Westlife one night and Cohen the next? There have been stranger weekend line-ups

THIS WEEK, two incongruous news stories stumbled blinking into the music world, one via the media monolith of Oprah, the other as a quiet press release. Laura Bush, the immaculately coiffed wife of Dubya was outed as a “closet Rastafarian who listens to Bob Marley” by her daughters. A gazillion reggae fans gasped in horror.

The non-Oprah story is that Westlife are to play a gig at Lissadell House in Sligo on July 30th. Well and good, seeing as the boys are local, but Lissadell House? A stately pile long associated with culture and Yeats seems a weird setting for boyband balladeers. Odder still that they play the night before Leonard Cohen. Imagine a weekend pass to see both gigs; a smorgasbord of schmaltz on Friday and genuinely emotive songwriting on Saturday. We could argue the toss, but Flying Without Wingsis no Hallelujah. As brave and brilliant as Cohen's songs are, they're just as likely to be misinterpreted, not just by audiences, but by performers. Take the 2006 stellar Dublin line-up for Cohen's Came So Far For Beauty.

Audiences murmured appreciatively for Lou Reed, adored Jarvis Cocker's take on I Can't Forget, but Gavin Friday and Mary Margaret O'Hara's brave interpretation of Hallelujahprompted boos and walk-outs. It's a cautionary tale for promoters tempted by head-scratching line-ups, but then a friend reminded me of a mid-1990s gig featuring US post-rockers Tortoise. Touring with Stereolab, a well-meaning promoter gave an up-and-coming comedian a support slot in between bands. The crowd weren't best pleased (they were there for music, not gags obviously) and the defeated comic eventually backed off the stage.

In fairness, Tommy Tiernan probably has a lot more cash than Stereolab now.

This year’s Flatlake Festival, hosted by writer Pat McCabe at Hilton Park in Monaghan goes for the jugular with its odd line-up, but in context, it works. Shane McGowan and The Flaws will play alongside Harry Bird The Wellies, as well as Lily Allen and Crystal “five grand a wedding, now” Swing.

Festivals and big gigs, like goosebumps, are a staple of the summer months, and on consecutive nights in many venues there is something for everyone – if your taste is varied enough. Cork’s Live at the Marquee gigs offer retro punk pop (Blondie), American hipsters (Grizzly Bear) and trad-rock (Horslips) three nights on the trot. And if you go and see The Cranberries there, follow it up with the aging palate cleanser of Deep Purple the next night. And how will Eminem and Florence fans at Oxegen greet Earth, Wind Fire?

I’ve clapped politely to support acts who have zero in common with their headline hosts; been pepped up by dance DJs when the main act was the more comatose end of acoustic. Mostly it doesn’t work, but on rare occasions, an act or line-up makes you glad you didn’t stay in the bar or arrive late. Once, for the sum of £3, I saw a noisy headline band with three supports, including a poet and a calypso band. Give me them over Westlife, any day.