• Preview: Féile na Gréine 2019

    It’s no longer up for debate: right now, the network of promoters, venues and artists that make up Ireland’s extraordinary DIY music scene (singular) is the strongest and most homogeneous that it’s ever been. From Dundalk, Cork, and Belfast to Letterkenny, Dublin, Derry and beyond, incalculable good people are putting on world-beating shows and festivals, featuring acts of every ilk and every conceivable corner of the island. No area or sound is being overlooked. No band is stranded in the arse-end of nowhere after a show. Blind, sweeping reverence for Dublin as some sort of untouchable bastion of Irish music…

  • Knockanstockan 2019

    2019 will be remembered as a phenomenal year for fans of Irish music with so many genres showing substantial growth and development. Hype has been reverberating throughout the whole scene but too often these acts that are doing so well are overlooked by festival line-ups. This year, Knockanstockan is an exception to that rule with the entire line-up feeling like a homage to Irish growth. Boasting a line-up that incorporates the vast range of sounds on display in Ireland’s musical canon right now, Knockanstockan 2019 is admirable in its dedication to eclecticism and musical inclusivity and makes itself a fore-runner…

  • Stendhal Announce Third Wave of Acts

    With six weeks left to go, Stendhal have announced the third wave of acts set to play this year’s festival. Returning to Ballymully Cottage farm in Limavady across 15th-17th August, the festival have revealed that SOAK (pictured), General Fiasco, Arvo Party, Rachael Boyd and Gender Chores are among the new acts to play. See the new additions in full below. Go here to check out the current full line-up and to buy tickets to this year’s festival.

  • Body & Soul 2019 (Sunday)

    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)

    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)

    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…

  • Line-Up Announced for Another Love Story 2019

    One of the country’s very best small summer festivals, Another Love Story will return to Killon Manor in Co. Meath across August 16-18. Today, organisers have revealed the full line-up for its sixth edition. Featuring Dowry, The Redneck Manifesto, AE Mak, Junior Brother, Szun Waves, Maria Somerville, Kobina, Christian Loffler and many more, it’s arguably their strongest and most electric bill to date. See it below. Go here to buy tickets to ALS 2019.