← All events
festivals · Friday 7 August 2026 · Various 
Sligo Live Music Festival
At Multiple venues in Sligo Town · Sligo Town, Co. Sligo
At Multiple venues in Sligo Town · Sligo Town, Co. Sligo
Sligo Live Music Festival is one of the North West’s most-loved multi-day music events, drawing together traditional Irish sessions, contemporary folk, singer-songwriters and emerging acts across the pubs, theatres and community spaces of Sligo Town. Running over three days from 7 to 9 August 2026, it is the kind of festival where you can catch a sean-nos singer in a candlelit pub one hour and a bluegrass set in a proper theatre the next. If live music is your reason for travelling, Sligo repays the journey.
The festival spreads across multiple venues in Sligo Town rather than a single site, which gives it a particular character - you follow the music through the streets rather than waiting at a stage. The Hawk’s Well Theatre on Temple Street, a 340-seat venue that has been the town’s performing arts anchor since 1982, hosts the larger ticketed headline shows. Smaller pub sessions and café performances fill in around those, some ticketed and some free to walk into. Expect a mix of traditional Irish music (including céili and sean-nos strands), contemporary folk, indie-folk crossovers and Americana-influenced acts. Programming typically runs across the afternoon and well into the evening.
Tickets for individual shows are priced at roughly €12 to €20. Many of the pub sessions are free, which makes it easy to sample a lot without planning every hour in advance. A three-day pass tends to offer better value if you intend to attend multiple ticketed shows. The full programme is announced in advance of the festival - check the official website at sligolive.ie for the current lineup and booking links.
Sligo Town sits on the N4 from Dublin, approximately two and a half hours by car. Bus Éireann runs regular services from Dublin Busáras (route 23/X23) with a journey time of around two to three hours. The town is compact and almost all festival venues are reachable on foot once you arrive - the Hawk’s Well Theatre is a short walk from the main bus stops on Lord Edward Street.
Paid and free car parks are scattered through the town centre, including on Connaughton Road and near Quayside. Parking fills quickly on busy festival evenings, so arriving early or using the park-and-walk options on the edge of town is sensible.
Sligo is one of Ireland’s most underrated towns for a weekend away - the coast, the mountains and the archaeology are all within easy reach, and the food and pub scene punches above its size. There is more to see in Sligo and across Co. Sligo.
Heading to Multiple venues in Sligo Town in Sligo? Sligo has plenty more to see. Read the Sligo area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.