• The 8 Best Sets at KnockanStockan 2018

    July 31, 2018 - By 

    KnockanStockan has long established itself as one of of Ireland’s biggest small festivals and with a line up of amazing homegrown Irish talent from all genres and movements, it appears to have exceeded expectations. While the line-up is stellar and the festival is endlessly appealing in terms of appearance and size, Knockanstockan 2018 struggles with one major stumbling block: disorganisation. With many stages running towards hours late, a lack of security around ensuring safety in campsites and production room, problems with clear signage indicating who is playing where and when and issues around officially booked transport to and from the…

  • The 8 Best Sets at Townlands Carnival 2018

    July 26, 2018 - By 

    Cork’s Townlands Carnival returned another year filled with the brightest and best in upcoming Irish music, as well as a handful of international names. It’s a formula that works superbly with Townlands, which made for an incredibly enjoyable, relaxed experience that drew a highly eclectic crowd and kept all tastes satiated. These were our highlights. Words by Kelly Doherty HappyAlone Closing up the relaxed Friday night of Townlands were Cork natives HappyAlone over at the Rising Sons stage. Having recently received a lot of attention due to their live shows and impressive social media presence, the band are a clear headliner…

  • The Top 10 Sets at Body & Soul 2018

    June 26, 2018 - By 

    Body & Soul has quickly become one of Ireland’s biggest festivals and this year it’s as popular as ever despite a small downsizing in music acts. 2018 easily established the festival as one of Ireland’s best with a carefully curated line up and one of the safest, most inclusive festival experiences around. With an amazing presence of queer culture (it was impossible to go for more than a few minutes without seeing a pride flag) and a wholesome, local festival despite its increasing popularity, Body & Soul 2018 made for an exceedingly fun festival. Here’s our top ten sets from…

  • Primavera Sound 2018

    June 15, 2018 - By 

    Four Tet – Credit: Sergio Albert Disclaimer: The punctuality of this review was brought to you by Vueling Airlines, whose inability to deal with two hours of stormy weather resulted in several hundred failing to make it home for up to 4 days without compensation – half this site’s editorial team included. We recommend sacrificing some extra budget allocation on transport. It’s easy to stress the festival experience with its clashes, transport and accommodation woes, but once you’ve arrived at Primavera Sound, it’s all vibes; that soft coastal breeze – and a €1 street Estrella to cushion the sun’s blow…

  • Le Guess Who? 2017

    November 24, 2017 - By 

    Photo by Tim van Veen You can’t help but admire the audacity of Le Guess Who? After an almost household-friendly 2016 lineup, they made a point of aiming their powers of tastemaking further toward the underground, with a broad range of curators that give as accurate a microcosm of the festival as you’d hope – Perfume Genius, Jerusalem In My Heart, Grouper, James Holden, Han Bennink, Basilica Soundscape & Shabazz Palaces. This comes accompanied by everything a fan of music & the arts could dream of, including the world’s largest record fair, the smaller Le Mini Who? festival. Every festival…

  • Metropolis 2017

    October 31, 2017 - By 

    Metropolis 2017 kicks off on a chillingly Irish Saturday afternoon, with only the bricks and mortar of the RDS and surrounding bodies to fend off the cold. Being one of the country’s few festivals taking place at this time of year, expectations are set on a show that can begin to bridge the gap between the shimmering of Body and Soul and the last trumpets of Electric Picnic. Tara Stewart gets the ball rolling on the industries stage (a slight change of programme) and plays to a largely vacant room. Her last track, a brilliant mix of Bollywood and Jay-Z…

  • Preview: Atlantic Sessions 2017

    October 23, 2017 - By 

    Atlantic Sessions returns across November 16-19 with over 60 acts performing in Portstewart, Portrush  and Portballintrae. If 2016 is anything to go by this will be a glorious return. Flogging a festival is hard work, ask anyone daft enough to think they can get away with it. There is a collection of calamities for every Castlepalooza, a box of bankruptcies for every Belsonic and many a chain-smoking, sweary booker languishing in a post-summer lull promising to never, ever, do it again. Let’s face it: there is no shortage of the things as any regular reader of The Thin Air probably knows. Given…

  • Townlands Carnival 2017

    July 27, 2017 - By 

    Townlands Carnival 2017 rolls up to one of the rainiest days so far this summer but it doesn’t stop the party hardened masses who’ve made their way to Macroom. After the trials and tribulations of Garda checkpoints stopping all incoming public transport, this reviewer is sorely disappointed to miss Gash Collective’s opening showcase at the Subatomic but there are whispers around the festival of an excellent starting performance from these rising stars of the Irish electronic scene. Jamie Behan closes out the Friday night with his faithful brand of techno. Saturday is a brighter and busier affair with the sun…

  • Longitude 2017

    July 18, 2017 - By 

    With an increasingly younger and more hectic audience, Longitude takes to Marley Park for its fifth year. Originally established as an indie pop festival drawing headliners such as Vampire Weekend and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, line ups have taken a sharp left turn over the last couple years turning Longitude into Ireland’s primary two-day hip-hop party with a Sunday addition of a folk day. The increased crowds and popularity of the festival cause serious issues on the Friday with entrance queues lasting hours and constant mini human landslides being led by the post-Leaving Cert demographic filing through the gates. Dua Lipa’s…

  • Forbidden Fruit 2017

    June 7, 2017 - By 

    With photos courtesy of Lucy Foster, Eoghain Meakin reports back from Forbidden Fruit at the weekend, featuring Aphex Twin, Bon Iver, Flying Lotus, Moderat, Orbital and more. Saturday Turn off Facebook, no one needs to see those sunny pictures coming in from Spain. Instead check YR there or Accuweather so we can time the rain falls. Because today is the first day of Forbidden Fruit, the festival on your doorstep and a bit of rain is an inconvenience not an inhibitor round here. However it does have its immediate drawbacks; clogging the entrance system as people attempt to shove their…