• Foals w/ Yak @ Trinity Summer Series, Dublin

    July 3, 2019 - By 

    Spirits are high on the grounds of Dublin’s Trinity College, as British psychedelic outfit Yak perform for a sizeable crowd of early punters. With a sound that blends elements similar to contemporaries Boy Azooga and Ireland’s Girl Band, the Wolverhampton natives have done well for an early Tuesday evening timeslot. Despite this, the crowd grows quite noticeably larger as they polish off their set with ‘Harbour the Feeling’ from debut album Alas Salvation. As people begin to filter into the surprisingly intimate surroundings of Trinity’s Summer Series arena, it can be noted that the clientele is somewhat eclectic. Lads in…

  • Body & Soul 2019 (Sunday)

    June 26, 2019 - By 

    There is a chill in the air as drops of rain pitter-patter down on the tents that litter the grounds of Ballinlough Castle, County Westmeath. The final day of Body and Soul is upon the hordes of punters that have gathered here and for a few, their time is up. Several parts of the campsites now lie vacant, leaving only flattened squares of grass and tiny metal canisters in their place. For those that have stayed there is still a whole slew of acts to be seen. Many early risers linger around the Midnight Circus tent, popping in for shelter…

  • Body & Soul 2019 (Friday)

    June 24, 2019 - By 

    Underneath a blazing sun and azure blue sky hoards of punters are flooding into the fields and woodlands of Westmeath for Body and Soul 2019. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the festival is set to be a weekend rich in arts, culture and music. Across the sprawling fields festival goers begin to settle into their surroundings, consisting of metal fencing, sustainable vegan food vendors and “BRING YOUR TENTS HOME” posters. The sustainability-driven ethos of the festival is omnipresent. For the first few hours, it’s the usual beginning of the festival humdrum: people struggling to set up their tents, eating overpriced hotdogs…

  • Body & Soul 2019 (Saturday)

    June 25, 2019 - By 

    It’s early Saturday morning and the first few fragile souls have emerged from their tents to grab those precious few start of the day necessities: water, a greasy sandwich and a cup of tea. At the same time, there are a few not so fragile souls that have yet to sleep stood in a circle listening to Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack to ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’. The classic ‘morning after’ feeling of festival season looms over the campsites of Body and Soul. For those that have managed to pull themselves together in the early hours of the day…

  • Forbidden Fruit 2019 – Day Three

    June 4, 2019 - By 

    As people begin filtering into IMMA for the final time of the June bank holiday weekend, there is an easiness in the air. The audience is noticeably more mature than those of days gone by and most certainly of a more relaxed disposition. There’s not so much a hum of excitement, but rather a coolness- a feeling that says, “take it easy folks, have a nice one”. Easing the crowd into the day on the mainstage is Glasshouse, a chamber ensemble performing the music of Bon Iver, for a moderately sized crowd. Their interpretations of Justin Vernon’s work is a…

  • Forbidden Fruit 2019 – Day One

    June 2, 2019 - By 

    It’s about two in the afternoon and the sun is peeking out from behind a blanket of clouds to kiss the grounds of Kilmainham with intermittent drops of light and heat. The first few punters are entering the fields surrounding Ireland’s Museum of Modern Art for Forbidden Fruit, a weekend festival that showcases local and international talent for thousands amongst the idyllic surroundings of the IMMA grounds. Opening up the festival on the District Stage is a local artist: April, an RnB-inspired singer-songwriter from County Kildare. Being the first act of the weekend is always a daunting task, it is…

  • Forbidden Fruit 2019 – Day Two

    June 3, 2019 - By 

    For the second time this weekend the grounds of IMMA are flooded by crowds upon crowds of festival-goers. Already it can be said that the second day of Forbidden Fruit will bear little resemblance to its opening day. There is less of an edge in the air and a jovial atmosphere covers Kilmainham like a warm blanket. As punters funnel into the fields surrounding the art museum it finally feels as if there is a level of cohesiveness to the festival’s crowd. The very earliest of ticket holders are greeted by the gentle pulsing rhythms of Irish Electronic artist Fehdah.…

  • Louis Cole w/ Cidot @ The Sugar Club, Dublin

    May 20, 2019 - By 

    As The Sugar Club fills with a homogenous mix of stereotypical Music nerds and the types you can imagine spend many an evening on Reddit, the cosy red room is cloaked in a warm ambiance that is characteristic of the venue. Although the show is running slightly behind, the crowd seems to be in high spirits, with audience members nestling into their plush red seats with cocktails and pizza in hand. As the crowd gets comfortable, support act Cidot take to the stage. A two-piece Jazz infused electronic act made up of Cian Hanley on drums and Cathal McKenna manning…

  • Naoise Roo & Special Guests @ Project Arts Centre, Dublin

    May 6, 2019 - By 

    In a small room known as The Cube within Temple Bar’s Project Art Centre, a small, excited audience has gathered for a live preview of a new EP from singer-songwriter Naoise Roo. Having taken a break from performing, this is the first performance the Dublin native has given in quite some time. There is no grand entrance, no spectacle, Roo and co. simply and quite humbly walk on stage. There is a round of applause, copious whoops, hollers and howls before the crowd settles and Roo begins the show with a short introduction. Even during this introduction, Roo’s charisma shines.…

  • Junior Brother and PowPig @ The Grand Social, Dublin

    April 19, 2019 - By 

    The outside of Dublin’s Grand Social is littered with both local and foreign football fans, the downstairs bar is a flood of jerseys and half-spilled pints, but upstairs in the smoking area of the bar, a semi-orderly queue is forming. A few strays weasel their way to the front and mutter something about spare tickets, but to no avail. The rest, stand patiently, smoking, drinking and chatting, waiting to enter the venue. One guy bursts in red as a baboon’s hole and takes three maybe four puffs from an inhaler before joining the line. All of these people are here…