Midtown is about to get five straight days of Irish music, comedy, sports, wellness, food and drink — and Mór Fest is promising something more ambitious than a St. Patrick’s Day overflow party. The new festival runs from Wednesday, August 19, through Sunday, August 23, at Tara Mór near Madison Square Garden.
Tara Mór is billing Mór Fest as New York’s “first fully Irish festival,” with a lineup built around Irish culture rather than a single headline act. PIX11 reported that the five-day celebration will combine live music, food, drinks, comedy, panels and wellness programming, with events stretching from morning networking to late-night DJ sets.
Five Days Of Irish Culture Near Madison Square Garden
The festival will be staged at 150 West 30th Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, just a short walk from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. According to Tara Mór, every act, vendor, drink and plate served on site will be Irish.
It also won’t be one giant stage with a single schedule to follow. The Eventbrite listing says ticket holders will use the Shift app to choose among sessions, making the week feel more like a compact cultural conference with pints than a conventional outdoor festival.
The official schedule starts with Wednesday afternoon tastings and an Irish-diaspora networking event, then moves through comedy and storytelling Thursday, sports panels Friday, live music and brand pop-ups Saturday, and wellness and traditional music sessions Sunday, according to Tara Mór. Named acts and set times are expected to be released through the festival’s app as opening day approaches.
Comedy, Sports Panels And A Guinness Pouring Contest
Among the more specific bookings are a Modern Ireland panel with James Kavanagh and Cassie Strokes at 7 p.m. Thursday, comedy from Owen Colgan and local Irish comics at 8 p.m., and a Friday sports panel featuring Michael Murphy, Johnny Glynn and Jason Quigley, PIX11 reported. The schedule also includes a Saturday dating show with Ronan Mitchell, a Sunday Guinness Perfect Pour contest and an all-day traditional music session.
General admission is listed at $55, while VIP tickets cost $268 and include an open bar for the festival’s full run, according to the report. The VIP package is aimed squarely at anyone who considers “sampling the culture” a task best completed with a drink in hand.
The event is 21-plus, tickets are nonrefundable and one ticket provides access for the full week rather than a single day. The Eventbrite details also note that government-issued photo identification is required at the door.
With opening night just over two weeks away, Mór Fest is shaping up as a Midtown home base for visitors who want Irish music, food and conversation without hopping between a dozen separate venues. The festival’s location near Penn Station should also make it an easy add-on for anyone already headed to the Garden or passing through Manhattan.
