Matthew Kelly, Patrick Brennan and Donal Scally, the co-founders of Craic By The Creek, look back on the growth of the north’s biggest Irish festival as they expect a record breaking fourth instalment with a bigger line-up and crowd than ever before in Stockport this July.
When we decided to start Craic By The Creek, Matt only had an internship at a festival under his belt that he did as a teen. Luckily, some experience as a musician at events gave us a keen eye, so after attending a wedding at the festival site, we knew it was the one.
Donal and Matt spent years playing in Irish bars and clubs across the UK, and after one particular St Patrick’s Day when it was raining, snowing, and sunny simultaneously, we joked that St. Patrick’s Day should be moved to the summer. The joke continued over the next few years, and after a while, we decided we’d actually give it a shot.
When it comes to unexpected hurdles when organising a festival, COVID was the worst-case scenario. The first year of Craic By The Creek was due to take place in 2020, and we were gutted to be forced to postpone.
For the next year, we were all glued to the television at five o’clock every evening to see if restrictions would be lifted. It was announced that restrictions would be lifted on Monday 19th July, and the festival took place on Friday 23rd July.
We were the first music festival to take place in the UK for two years.
Having brilliant industry relationships helped us curate an authentic Irish line-up, as well as performers being excited to play live again. The opening act was Gary Quinn, a great country singer/songwriter whose Irish roots can be heard in his songs.
The festival sold out, with 3,000 people in the crowd, and we’d only expected about 500 people to come!
During the first year, we didn’t have the funds for event staff so we did it all ourselves. We cleaned the toilets, emptied the bins, parked the caravans and even played some sets to keep the budget down.
Looking back now to that first year, we were overwhelmed by the way that people felt, and how much they enjoyed the first year. The passion and energy that people felt for the festival after spending the weekend having the time of their lives was incredible.
Craic by the Creek is now in its fourth instalment, attracting bigger names such as B*Witched who are performing this year. Our team hasn’t really grown since the first year, it’s always been pretty much the three lads, the family at the farm, and some close friends.
Our ambitions are for Craic By The Creek to keep growing, moving to bigger audiences, acts and maybe even an extra day – who knows! Most of our ideas start with ‘someone should do this…’ and then we convince ourselves it’s a good idea and we do it. So maybe after this summer, we’ll have a new list to start!
Craig By The Creek featuring B*Witched, Nathan Carter and The Tumbling Paddies is at Whitebottom Farm, Etherow Country Park, Stockport from July 19-21, For tickets and more info, visit craicbythecreek.co.uk
