Philip Glass, Joni Mitchell, Des Bishop, Blondie, KT Tunstall and 'Frasier' star John Mahoney are just some of the big names confirmed to showcase their work at this year's Galway Arts Festival.
The Festival, which takes place over 14-27 July, will feature over 400 writers, artists, performers and musicians from Australia, Africa, Europe, North America and Ireland.
The festival will feature dance, theatre, visual art and music, as well as a variety of other art forms.
Three-time Oscar nominated composer Philip Glass will prove one of the big sellers at the event, as he brings his 'Philip Glass Ensemble' to St Nicholas' Collegiate Church on Tuesday 15 July.
Glass was nominated for Academy Awards for 'Kundon' (1997); 'The Hours' (2002); and 'Notes on a Scandal' (2006). He has also worked with Woody Allen, David Bowie and Leonard Cohen.
Other musical highlights include Blondie, KT Tunstall, Ash, Tom Baxter, The Dandy Warhols and Tinariwen, all of whom will perform at the specially erected 'Festival Big Top'.
Richard Hawley, The Blue Nile, Alabama 3, Nouvelle Vague, Damien Dempsey, Cathy Davey, Dave Geraghty and Lisa Hannigan will also perform in various venues throughout Galway.
Joni Mitchell, best known as a musician, is also a visual artist and she will showcase a body of new work entitled 'Green Flag Song', dealing with the consequences of war, at the festival.
In theatre, Chicago's Northlight Theatre Company will stage the European premiere of Larry Gelbart and Craig Wright's new comedy 'Better Late', starring 'Frasier' star John Mahoney.
New theatre from Ireland includes Druid's Enda Walsh Season, which will feature Walsh's new play 'The New Electric Ballroom', starring Rosaleen Linehan, Mikel Murfi, Catherine Walsh and Val Lilley.
Comedians Ed Byrne, David O'Doherty, Des Bishop and Steve Hall, will perform while literary events include theatre critic Michael Billington in conversation with Vincent Woods, and readings with The Sunday Times Foreign Correspondent Christina Lamb; US writer Dan Kennedy, and punk poet John Cooper Clarke.
