At The Racket - Boyne TradFest 2026 Concert

What to Expect

At The Racket are the Saturday night headline concert of Boyne TradFest 2026. The band was founded in 1996 by fiddle and banjo player John Carty and takes its cue from the Irish-American dance band recordings of the 1920s and 1930s, the era when traditional tunes shared a bandstand with popular melodies and the music was made for dancing rather than listening. The current line up is John Carty on fiddle and banjo, Brian McGrath on piano and banjo, Seamus O’Donnell on flute, saxophone and vocals, and Michael McCague on guitar and bouzouki.

The result is a fuller and more rhythmic sound than a standard session group, with piano and guitar driving underneath and saxophone and flute trading lines on top. The band has built a reputation over three decades on festival stages in Ireland and abroad for playing that material with historical accuracy and a lot of humour between the musicians. Droichead Arts Centre’s main auditorium is a seated room, so this is a concert rather than a session, and it forms the centrepiece of a festival weekend that also carries instrument masterclasses, a session trail across a dozen Drogheda pubs and a Sunday afternoon ceili.

Good to Know

• Saturday 19 September 2026 at 8pm, Droichead Arts Centre, Stockwell Street, Drogheda
• Admission €18, booked through Droichead Arts Centre
• Part of Boyne TradFest 2026, which runs from 18 to 20 September
• Line up: John Carty, Brian McGrath, Seamus O’Donnell and Michael McCague
• The festival weekend also includes workshops, session trails and a Sunday ceili
• Seated concert in the main auditorium

Getting There

Droichead Arts Centre is on Stockwell Street in central Drogheda, beside the library and a short walk from West Street. Drogheda MacBride railway station is roughly 15 minutes on foot across the Boyne on the Dublin to Belfast line, with late services back towards Dublin and Dundalk. Bus Eireann and Matthews coaches stop in the town centre. Drivers should exit the M1 at junction 9 or 10 and park at Scotch Hall or on Laurence Street.