reluctant to let festival season end. Still wrapped up in the excitement of Beyond the Pale, Galway International Arts Festival, and All Together Now, I shook my fist at the sky and said, ‘why, God, why must all the fun be cordoned off in the summer months?!’

An answer came in the form of an email inviting me down to the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival for the long weekend to soak up the sights and sounds, and experience the fun and frolics. And oh, dear reader, that is exactly what I did.

Celebrating its 45th year, the world-renowned festival had organised its biggest programme yet, with more ticketed shows than ever before, an extra date, an extended music trail, and a stellar line-up that pushed the boundaries of the genre, featuring Macy Gray, Morcheeba, and Corinne Bailey Rae. For a festival that’s been around since 1978, it’s certainly stood the test of time, evolving and expanding to encompass an incredibly diverse selection of acts that span an even wider spectrum of musical genres.

Yes, it may be a festival of jazz, but the lineup ranges from R&B and soul to hip hop, dance, alternative rock and more. Ticketed events took place across eight venues including Cork Opera House, Cyprus Avenue, and St Peter’s Church, as well as Cork City Hall, Live At St Luke’s, and of course the birthplace of the festival, Metropole Hotel. And for jazz purists, Triskel and The Everyman were the preferred option.

As soon as I set foot off the bus from Galway on Friday afternoon, I could feel the electric atmosphere saturating the city. This is not to be confused with the rain that saturated every stitch, because though the raindrops are apparently much larger down in Cork, revellers are not deterred. The city was reverberating with energy and excitement as we made our way to The Imperial Hotel, where the sound of brass instruments and the click of high heels spilled out the door.

Being the most central hotel in Cork City, The Imperial had us right in the centre of the action for the entire weekend. Hosting its own selection of live bands and performances across the three days, you couldn’t help but be in the partying mood no matter what the time of day. Thankfully, though, the room was pretty much sound proof, so when the time came to call it a day, noise levels were graciously low.

On night one, The Pharcyde and Souls of Mischief were on the agenda. Playing at Cork Opera House, the crowd was positively raring to go. Souls of Mischief got things started, playing anthems from their debut album 93 ’til infinity, before The Pharcyde began their set with Passin’ Me By, where not one hand wasn’t in the air.

On Saturday, we utilised our time well by clocking up 13,000 steps wandering all around the city many, many times. Jazz spilled from every nook and cranny, there were pop-up performances and fringe events happening at every turn, and crowds of people gathered around buskers to gently sway in time with the rhythmic music. Well, most of us gently swayed, one person took off their shoes and started (very badly, if I’m being honest) break dancing along with I Wanna Be Like You from The Jungle Book, which may well have been the official song of the festival.

Come nightfall, it became clear that the rain had no intention of easing off, and flooded right up to the doorway of the hotel. However, Soft Boy Records at The Everyman called our name, so we waded through and were graciously rewarded for our valiant efforts with a surprise set from none other than the king of the soft boys himself, Kojaque.

Fresh off the back of the release of his latest album, Phantom of the Afters, he took to the stage right after Dublin jazz trio Five to Two, and right before label co-founder Kean Kavanagh. The gig wrapped up with some low-fi indie pop from Yenkee, and was probably—from start to finish—the highlight of the weekend for me.

Dashing straight to Cyprus Avenue for DJ sets from Luka Una and Mr Scruff, where we danced into the small hours and left to find that the rain had eased off and the clocks had gone back. You can imagine how very perplexing the concept of daylight savings is at moments such as these.

Despite the fact that I’m sure there were many, many hungover heads wandering the streets—it couldn’t have just been me—the air of elation around the city never waned once. From the Oliver Plunkett to Counihans Bar and The Pav, pretty much every pub was filled with people, and there were many, many queues lining the streets. One thing I will say, I did not anticipate the level of style and glamour that would be on display. It was Race Day tier, so that is one thing to flag for future reference. Having said that, given that it was Halloween weekend, there were a few rogue costumes roaming the streets, so each to their own!

The weekend was rounded off by The Scratch at Cork Opera House, which came to quite an abrupt end when a barrier broke, a fire alarm went off, and venue staff took to the stage to call a halt to proceedings for the safety of attendees. Having seen the metal-trad band before, I can attest to just how wild the crowd gets, and given the fact that they were performing music from their new album and giving it everything, it’s clear that the venue just wasn’t suitable for the level of hype everyone wanted to bring to the night.

Since the weekend wrapped up, it’s been reported that Cork businesses experienced the biggest uptick in trade since Christmas, with the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival 2023 surpassing all others on record. Visitors were supporting local and enjoying every minute of it, and it left the city with a renewed sense of pride. It is, after all, the real capital.

Featured image via Jens Thekkeveettil on Unsplash, all other imagery provided by Darragh Kane of the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival