In the four years since David Bowie’s death, tributes have stopped feeling like a wake, and rather a celebration of maybe the greatest pop music icon of them all. As we’re hoovering up pine needles, […]
Category: Festivals
10 hyped acts at Electric Picnic 2019
Electric Picnic is now a far cry from its ‘boutique’ beginnings in 2004, with the site expanding to 57,000 this year, and a move in recent years to include huge pop stars among the leftfield […]
Spread the Love Sensation
In the last few years, Pride events in Ireland have grown exponentially, we voted an emphatic Yes in the marriage referendum, and no one batted a false eyelash when drag queen Panti Bliss was declared […]
Waterford’s getting it Together
With so many festivals in Ireland these days and new ones popping up almost weekly during the summer, it’s easy to take them for granted – miss one and you’ll get your kicks soon enough […]
Beatyard’s bittersweet five-year plan
Since 2015, Beatyard has been one of the more joyous city festivals, throwing parties in Dun Laoghaire thar are family-friendly while still retaining an underground and left-field vibe. But its annual slot at Dun Laoghaire […]
Orbital: When Chime becomes a loop…
A few months ago, Phil Hartnoll lit up Tengu in Dublin with an Easter Sunday DJ set of Orbital classics, with a few deep cuts and exclusives, including an amazing new cosmic krautrock jam remix […]
New festival is Eastbound and down with the kids
Introduced as a less hectic and laser-focused showcase city festival such as Hard Working Class Heroes (now Ireland Music Week), Dublin series Eastbound kicks off next week on a next big thing vibe. The new […]
Nothing is forbidden: Tallinn Music Week 2019
“Remake / Remodel is the key… not that we haven’t stumbled and fell,” says Ingrid Kohtla, one of the creative minds behind Tallinn Music Week – one of Europe’s most consistently fearless, diverse festivals, in […]
‘Tomorrow’s music and ideas’: Who to check out at Tallinn Music Week 2019
On the weekend of March 29 when a collective facepalm spreads around Europe over Brexit, at least one city will be fuelled by an inclusive, open-door international ethos, as Tallinn Music Week once again hits […]
Planet Earth is blue: Dublin Bowie Fest returns
Now that it’s been three years since David Bowie’s death, festivals and tributes have become more of a celebration rather than the genuine loss felt in the direct aftermath. Like the passing of Prince a […]
Winter is coming: Metropolis 2018 breakdown
VILLAGERS Conor O’Brien’s Villagers’ live set-up has been transformed with the release of his brilliant electronic-based fourth album The Art of Pretending to Swim. At the recent Other Voices weekender in Ballina there were added […]
Take me to church: Other Voices heads to Mayo
We barely get time to breathe after summer festival season before we’re bombarded by winter weekenders, with circus tents swapped for pubs, clubs and indoor auditoriums, and the wellies, hotpants and muscle vests stored away […]
Class action: HWCH 2018
Now in its 18th edition, Hard Working Class Heroes is now an Irish music institution, an annual showcase of the best of the underground and a chance for Irish audiences and industry heads to get […]
Feile Classical is a long way from Tipperary in the 90s
It must be odd for Feile veterans listening to people complaining that Electric Picnic was ‘better in my day’ — which was only 2004-5. As the original Irish festival OGs, Feile heads have been carrying […]
It’s Brittany, Bitch: La Route du Rock 2018 review
There’s something Narnia-like about getting an overnight ferry in Portsmouth and waking up in Saint-Malo on the coast of Brittany. After leaving England with a belly full of Wetherspoons’ fried chicken and a vista of […]
