Irish Steel Guitar Festival 2026

will be held in The Green Isle Hotel, Dublin

on

October 24th. and 25th. 2026

IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

The 2026 Irish Steel Guitar Festival will take place on October 24th. & 25th. 2026 in The Green Isle Hotel in Dublin. A great event and a great venue that should not be missed. Start making YOUR plans now so that you will not miss out on the event of the year. We are delighted to announce that our Guest Player from the U.S.A. this year will be Mike Borque. Here is a link to preview Mike at work in The Music City Bar & Grill in Nashville, USA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbX1COszcKY

Mike is a Canadian from the French part of Eastern Canada, we’re the same people as the Cajuns from Louisiana. Nowadays Mike lives in Nashville TN since 2013. He actually played drums in the school band mostly since he knew how to read that and didn’t know how to read music and, as he says himself, "I still don’t" . He also played in a Beatles cover band at the age of 13. Then he discovered country music and never looked back. He began to play with Gene Watson in May of 2021. Mike says, "It’s pretty incredible to have that honor and it really is a steel guitar dream gig and everyone has been very supportive of me having that job". Mike continues, "When it comes to artists and country music, Gene Watson has always been one of my very favorites, alongside of Ray Price and Merle Haggard. As far as musicians go Lloyd Green and Buddy Emmons are my biggest influence with steel guitar. With the telecaster style, I’d have to say Redd Volkaert and Ray Flacke as well as Brent Mason, but the one guy that has had the biggest influence on me is my mentor and guitar hero from Eastern Canada, Ti-John LeBlanc. He had a way of making the telecaster sound like a steel guitar like no one else I’ve ever heard and to this day he is my all- time guitar hero".

We are excited to have him grace the stage at our 2026 Steel Guitar Festival.