Beatyard is the easy way out this bank holiday weekend

When it comes to the August bank holiday weekend it really is a punter’s market, with almost too much choice, and Beatyard up against veteran festivals like Castlepalooza and Indiependence, and the new venture All Together Now.

But the harbour festival in Dun Laoghaire once again has you sorted if you’re on for a festival easy ride, with no camping, no rollovers and a bang-on line-up.

Now in its fourth year as a weekender, Beatyard continues to cater for the crowd that might’ve been following promoter Bodytonic’s endeavours over the years – underground electronic music with a healthy dose of reggae and dub, hip-hop, disco, jazz and funk. You won’t find many indie bands around Dun Laoghaire this weekend.

There’s an eclectic mix too, with a soundclash of the old and the new, from The Jacksons, The Wailers, Orbital and The Family Stone lining out for the old guard, and the likes of Le Boom, Bad Bones, Loah and King Kong Company repping the thriving Irish scene. This years also sees the introduction of a separate Hidden Agenda stage with heavy-hitters such as Daphni, John Talabot, Modeselektor and Andrew Weatherall – who’s also at an unmissable Sunday night after-party at Wigwam.

And with a dedicated Eatyard that’s almost the size of the music event you can stay chilled and refuelled the whole weekend. And stop the press, there’s a ‘Crisp festival’ promising “all your favourite retro brands”. Crisps & cans for all!