Ballina Festival 2026: Music acts, what's on and more!
These three great shows provide three excellent ways to participate in this year’s festival atmosphere, so book your tickets early, online or via the box office on 096 73593, and help Ballina Arts Centre celebrate the 2026 Salmon Festival. Photo: Alison Laredo
Ballina Arts Centre is celebrating Festival 2026 with a mixture of music and wit, as three amazing acts take to the stage during festival week. The Centres Music@Lunchtime programme continues Wednesday 8th, with Rachel Knox performing her brand of indie and contemporary folk music. On Saturday 11th the ever-popular Springsteen - A Tribute are back, and will no doubt have audiences rocking in their seats once again, while on Sunday 19th Kate Kerrigan is back, by popular demand, with her witty, one-woman play Am I Irish Yet?
The Music@Lunchtime series has been popular this year, with packed audiences for all these free lunchtime gigs to date. On the Wednesday of Festival Week, Rachel Knox will perform a selection of her own music at 1.15pm. Rachel is a 20-year-old from Newport, who is currently studying music production and Technology at TUS Limerick. She is both a writer and performer, who regularly takes part in open mic nights in university, and has also performed extensively in the Ballina area.
If you really want a rocking night at this year’s festival, pop along to Springsteen- A Tribute on Saturday night. This band had the audience dancing in the seats during their last visit, bringing all the passion and energy of Bruce Springsteen’s classic hits to life. The seven-piece band comprises top Irish musicians who have played with acts such as Mary Black, Van Morrison, and Sinead O’Connor. It is fronted by Monte Thompson, whose ability to match Bruce’s intricate vocal style, performance, and even facial expressions has even the most die-hard fans impressed. Springsteen – A Tribute is a breathtaking, high-energy show that is a must-see spectacle for all fans of the Boss.
Finally, on Sunday 19th, Am I Irish Yet? returns to the Art Centre for the third time. Kate Kerrigan, the New York best-selling novelist and author, was born to Irish parents. She spent her childhood in London in the 80‘s, where the London-Irish were known as the ‘Bombing Irish’ or Plastic Paddys’. She moved back to her parents native Ireland in the 90’s and, thirty-five years on, with an Irish husband and Irish children, she brings the wisdom and wit of her award-winning writing to bear on the question of her own Irishness.
These three great shows provide three excellent ways to participate in this year’s festival atmosphere, so book your tickets early, online or via the box office on 096 73593, and help Ballina Arts Centre celebrate the 2026 Salmon Festival.
