Festival fans are spoilt for choice as season gets under way

That sound you can hear in the distance is the rumble of musicians sound-checking as the Irish festival season steps up a gear…

That sound you can hear in the distance is the rumble of musicians sound-checking as the Irish festival season steps up a gear this weekend.

While there have been a few skirmishes already, the big guns will swing into action over the next few days, attracting thousands of fans to parks in the north and south of Dublin.

Tonight, the focus will be on Rathfarnham's Marlay Park where the main draws are Genesis co-founder and world music champion Peter Gabriel and one of many reformed acts singing for their supper on the festival circuit this summer, Crowded House.

The action switches to the north of the city tomorrow evening for the visit of US pop singer Pink, who will getting a party started in the normally reserved surrounds of Malahide Castle.

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Next Tuesday, it's back to Marlay Park for the visit of veteran rockers Aerosmith with main support from former Soundgarden singer and recent James Bond theme-tune growler, Chris Cornell.

Scottish band Travis will be content to remain indoors on this occasion and they play the 1,300 capacity Tripod on Harcourt Street on Wednesday.

As if all that activity wasn't enough to indicate the current rude health of the live music circuit, hundreds of Irish music fans have also decamped to the Glastonbury festival to brave the weather and join the 150,000 people turning Michael Eavis's dairy farm into a tented city.

The popularity of live music in the open air shows no signs of abating and this summer will see the biggest number of outdoor shows and festivals scheduled to date around the country.

While Dublin's Lansdowne Road, a regular concert site in the capital, is not available this year due to ongoing construction work, many new festivals and locations have sprung up instead.

Newcomers of note include the Green Gathering in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, from August 17th to 19th and the Cois Fharraige music and surfing festival scheduled for Kilkee, Co Clare, from September 7th to 9th.

While this year's Oxegen and Electric Picnic events, as well as headline shows by The Police, Rod Stewart and Rolling Stones, sold out very quickly, limited numbers of tickets remain on sale for all of this weekend's Dublin concerts and for many other shows this summer.

It seems that not all outdoor shows are guaranteed to sell out and make small fortunes for their respective promoters.

Some of the customer reticence to buy tickets in advance can be attributed to simple economics. A UK survey this week found that a quarter of all festival-goers there spend more than £500 (€740) on a concert weekend between tickets, travel, food and other costs.

Because of such high costs, many music fans prefer to splurge on festivals like Oxegen or the Electric Picnic, viewing them as good value for money as there can be up to 100 acts performing at each festival.

There is also the added appeal of non-musical attractions at these weekend-long events. By contrast, each of this weekend's shows is reliant solely on one or two headliners. Some of these are heritage acts with a fan base who may prefer to see the concert indoors. This weekend's run of shows, however, is a mere taster for what lies ahead over the coming weeks.

Next weekend, concert-goers can take their pick from such acts as The Who, REM, Bell X1, Justin Timberlake, Basement Jaxx, Al Green, Duran Duran and Status Quo, all of whom will be performing at shows in Dublin, Belfast or Cork.

A week later and it will be the highlight of the summer for thousands of music fans, as the Oxegen festival takes over Punchestown racecourse in Co Kildare on July 7th and 8th.