Shy Mascot are a Dublin based quintet that combines funk, jazz, and hip-hop styles to create a uniquely provocative sound.

Drawing influence from artists such as The Fugees, Weather Report, and Lianne LaHavas Shy Mascot’s music lives in a realm where complex jazz harmony, free flowing melody and interlocking grooves meet.

Varying between boisterous, fast-paced songs to minimalist, spaced-out jams, the band has performed at a range of venues around Ireland. From the intimate setting of the curated sofa sessions in Kilkenny to the rowdy, rain-soaked grounds of Knockanstockan, Shy Mascot are notorious for their ability to impress audiences in any setting. They’ve also knocked it out of the park at Bray Jazz at The Harbour Bar in the past, and we’re delighted to have them back for our 25th anniversary weekend!

The rhythm section, led by Keith Tobin, act as dynamic improvisational trio, and lay the perfect foundation for both Jamel’s fast-paced, hypnotic raps, and Fiadh Rua Gregg’s soulful vocals. The end result is an versatile quintet that weaves between melodious, ethereal spaces, and deep, filthy grooves guaranteed to get you moving!

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Italian born singer Luisa Annibali presents her latest album Liberi live at this year’s festival.

She describes the work as a reflection of her journey, through love, identity, and the search for connection. “The places I’ve been, the questions I carry, and the freedom I’m still learning to claim. As a woman, as an artist, and as a human being, trying to find my voice in a mind and a world that often tells us who we should be.”

Liberi is dedicated to her dad, and, in his unique way, gives her the opportunity to be Libera – which means ‘Free’ in Italian! “I hope these songs will speak to you, and that in them, you might hear something of your own journey too.”

Libera blends the soul of jazz, Italian lyricism, Latin and Brazilian rhythm.. Some songs move with deep groove, while others unfold in pure vocal improvisation, inspired by the wild, instinctive spirit of free ja“ — just voice, emotion, and breath, raw and spontaneous, born in the moment.

Among them, one piece reaches beyond the personal: an anthem to peace, equality and human dignity. As she says: “It reminds me — and maybe all of us — that even small, conscious acts can spark change. I’m still learning this myself, from a place of awareness and privilege — asking what it truly means to act, to care, to use our own voices, to keep the heart open.”

Libera is about liberation — from fear, from silence, from all those invisible chains that hold us back from being fully ourselves.

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Faster Shorter Louder is a Dublin-based trio featuring Matthias Winkler (guitar), Derek Whyte (double bass) and Hugh Denman (drums). The group takes familiar songs and reshapes them through improvisation, uncovering new rhythmic and harmonic possibilities while keeping the directness of the original material intact.

Drawing on Winkler’s expansive work with post-rock-influenced quartet ÄTSCH, Whyte’s long-standing role in ensembles such as ReDiviDeR and the Dirty Jazz Club, and Denman’s range from atmospheric soundscapes to free improvisation, the trio’s sound is both contemporary and rooted in the jazz tradition.

Like the classic trios of the 1950s and ’60s—or more recently The Bad Plus—Faster Shorter Louder approach popular music as raw material for exploration. The result is a set that feels accessible yet adventurous, appealing equally to jazz audiences and listeners from further afield.

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As Organ Freeman, guitarist/vocalist Charlie Moon, organist Darragh Hennessy and drummer Dominic Mullan have been a hugely popular fixture with a long-running residency at Dublin’s music bar, The Big Romance, on Parnell Street.

Drawing inspiration from the jazz organ trios’ golden era of the ’50s and ’60s, their music is a mix of timeless classics and original material, spanning blues, swing, funk and ballads. Charlie Moon’s vocal stylings reflect his influences, such jazz icons as Chet Baker and Frank Sinatra.

‘The group were joined by saxophonist Michael Buckley on their debut album ‘Busywork’, which attracted across the board positive reviews, when it was released, last year.

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Dublin-based guitar and drums duo featuring two of the capital’s best known players, MACH2 blend high-octane math-rock with contemporary jazz grooves.

Guitarist Chris Guilfoyle and drummer Matthew Jacobson’s newest project is inspired by groups such as Hella, Animals as Leaders and AlasNoAxis, producing filthy grooves and big sounds for a small band.

After years spent existing only in the murky underworld of Dublin parties – as well as busily touring and recording with the plethora of other projects they are involved in: UMBRA, ReDiviDeR, Aleka, Anna Mieke, Ydivide, Roamer – Guilfoyle and Jacobson are re-emerging as MACH2.

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