Friday Archives - Bray Jazz Festival

John Moriarty Organ Trio

brayjazz — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 17:03:43 +0000

Harbour Bar
Friday, 1st May. Time 6.30pm

John Moriarty Trio brings together guitarist John Moriarty with Myles Drennan on Hammond organ and Dylan Lynch on drums in a guitar–organ–drums format rooted in the jazz tradition.

Moriarty is an Irish guitarist and Montreux Jazz Festival guitar competition prize-winner who has performed with artists including Bill Carrothers, Bobby Watson and Ronnie Cuber. Myles Drennan is one of Ireland’s leading Hammond organists and keyboard players, known for his work across jazz, soul and blues and for performances with artists including Van Morrison.

Dublin-based drummer Dylan Lynch is a founding member of the Irish band Little Green Cars and has performed widely across Ireland’s jazz and contemporary music scenes.

Drawing on the classic Hammond organ trio tradition while bringing a distinctly contemporary Irish voice, the group delivers imaginative interpretations of jazz repertoire alongside original material.

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ÓNINAÓ

brayjazz — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 16:47:27 +0000

Harbour Bar
Friday, 1st May. Time 10pm

ÓNinaÓ are a captivating six-piece who blend traditional Brazilian rhythms, including samba and bossa nova, with bluesly guitars, electronics and pyschedelic rock.

Their ‘neo-tropicália’ is a contemporary reimaging of the Brazilian Tropicália musicial movement of the late 60s and early 70s, that melded elements of samba, bossa nova and regional folk music with contemporary, international and often psychedelic influences. The music honours such Brazilian musical icons of that period as Caetano Velosa and Gal Costa.

ÓNinaÓ launched their debut single on RTE Radio’s Arena radio show, and have played stand out recent shows at Culture Night 2025, Five Lamps Arts Festival in Dublin city centre, and at the Brazil Day carnival at Dublin’s National Stadium, last September.

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DCU Jazz Graduates Showcase

brayjazz — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 11:39:03 +0000

Harbour Bar
Friday, 1st May. Time 3pm

Bray Jazz will showcase some of the brightest and best of the next generation of Irish jazz at this afternoon showcase of ensemble music by graduates of the Dublin City University (DCU) BA in Jazz and Contemporary Music Performance programme.

The DCU Centre for Jazz Performance Studies was founded in 2017, and offers a four-year, full-time Honours degree (DC014) designed to train professional musicians. The course features a diverse, international student body, and has hosted students from backgrounds as diverse as Brazil, Iran, Israel, Italy, Denmark, India, France, and Serbia, since it was started. The curriculum covers performance, composition, and music production.

Three of last year’s top graduates have been awarded the opportunity to lead ensembles at Bray Jazz, and each group will deliver a short concert performance to open this year’s festival.

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Tommy Halferty Quartet

brayjazz — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 16:07:17 +0000

Harbour Bar
Friday, 1st May. Time 8pm

Tommy Halferty has been instrumental in shaping the sound of Irish jazz, a guitarist who has been at the forefront of a vibrant jazz scene on this island for over half a century.

Celebrating his 80th birthday year, Halferty’s fire burns as brightly as ever.

A composer, mentor and educator for generations of Irish musicians, Derry-born Halferty’s own career began in the late 70s, when he featured in an array of jazz fusion bands before finding his own distinct sound and playing style, and created a vast canon of music that drew it’s influences from classical, folk, Irish traditional, French music and and rock influences.

A regular and popular player at Bray Jazz over the past 25 years, Tommy Halferty will be joined here by a stellar band featuring some of the country’s top players – bassist Dave Redmond, Kevin Brady (drums) and pianist Scott Flanigan.

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