Limerick singer headlines UK’s only Bob Dylan Festival in South Manchester

Limerick singer headlines UK’s only Bob Dylan Festival in South Manchester

Siobhán O’Brien from Limerick is flying over from Ireland to headline the UK's only Bob Dylan tribute weekend, which takes place on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 Nov at M19 bar in Levenshulme, South Manchester. Siobhan is to headline the Irish and Country night on Friday 4 November, which pays tribute to Bob's Irish link to the Clancy Brothers and his Country back catalogue. Siobhan has already shared the stage with Bob Dylan himself and famous Irish artists such as THe Chieftains. The talented singer songwriter said about her appearance at the festival “I am SOOO looking forward to playing at DylanFest.. I've been a Bob fan since my teens and even tried to sneak up to see him at Slane when I was 13. My Father caught me.. I've been singing his songs since then and have never tired of it. He has been a massive influence on my life and my music. He as far as I can see has no rules when it comes to songwriting and I have taken that to heart which is a great license for creativity. Also I've never been to Manchester and i'm dying to experience it.”

The event is just one of 120 events taking place during Levenshulme Festival, which with over 45 venues staging events over 17 days is one of Europe's biggest community festivals. The two week festival runs from Friday 21 October to Sunday 6 November in South Manchester and is expected to attract over 10,000 visitors.

The Bob Dylan Festival takes place during the last weekend of the festival on Friday 4 November and Saturday 5 November in the upstairs newly refurbished acoustic room of M19bar. It features acts from all over the UK and Ireland paying tribute to the hero of Acoustic music that is Bob Dylan.

The festival is one of only seven Bob Dylan Festivals in the world, the other events are held in California and Michigan in America, Berlin in Germany, Melbourne in Australia, Moville in Ireland and North Italy. Lawrence Hennigan from the festival said “The festival started in 2008 and has grown every year. It is great to have such a prestigious event taking place during the Levenshulme Festival. One of the main reasons for its success is the fact that the tickets are just £3 in advance, we get fans coming from all over Europe and one year, even had a fan from Australia.”

Siobhán O’Brien from Limerick is flying over from Ireland to headline the Irish night on Friday 4 November. Siobhan has already shared the stage with Bob Dylan himself. The talented singer songwriter said about her appearance at the festival “I am SOOO looking forward to playing at DylanFest.. I've been a Bob fan since my teens and even tried to sneak up to see him at Slane when I was 13. My Father caught me.. I've been singing his songs since then and have never tired of it. He has been a massive influence on my life and my music. He as far as I can see has no rules when it comes to songwriting and I have taken that to heart which is a great license for creativity. Also I've never been to Manchester and i'm dyin to experience it.”

Supporting Siobhán on the Irish and Country night on the Friday is Tommy Mac, Alan Bonner, Andrew Oxley, Richard Harper, Troubadors, Dominic Richardson and Midnight Mafia.

The Saturday is a Blues tribute and features Dead Saints, Glynn Bailey & the Splendid Things, Taylor & Leigh with David Faitala, John Rid, Strange October, Giro Junkie, Mark Wynn, Ged Wilson & Karl Hall.

Tickets for the festival are just £3 in advance per night or £5 on the door, or just £6 for a weekend pass and are available from m19 or from the website www.m19bar.com or www.levenshulmefestival.co.uk