Attention all Northsiders, musical entertainment is coming your way!
If you’re sick of heading into town to avail of the summer’s entertainment, the Northside Music Festival is the one for you.
Taking place from July 29 to August 28, the outdoor and indoor event takes place across various locations on Dublin’s Northside. From shopping centres to churches, you can find this festival everywhere!
Music fans can expect a mix of international and Irish talent, including Opera Gala, Havana Son (pictured), Gráda, Veda, Paprika Balkanicus, O’Mambo, Kevin Glackin and friends, Yurodny, Brendan Walsh and friends, Prey, No Crows, Robbie Harris and Emer Mayock.
The festival runs as part of Dublin’s extended arts service to city communities and aimed to entertain all the family. Check out the full program here.
For those not tired out by the Galway Film Fleadh last week, a whole new shipment of entertainment had landed.
The Galway Arts Festival got underway yesterday with a performance by Alabama 3 (pictured), fresh from their appearance – en masse! – in the Hot Press Signing Tent at Oxegen.
The Galway festival, now in its 30th year, runs until July 27, with a number of great attractions in the coming weeks. From Blondie to Damien Dempsey, there are acts to suit all tastes!
In the first of two very exciting double bills Tom Baxter and KT Tunstell perform live at the festival Big Top on Wednesday July 23.
Baxter is no stranger to the Galway Arts Festival, and should be a big hit with the audience considering his album Skybound spent three weeks at number one earlier this year.
The following day, Thursday 24 Blondie take to the Big Top stage. Fronted by the iconic Debbie Harry and over 40 million record sales this festival appearance will coincide with the re-release of their breakthrough album Parallel Lines.
And the festival’s second double bill boasts The Dandy Warhols and Ash live at the festival Big Top on Friday July 25.
Other musical highlights include Cathy Davey, Lisa Hannigan, Omara Portunondo, The Blue Nile, Philip Glass Ensemble, The Whip and many more… Read the rest of this entry »
As Electric Picnic and Castle Palooza continue to flourish it seems the era of boutique festivals is officially upon us.
It seems we want our festivals smaller, cleaner and greener and getting in on this trend is Northern Ireland’s newest boutique festival, Stendhal.
Oddly this festival is named after a syndrome. Stendhal Syndrome is “a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly ‘beautiful’ or a large amount of art is in a single place,” according to organisers, this is what you might be in for if you attend.
So if music that makes you dizzy is what you’re into, Stendhal takes place on August 15 to 17 at Ballymully Cottage Farm in Limavady, Co Derry.
The line up so far looks a little like this; Kent Duchaine, Delorentos, Fiona Pears, Charlie Winston, Yakuza, The Spook Of The Thirteenth Lock, And So I Watch You From Afar, Furlo, Hovercraft, Pirates Mantic, Can’t Cite Scripture, Skruff, Citizen Snips, Paddy Nash, Tom McShane, Jungle VIP’s, Escape Act, Tommy Shots, Tin Pot Operation, Two Door Cinema Club, Cara Robinson and Eskimos Fall.
And with the license just confirmed that list is only set to grow, so watch this space for all the details.
Three days of mud-splattered music appreciation; too much moshing and not enough washing; surviving festival season can be a struggle for even the most youthful and virile of us. So how did two doting grandmothers manage it?
Tonight RTÉ introduces us to the two Eileens, a pair of fun-loving pensioners with 34 grandchildren between them who braved the elements at last year’s Electric Picnic.
As part of the six-part series One Thing to do Before You Die, Liberty Films followed Kerry natives Eileen Murphy and Eileen McGillycuddy as they got down and dirty with Ireland’s youth.
From marriage proposals to a burlesque ball to the silent disco, tune into RTÉ 1 tonight at 7pm to see the Electric Eileens party like it’s 1969.
It may be still a month away but what better way to get ready for the festival season than by reliving the highlights from last year’s Electric Picnic?
As part of the electricpicnic.tv online television series, a short film by the Western Plumbers collective – has just gone online.
Western Plumbers are Gary Bermingham, Tim Hood, Andrew Keogh, Ger Staunton and Andrew Travers, a bunch of enthusiastic documentary makers with a comedic edge.
The World Map Drawing Contest is based around an interactive drawing game whereby contestants have to replicate the map of the world, using their heads and a small globe… It may sound crazy, but it certainly brings back good festival memories! Watch it here.
Last year Electricpicnic.tv harnessed lots of talented young producers, writers and directors from Ireland and Europe to produce a series of short films, comedy sketches, live performances and interviews based around the Laois festival.
Alongside Smile, a short film set at the picnic, a profile of electricpicnic.tv’s painter-in-residence Guillermo Carrion and a quirky ‘electric postcards’ section, there are some amazing performances from Fionn Regan, Paul Hartnol, Yoav, Scott Matthews and Stephen Fretwell.
Filmed over 3 days at the festival in Stradbally last year, Electricpicnic.tv was conceived, directed and produced by Grasp’s Jimmy Costello and Donal Scannell from Scanarama.
“Music has suffered at the hands of mainstream television,” Scannell says, “forced into sound-bites during daytime or late night obscurity, the type of music television made before now was dictated by what broadcasters wanted rather than what music fans wanted.”
He adds: “Electricpicnic.tv is a suite of made-for-digital content that’s available on demand for the viewer to decide what and when they consume.”
Phantom 105.2will be catching the worms at Oxegen this weekend as they are the first to broadcast on site at Punchestown.
The early birds will kick off their Oxegen coverage at 12 noon on Thursday and keep rolling out the tunes, interviews, acoustic sessions and updates all weekend.
“Our hardened festival team are ready to roll! We will be bringing the buzz of the festival to those who aren’t lucky enough to go,” says Peter Vamos, Phantom’s Programme Director, “For those going to the festival, we play more Oxegen bands than anyone else, Phantom is the station to tune to when you are on the road to Oxegen.”
So there you have it, Phantom FM are on hand to help you soak up some festival atmosphere, whether you’re going to Oxegen or not.
There are 101 films showing in Galway over the next six days – trust us, we’ve counted! – as the 20th annual Galway Film Fleadh kicks off today.
The festival starts tonight with the Canadian/Greek drama Fugitive Pieces, showing in the Town Hall Theatre at 7.30pm. After that, there’s another 100 films on the menu from July 8-13 (see the full list here), along with masterclasses, industry events, directors Q&As and even a film fair.
And for the musically minded among you, here’s our pick of the festival’s top rock ‘n’ roll (and metal and trad…) movies:
Anvil! The Story of Anvil, Wednesday July 9. A rockumentary following would-be metal heroes Anvil (below), as they make one last effort to fight obscurity.
Dambé - The Mali Project, Saturday, July 12. Derbhla Glynn’s fascinating documentary follows musicians Liam O’Maonlaí (Hothouse Flowers) and Paddy Keenan (The Bothy Band) as they travel West Africa, to discover the music of the region.
Elvis: That’s The Way It Is, Wednesday, July 9. Elvis fans get a chance to see the King in action on the big screen with this classic ’70s Vegas show.
Heima, Sunday, July 13. The Sigur Ros concert film released last year, which captures the group’s epic live shows in their homeland of Iceland.
Kíla ‘Once Upon A Time’, Friday, July 11. The Kíla concert film makes its World Premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh, capturing the true essence of Ireland’s most passionate trad band.
Rattle And Hum, Saturday, July 10. U2’s 1987 tour of North America is caught on film for this brilliant tour docu, which also shows the band at work in the studio.
Stop Making Sense, Thursday, July 10. This 1984 feature-length documentary is a must-see not just for fans of Talking Heads, but for anyone who appreciates music and film. A truly great movie.
The Last Waltz, Wednesday, July 9. Generally acknowledged as one of the best concert films of all time, this 1978 piece gives a film account of The Band’s final live performance, with musical guests on the night including Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Van Morrison.
Exciting news for frequenters of the famous Ballyknockan Inn music venue, as the full line-up and show times have just been confirmed for this year’s Ballyknockan Music Festival!
New additions to the line-up include two of Ireland’s most exciting young up and coming bands Glyder (pictured) and Baby Jenx.
Now in its 5th year, the festival brings both local and national bands to the Ballyknockan Inn on the shores of the Blessington Lakes in Co. Wicklow.
And for the first time ever, Ballyknockan will be hosting with a camp site close by the venue with a shuttle bus to bring fans from the site to the music, giving it that ultimate festival feeling!
The festival is a charity event, raising funds for an adolescent cancer centre at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin and all monies raised from Ballyknockan, or Knockanstock as its many devotees have taken to calling it, go directly to the charity. All bands are donating their services for the cause.
Also just confirmed are Burn, Rob Strong, Defex, Brian Rockford, Kiernan McMullen, Heavy Chevy, The Chaos Emerald, Steve Nicholls, Blood Brothers, The Red Labels, Black Pearl, Fia Rua, Clurichaun, Red Rooster and Cursed Earth.
Tickets are priced €15 for one day, €25 for two days and €35 for three days and are available from the Ballyknockan Inn or on the door.
Here’s how the line up looks for the weekend:
Friday, July 25
MARQUEE
Blues Up Front, Burn, Legion of Ape, Kevin on a Bike, Band on an island, Nugget, Brian Rochford
LOUNGE
The 83’s, 12 Gauge, The Chaos Emerald, Junah, Glyder, Blood Brothers, Black Pearl
Saturday, July 26
MARQUEE
Eclipse, Sing Song, Holy Matrimony, Echo Lawrence, Rob Strong, Defex, Kill City Defectors, Jekyl, Colm Lynch, Rock of Ages
LOUNGE
Fraction Kids, Anderson Mesa, Bill Minus, The Dolldrums, The Red Labels, Fia Rua, Sick Boy, Clurichaun, Bright Light Fiasco, Shallow Stream
Sunday July 27
MARQUEE
Frank Lutz & The Focus Group, This Dark Room, We Are Contenders, The Tripps, 79 Cortinaz, Gracehopper, Nero, TKO, Kiernan McMullen, Miracle Bell, Baby Jenx
LOUNGE
Heavy Chevy, The Dead Flags, Steven Nicholls, Grainne Melon, Gary Stewart, ODi, Darragh J, Vasco Junior, Michael Wheelan, Red Rooster, The Deans, Cursed Earth
Luan Parle and Dirty Epics frontwoman SJ Wai (above) were among the packed house at the Dysart Festival launch in Whelan’s last week, where musicians and music-lovers alike gathered to hear the line up for the festival, which includes Jools Holland, Marc Almond, Republic of Loose and Katherine Jenkins.
Legendary guitarist John Martyn gave a rare acoustic performance to a rapturous crowd at the launch, his first without a band in 14 years. The singer played a 20 minute gig, telling the audience that they would have to wait until the festival to catch the full John Martyn set.
Festival promoter Enda Leahy was also there to welcome the announcement of the line-up, accompanied by his father Ramie (above) who owns the beautiful Dysart Castle in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny where the festival will take place on August 9 and 10.
And if the launch is anything to go by, it looks set to be a great weekend!
A celebration of culture, a chance to learn some tunes and a place to hear some highly skilled musicians do what they do best. Fiddles at the ready, the annual Leinster Fleadh kicks off today!
This year’s Fleadh brings the crème de la crème of the Irish traditional music scene to Dublin, with Seamus Fay, Martin Donohoe (pictured) and Séan Ó Sé, Andy Irvine and Slide all lined up to perform.
And with competitions in every category from Sean Nós to Marching Band, the Balinteer and Dundrum-based festival is a great way for the busy Dubliner to squeeze in a bit of trad without having to travel too far from home!
