Mark Graham's Blog

This obsessive festival adventure that I’ve been on for just over three years has seen me carve hundreds of festival notches into Wanderly Wagon’s bumper, usually while driving through fields and briars. I managed to clock up 183 festivals in the first twelve months alone, and built up so much momentum during that first year that I wasn’t able to stop…. until now. It’s time to call the madness to a halt. I’ll still be attending festivals, I’m addicted to the feckin’ things, but from now on I’ll just be concentrating on the ones that I really enjoy, immersing myself in them fully, without all the writing nonsense or looking at chunks of it through a lens. Not a huge transition really, I never exactly pushed myself too hard ;)

Time to put the camera down and have a can! (Thanks for the pic Tara)

One of the reasons for beginning my festival quest was that I was looking for a side of Ireland that not only hadn’t lost the run of itself during the economic boom, but was working hard to promote everything that was good about the country; something much needed in a time of recession. The people that I met, the places I visited and the experiences I was lucky enough to enjoy have rekindled the most positive aspects of the country within me. It’s been the oddest and best decision I’ve ever made and the last three years have been the best I’ve ever had. The trip turned out better than I could ever have hoped or imagined.

A pit-stop on Achill – It was like Thailand…. with sheep! 

Winning the All-Ireland Conker Championships was a fluke, and awfully funny, but the next morning I was on-air with Hector on 2FM talking about my festival quest. Hector and his producer Alan kept in touch, and I was on with them for a chat a few times after that. When I also won the All Ireland Bucket-Singing Championship, I ended up on-air with John Murray on RTÉ Radio 1, embarrassingly giving a demonstration of the ancient art live on the show. I became a regular contributor to the show with a weekly festival diary for three months.

Think there’s something in your ear Ray 

After a few months on the road, I sent the editor of ‘The Ticket’ in The Irish Times an email, and she decided, against all the odds, to give me a weekly column, it lasted nearly two and a half years! Being printed in the national press every week opened so many doors, and got me into places where I had no business being at all. Not matter how risqué and colorful the content got, Anthea still let me put it in the paper. She continues to be a legend, but she also supports Aston Villa, so her judgement is definitely skewed. I have fallen off the back of stages twice while locked and trying to pretend to be a proper journalist at festivals, in my opinion, failing wonderfully.

 Ever the professional (Thanks again Tara… I think!?)

Interest in my journey kept gathering momentum as I trundled around the country, and there were several more interviews that afforded me the opportunity to make a tool of myself and bore the bollix off anyone who’d listen, but there were a few things that happened that stood out and saw me having a couple of ‘moments’.

The Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition is an institution and event of which I’m very fond. The last time I attended, it was the usual inspiring, invigorating and enlightening experience that I’ve come to expect and love. As I left the RDS, I noticed some press cuttings pinned to a display, and I stopped for a look. In the middle of them, highlighted with luminous green marker, was a piece I’d written in that week’s paper about the event. I was shocked and confused; it hadn’t really dawned on me that other people, besides my mother, might be reading what I was writing every week. I felt humbled to have the thing that I banged out at home on my laptop pinned and displayed at he entrance to The Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in The RDS. There was either some kind of mistake, or this shit was getting real yo!

 What he said 

On a St.Patrick’s Day recce, I ended up in Duncannon Co. Wexford, for Ireland’s only parade on a beach. The tractor-porn on display was magnificent. But by far and away my favourite element of this parade, and possibly of any parade anywhere ever, was Duncannon’s Parish Priest, Father Nolan, in a tricolour wig and shamrock Elton John shades, aboard one of the best vintage tractors you’re ever likely to see or hear chugging along this side of The Slaney. He was rocking that tractor chic. I took clatters of pictures of Father Nolan and his wonderful machine, and wrote about it in the paper and on this blog the following week. Some months afterwards I got an email from John in Duncannon, who told me that when the kids of the town made their communion that year, they’d framed a copy of the printed piece and one of my photographs from The Irish Times and presented it to Father Nolan.The bastards made me well up; it was just too darn sweet.

Fr. Nolan. Nuff said. 

 

I wasn’t used to all this kindness, especially as I wanted to maintain something close to a rock ’n’ roll image of life on the road.This stuff was turning me mushy, and worse was still to come. I’d been invited to give a talk on my journey and discuss the Irish festival landscape in general by the Association of Irish Festivals and Events, an umbrella group whose members include most of the sessions I’d been attending around the country. The talk went really well, even the parts where I cursed, so I decided that I deserved a pint in the hotel bar. I was dug into some enjoyable chats about festivals with some carnie folk at the bar, when we were asked to adjourn to the ballroom for a bit of a to-do with the Minister for State Tourism and Sport. The minister was on hand to pass out some award or other. I was paying more attention to my pint than to the politicos, but then I heard my name called out, and people started clapping. The people who organise the festivals I’d been leeching off for the previous couple of years were giving me an award, after they did all the blooming work! I was mortified, and had another ‘moment’. Even after I ended up in a wrestling ring in the hotel lobby at 4.00 a.m. that night/morning, they still invited me back again the next year to speak about festivals – their area of expertise! It’s nuts.

 

A proper prize winning performance at The Bucket Singing Championship

As the momentum of my travels was building, so was interest in a band that we’d reformed just before I started out on the road. During the first year of my journey, King Kong Company had a couple of festival gigs and we won an award for one of our videos (I didn’t have anything to do with this, as I was off galavanting). Summer 2014 was the best season we’ve had yet, our band played the main-stage at Body&Soul, we headlined The Salty Dog stage at Electric Picnic on the closing night and we played several other festivals all over the country. 2014 was possibly the best summer of my festival quest and having a quiet couple of cans with the crew from the band after our set at Body&Soul was another moment, but I had such a blast over the past three years it’s really hard to say what the stand out moments were. King Kong Company have already been booked to play one of Ireland’s biggest festivals in 2015 (we’re sworn to secrecy, but I’ll tell you in person if you buy me a pint). It’s fair to say I have to pinch myself regularly to check that I am actually getting away with all this.

 King Kong-kering the main-stage at Body&Soul

Moments and mischief are great, but the thing that brought me most pleasure and has undoubtedly been the highlight of the last three years on the road are the people that I met. You often hear people talking about making ‘festival friends’ when they spend a weekend camped in a field, so you can imagine what happens when you spend three years out festivaling. I’ve made some lasting friends who have already been integrated into my everyday life and some of the characters that I met on the road have changed my outlook on life forever – in most instances this has thankfully been for the better ;) I had a feeling that the vast majority of the country hadn’t lost the run of themselves, and I was willing to bet the deposit I’d saved for a house and three years of my life on it. I had no clue and couldn’t have prepared myself for discovering the wealth of character, creativity, curiosity, imagination, generosity, divilment, wildness and a deep reserve of laughter that exists all over the country. Whatever the politicians or economists say, it has become abundantly clear to me that we fuckin’ rock and thankfully we still outnumber the pricks by a long long way.

 Praying for divilment

I’m going to keep updating the Year of Festivals in Ireland Facebook Page and @YearofFestivals Twitter account, if you want a list of all the festivals I attended and a bit of a read besides, you could buy the Year of Festivals in Ireland Book and help me pay some diesel debt or just sift through the archives of the blog, but this will be the last post here for the foreseebale future. Thank you all for making the last three years the best of my life (so far!) and thank you so much for reading, it’s meant a lot.

Safe travels, don’t die.

View from The Salty Dog Stage for King Kong Company gig at Electric Picnic 2014 – Perfect way to finish an epic trip

 

The level of effort, detail and divilment that went into the entries for the giveaway were truly overwhelming. Well done to everybody, ye made that last few weeks very entertaining and some of you scared me just a little bit. I wish I had 50 tickets so that there was one for everybody involved, but unfortunately this is the shit part where only one person gets happy and everyone else reverts back to thinking I’m a prick. If you don’t win, you can take comfort in the fact that the weather is probably going to be shite next weekend anyway and that with the increased capacity, Electric Picnic isn’t what it used to be ;)

The Wheelbarrow of Shite

The decision was touch and go for a long while, and I’ve changed my mind several times, but considering what it was I asked people to do, this one from Aoife O’Brien very narrowly shaded it. Aoife is getting two tickets, so if you ask her really nicely, or bribe her, maybe she’ll bring you or at least fire you out a bottle of Buckfast from the wheelbarrow.

Bog Snorkelling, Bucket Singing, Tractor Porn, Buckfast and Ginger Beer. She did her homework and I’m a sucker for that olive tapenade.

Thanks to everybody for entering and to the thousands of people who checked out the blog and left comments and likes up on the social media channels over the last few weeks. Ye all rock!

You can check out all the entries tacked on to the end of the blog-post here –

http://ayearoffestivalsinireland.com/2014/08/07/electric-picnic-giveaway-2014-a-little-something-to-say-goodbye-2/

Please give the sponsors some lovin’…

Electric Picnic  – http://www.electricpicnic.ie/

Festihuts – http://www.festihutireland.com/

The Eco Bus Cafe – http://www.doubledecker.ie/

Wok ‘n’ Roll  – https://www.facebook.com/woknrollirl

And Me! :)

Safe Travels, Don’t Die.

Competitions and campaigns that boast “Best Festival Prize Ever” tend to annoy me, as do things like ‘Festival Kits’ that include ridiculous shit that most wellied warriors would never need, use or abuse. While having a root around TK Maxx, as you do, I saw a ‘Festival Survival Pack’ that was comprised of 2 glows sticks, a water bottle, a white flag and a permanent marker – WTF? They were charging a tenner for this box of stuff. Electric Picnic this year will be my third year on the festival trail, doing something that was only meant to take 12 months. It’s been too much fun, but it’s time to take a step back from the obsessive festival adventures after Electric Picnic 2014, but not before giving two of you folks something to remember me by. I’ve put together some gear that isn’t the Best Festival Prize Ever, but it’s pretty frickin’ decent.

- A Pair of Weekend Passes to Eletric Picnic 2014

- Accommodation for two in your own Festihut

- 4 food vouchers from Wok ‘n’ Roll (recent addition)

- 4 food vouchers from The Eco Bus (recent addition)

- Two wearable MusucBag sleeping bags (M&L)

- Binoculars drinking flask

- Hairbrush drinking flask

- Bearded Beanie

- 4 bottles of Buckfast

- 1 bottle of Captain Morgan

- 1 Packet of Panadol

- 1 Packet of Dioralyte

- 1 packet of Wine Gums (never underestimate simple pleasures when you’re muddy, wet and in need of comfort)

- 1 pack of Rizla papers inside a ziplock bag, inside another ziplock bag

- 1 pack of babywipes (essential kit!)

- 1 wheelbarrow to put all this shite into

 The Hairbrush Decanter 

The very kind folks at Electric Picnic and their PR posse have given me a pair of passes for this years gig to give to you guys. The tickets wouldn’t be much good without somewhere to lay down your head and seeing as this is meant to be somewhat impressive package, you’ll have a solid roof over your heads supplied by the folks at www.festihutireland.com. The Festihut camp in the Boutique Campsite has its own dedicated swish toilet block and we all know how needed that can be. The Festihut site will also have phone charging facilities – sweet! Tom and the team at Festihut kindly donated this part of the prize, so please visit their site, book them if you organise festivals, or at least go over and like their Facebook page to show them they’re getting some value for giving me a hut to give to you for the weekend. Thanks Tom :)

www.festihutireland.com

After posting this competition for a week or two, it was pointed out that I didn’t include anything to eat in the list (apart from Wine Gums). It’s a fair cop. Sometimes food can get forgotten about during an intensive days’ festivaling, but therein lies the road to falling around the place like a tool. Soakage! I have two favourite festival food vendors: The Eco Bus always turns up at the best sessions and their falafels rock my world. Wok ‘n’ Roll is a festival staple, their life giving Pad Thai, restorative nut, onion and coriander sprinkles have saved my life on more than one occasion. I gave Pat from Wok ‘n’ Roll and Bryce from the Eco Bus a holler and asked if they’d get involved and provide sustenance for the winners of this little caper. The lads came up trumps, giving me four food vouchers each. You’ll be eating the best fodder in the field if you win this competition. Thanks Pat and Thanks Bryce. I’ve included links to both eateries, go give them some love, these are the hardworking folks that keep us upright and functioning during our festival campaigns.

Top Festival Fodder – The Eco Bus & Wok ‘n’ Roll

Last year I picked up a wearable MusucBag sleeping bag and I feckin’ love the thing. You can zip your good self up, party hard, fall down for a disco-nap and then jump back up again. They’re the business. I have two of these, one large and one medium, to fire in the wheelbarrow for ya.

Perfect for dancing and disco naps

Sneaking drink into festivals has become a hobby of mine during the last three years on the road, I take pride in slugging on contraband cans at gigs. Large Capri-Sun containers filled with vodka down bras works well, as does hollowed out loaves of bread filled with wine baggies. The binocular flask and the hooch hair-brush are two of the neatest sauce sneaking solutions that I’ve seen. We’re talking prison issue moonshine dispensers, this is some Orange Is The New Black shit right here.

Eye spy no need to go dry

The last weekend of August can get a bit chilly and as hipsters begin to shed their beards and hip chicks continue the electrolysis treatment, it’d be nice to have something to keep your head and chin warm as you ramble through the woods in Stradbally at 3AM. There’s a bearded beanie in there that should do the trick. I’ve got you covered.

Superstylin

Buckfast is the festival fiends best friend. It’s the mix of caffeine, herbs and minerals that give this fortified wine it’s legendary energy giving properties. Lovingly refered to as Commotion Lotion or Wreck The Hoose Juice (best said in a Scottish accent). An essential festival beverage that can always be found in Wanderly Wagon’s wine cabinet. I don’t leave home without it. There’s four bottles for you in the barrow. If you find it difficult to swallow on its own, you might try one of the following cocktails:

Buckaboo (1 part Bucky, 1 part Malibu, 2 parts Club Lemon)

Velvet Elvis (Equal parts Bucky and Champagne)

Craggy Island Iced Tea (Equal Parts Bulmers and Bucky)

Foxy Monk (Equal parts Buckfast and Ginger Beer)

Fur Coat and No Knickers – (Equal parts Buckfast and Proseco).

Festival Fuel 

The rest of the kit in the wheelbarrow kinda speaks for itself. The Dioralyte can come in very handy, but don’t snort it! You may not need the cigarette papers yourself, but you can be guaranteed that there will be somebody at Electric Picnic who will need them desperately, and by double dosing the ziplock bags, you’re making sure they don’t get soggy and stuck if it rains. If the person who really needs them finds you, you’ll have made a friend for life.

Bí curamach bud

So what do you have to do in order to be in with a chance of skipping down the road with this wheelbarrow full of festival fun? I want you to Tweet, Facepuke or e-mail an original and entertaining picture of you with my book – A Year of Festivals in Ireland. There had to be a catch, no such thing as a free lunch dude/dudette. The good news is that not many people will enter this because you actually have to do something other than just ‘Like and Share’ shit. The trick with this thing is to entertain me. I’ll be picking the photo that tickles me most – yes, I am an evil bastard and this is all for my own amusement. Fuck it, it might be the last time I get to do something like this.

A good example of what I’m looking for from Zoe in Leitrim

If you don’t already have a copy of the book, ask for it in your local bookshop before going online to New Island to buy it or before getting it from Amazon. If you have the Kindle edition, I better be seeing some title page action in those photos bitches! The pictures can be e-mailed to ayearoffestivals@gmail.com, Tweeted @YearofFestivals or posted on the Year of Festivals in Ireland Facepuke page. I’ll be updating the social media channels with pictures as I get them and adding them to the gallery at the end of this post. The winner will be announced on Monday 25th of August, all going well. Not the easiest competition to enter, but that means not too many people will be in the mix for a prize that isn’t the Best Festival Pack Ever, but you have to admit, it is fairly feckin’ daycent.

Good Luck!

And we’re off…

 Classy and Colourful from Nollaig Brennan

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Baz Moynihan knows the way to my heart :)

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Joanna on sunny Achill 

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Anne the Pennys fan  

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Elaine and Enda insert the quirk

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Nudity was inevitable, wasn’t expecting it to be this tasteful though. Robbie and Karen take a hike up Carrigfada Co. Cork

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Anne whips out the Hairspray

*************

 Rapunzel would like to let her hair down at Electric Picnic

***************

 Gearoid hops to it with his entry

***************

Having a sconce under the tree at Muckross

***************

Risking life, limb and leabhar over a live volcano

**************

August Bank Holiday Weekend is the pinnacle of our peak festivaling period, the last long weekend of the summer and a bottle neck for serious sessions. It’s difficult to decide where your fling should be flung when there’s just so many festivals to choose from. I don’t know if this will help or if it makes it even harder to make up your mind, but for what it’s worth, I’ve just about managed to whittle the list of festivals this weekend down to 22 of the best. Good luck choosing your weekend stomping ground!

Durrow Scarecrow Festival – Click Here

Right up there as one of my favourtie community festivals in the country. Scarecrows are strewn around the town, most of them poking fun at something or other. It would be difficult to visit Durrow during Scarecrow time and not crack a smile. Perfect family afternoon out.

Muff Festival – Click Here

“The Great Muff Bakeoff” is a new event at this community shindig in Donegal, but the Festival Queen event is always a highlight. Festival t-shirts are available from Borderland and The Squealin’ Pig; You will be a festival legend if you pick up one of these bad boys.

Quality!

Birr Vintage Week – Click Here

Vintage Festival parade, an air-show and french band Fanfare Piston along with a host of exhibitions, films and kids events makes this one to definitely keep sketch for if you’re in or around Co. Offaly

Annascaul Beer Festival – Click Here

This Kerry village is famous for being the place while Arctic Explorer Tom Crean retired after his frost-bitten adventures to become a publican. His pub – The South Pole, is still there as is a beer that is named after him (expect this one to feature heavily over the weekend). Mundy is the headline act, but it’s worth remembering that this takes place on the Dingle Peninsula, so there’s ample opportunity for fringe events of your design.

 

Indiependence – Click Here

A festival that’s been upped their game in recent years. Solid line-up this year that features Hozier, who many have cited as being a highlight at Longitude. This could be your last chance to catch Scroobius Pip and Dan Le Sac together as they part artistic company at the end of the summer. Tom O’Dell, Public Enemy and We Were Evergreen worth keeping sketch for too, if you make it to Mitchelstown. No doubt that much of the fun will be had at the hop in the craft beer hall when the main-stages have been silenced for the night.

 

The Public Enemy Boys about to go on the beer in Dublin in June

Castlepalooza – Click Here

The line-up isn’t as strong up in Tullamore when compared with Indiependence, but it’s the vibe that has me setting up camp at this one for the whole weekend. That and the fact that I’m playing here with King Kong Company late on Saturday night. This shindig in Tullamore generates more of a festival in a field feel than other similar events; probably something to do with the dreadlock and dog coefficient. Wonderful setting and a hip crowd that thankfully, still has a healthy proportion of lunatics stoking a steam powered session. The stylish summery pop produced by We Were Evergreen pops up here again and is worth your attention, as is shaking a leg at Gilles Peterson and Norman Jay. If you make it to Charleville Castle, come and shout abuse at King Kong Company :)

The Palooza Polis

Spraoi – Click Here

At Spraoi they’ve managed to maintain an ethos of providing the vast majority of events for free and they’ve kept all the good stuff out on the streets. Ideal for the buggy brigade to wander round and take in some tumbling, clowning and choons. Keep sketch for Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Theatre and Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars. Another great option for families.

Refugee All-Stars

Leghowney Sheep Racing Festival Co. Donegal

Forget the Galway Races, in Leghowney this weekend they’ll be racing sheep. A ewe-bet on the lamb-chop chase is guaranteed to be more fun than going bust in Ballybrit, I’d stake my reputation on it! (What reputation??)

H’up there!

Joe Dolan Reunion Weekend – Click Here

There’s no show like a Joe show and even from the grave, the Mullingar maestro is still proving to be a draw. This weekend the life and music of Mullingar’s most famous son will be celebrated in style. Will the town have a festival for Bressie when he kicks the bucket? I’d be more confident putting a tenner on Shee-Baa in the 3:15 at Leghowney.

Boyle Arts Festival – Click Here

The climatic weekend of this multidisciplinary arts festival features some of it’s highlights. Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin performs with Kenneth Edge and the Carolan String Quartet on Friday night, with The Knotty Pine String Band keeping it country on Saturday. Exhibitions, talks, walks and puppets give the arty festival fiend plenty to choose from.

Blessfest – Click Here

A small festival in Blessings Bar in Cavan town that boasts some big names. Chris Difford from Squeeze, The Hot Sprockets and Felix Sony Boy Wilson are on the bill and the best news is that this gig is free. Difficult to argue with that value.

 

Up in the air at Blessfest

Clonmany Festival Donegal – Click Here

If Country and Irish music gets you hot under your silver tipped collar, Clonmany is the spot for you this weekend. Michael English, Declan Nerney, Mike Denver, Robert Mizzell and Mick Flavin are among the checkered shirted swingers who’ll be belting out the boogie for the jivers in Donegal. Sing it with me – “Oh stop the world and let me off…”

 

YeeHaw!

Vinegar Hill Battle Reenactment Festival – Click Here

Cannon, muskets and the clash of metal will be ringing out over Enniscorthy as the reenacters come to blows on Vinegar hill. The Wexicans got hammered in the hurling last week, so there could be some fierce payback down south this weekend.

M’on lads, let’s blow shit up! 

Booleigh Ska Festival – Click Here

Booleigh in Co. Kildare becomes Skaville this weekend when rude-folk from all over the country gather in Conlans pub to jump, shuffle and skank. The best Ska, Reggae and Rocksteady bands from around the country will feature in a weekend that will rarely see an empty dance-floor. Forget Zumba, this is dancercise. Oi oi!

 

Bray Summerfest – Click Here

This is the final weekend of the Co. Wicklow festival that has been running for almost a month now. The air-show pulled a massive crowd, but the organisers reckon they have saved some of the best entertainment until last. This weekend it’s all about the food and drink in Bray. Celebrity chefs, top tucker and glorious grog will be the order of the day. The finale fireworks are on Monday night, but on Sunday Smash Hits will be setting the night on fire, banging out the 90’s hits.

Le Cheile Arts and Music Festival Oldcastle Co. Meath – Click Here

This festival will feature kids entertainment, visual art and a clatter of plays, but the main strength of Le Cheile is the music on offer. The Hot Sprockets, The Minutes, The Barley Mob, The Riptide Movement and Ryan Sheridan are just part of an impressive line-up that will take to the cinema club stage.

Dan Paddy Andy Festival, Lyracrumpane Co. Kerry – Click Here

Ceilís, bog walks, turf footing, dancing, music and a community in the throes of having a blast are what you’ll get in Lyracrumpane. It won’t be glitzy or glamorous, but there’ll be plenty of cheap, clean fun. Nuff said.

Art in the Open Festival – Click Here

The premise for this gathering down in Wexico is that al fresco artists strut their stuff all over the county. Oil painters in the pairceanna, pastel wielders by the weirs, water-colourists on the quays and charcoal scribblers on the streets. As well as organising ‘paint-outs’ at different locations around the county, there are a selection of workshops by international artists to help the budding Botticellis brush up on their brushing up.

Gorey Market House Festival – Click Here

The very best in music, fashion and family fun is promised from another weekender in Wexford. Brendan Courtney & Co. are looking after the fashion, while The Riptide Movement pop up here again, but in the company of Jack L this time. Could be worth a gander if the battle reenactment gets too Gorey (see what I did there?)

 

Skibbereen Arts Festival – Click Here

Was lucky enough to get to pop in for a look at this last weekend and I can recommend the Mixed Media exhibition in The Old Bottling Plant. Some wonderful kids events, film making workshops, contemporary dance, classical music, film, hand-bell ringing and whatever you’re having yourself. The programme in Skibb is very impressive. Mick Flannery looks like being the hot ticket on Saturday night.

Mid Summer Mango Kinsale – Click Here

If reggae and hip-hop float your boat, a spin down to the coast of Cork will see you sorted this weekend. Cain Finn will be dropping beats with Stevie G laying down some hip-hop (a good place to pay your respects for the recent loss of The Pav to the Irish music scene).   Kinsale is ordinarily a beautiful spot, add sunshine and reggae and you can’t really go far wrong.

Cahersiveen Festival of Music and Arts – Click Here

The Riptide Movement have to be the hardest working band in Ireland this weekend; they turn up yet again for a gig down at this shindig in West Kerry. The lads are joined here by The Stunning and surprisingly by Country and Irish dude Robert Mizell (another hard working muso). Fishing features heavily on the programme here as does the Honda 50 run, the barman race and terrier racing. A mixed bag on offer in Caherciveen that promises not to be dull.

No doubt I’ve left out as many as I’ve included, but it’s a pretty extensive list all the same. As the undertaker said to the grave-digger, take your pick and get busy :)

Safe Travels, Don’t Die.

Competitions and campaigns that boast “Best Festival Prize Ever” tend to annoy me, as do things like ‘Festival Kits’ that include ridiculous shit that most wellied warriors would never need, use or abuse. While having a root around TK Maxx, as you do, I saw a ‘Festival Survival Pack’ that was comprised of 2 glows sticks, a water bottle, a white flag and a permanent marker – WTF? They were charging a tenner for this box of stuff. Electric Picnic this year will be my third year on the festival trail, doing something that was only meant to take 12 months. It’s been too much fun, but it’s time to take a step back from the obsessive festival adventures after Electric Picnic 2014, but not before giving two of you folks something to remember me by. I’ve put together some gear that isn’t the Best Festival Prize Ever, but it’s pretty frickin’ decent.

- A Pair of Weekend Passes to Eletric Picnic 2014

- Accommodation for two in your own Festihut

- Two wearable MusucBag sleeping bags (M&L)

- Binoculars drinking flask

- Hairbrush drinking flask

- Bearded Beanie

- 4 bottles of Buckfast

- 1 bottle of Captain Morgan

- 1 Packet of Panadol

- 1 Packet of Dioralyte

- 1 packet of Wine Gums (never underestimate simple pleasures when you’re muddy, wet and in need of comfort)

- 1 pack of Rizla papers inside a ziplock bag, inside another ziplock bag

- 1 pack of babywipes (essential kit!)

- 1 wheelbarrow to put all this shite into

 The Hairbrush Decanter 

The very kind folks at Electric Picnic and their PR posse have given me a pair of passes for this years gig to give to you guys. The tickets wouldn’t be much good without somewhere to lay down your head and seeing as this is meant to be somewhat impressive package, you’ll have a solid roof over your heads supplied by the folks at www.festihutireland.com. The Festihut camp in the Boutique Campsite has its own dedicated swish toilet block and we all know how needed that can be. The Festihut site will also have phone charging facilities – sweet! Tom and the team at Festihut kindly donated this part of the prize, so please visit their site, book them if you organise festivals, or at least go over and like their Facebook page to show them they’re getting some value for giving me a hut to give to you for the weekend. Thanks Tom :)

www.festihutireland.com

Last year I picked up a wearable MusucBag sleeping bag and I feckin’ love the thing. You can zip your good self up, party hard, fall down for a disco-nap and then jump back up again. They’re the business. I have two of these, one large and one medium, to fire in the wheelbarrow for ya.

Perfect for dancing and disco naps

Sneaking drink into festivals has become a hobby of mine during the last three years on the road, I take pride in slugging on contraband cans at gigs. Large Capri-Sun containers filled with vodka down bras works well, as does hollowed out loaves of bread filled with wine baggies. The binocular flask and the hooch hair-brush are two of the neatest sauce sneaking solutions that I’ve seen. We’re talking prison issue moonshine dispensers, this is some Orange Is The New Black shit right here.

Eye spy no need to go dry

The last weekend of August can get a bit chilly and as hipsters begin to shed their beards and hip chicks continue the electrolysis treatment, it’d be nice to have something to keep your head and chin warm as you ramble through the woods in Stradbally at 3AM. There’s a bearded beanie in there that should do the trick. I’ve got you covered.

Superstylin

Buckfast is the festival fiends best friend. It’s the mix of caffeine, herbs and minerals that give this fortified wine it’s legendary energy giving properties. Lovingly refered to as Commotion Lotion or Wreck The Hoose Juice (best said in a Scottish accent). An essential festival beverage that can always be found in Wanderly Wagon’s wine cabinet. I don’t leave home without it. There’s four bottles for you in the barrow. If you find it difficult to swallow on its own, you might try one of the following cocktails:

Buckaboo (1 part Bucky, 1 part Malibu, 2 parts Club Lemon)

Velvet Elvis (Equal parts Bucky and Champagne)

Craggy Island Iced Tea (Equal Parts Bulmers and Bucky)

Foxy Monk (Equal parts Buckfast and Ginger Beer)

Fur Coat and No Knickers – (Equal parts Buckfast and Proseco).

Festival Fuel 

The rest of the kit in the wheelbarrow kinda speaks for itself. The Dioralyte can come in very handy, but don’t snort it! You may not need the cigarette papers yourself, but you can be guaranteed that there will be somebody at Electric Picnic who will need them desperately, and by double dosing the ziplock bags, you’re making sure they don’t get soggy and stuck if it rains. If the person who really needs them finds you, you’ll have made a friend for life.

Bí curamach bud

So what do you have to do in order to be in with a chance of skipping down the road with this wheelbarrow full of festival fun? I want you to Tweet, Facepuke or e-mail an original and entertaining picture of you with my book – A Year of Festivals in Ireland. There had to be a catch, no such thing as a free lunch dude/dudette. The good news is that not many people will enter this because you actually have to do something other than just ‘Like and Share’ shit. The trick with this thing is to entertain me. I’ll be picking the photo that tickles me most – yes, I am an evil bastard and this is all for my own amusement. Fuck it, it might be the last time I get to do something like this.

A good example of what I’m looking for from Zoe in Leitrim

If you don’t already have a copy of the book, ask for it in your local bookshop before going online to New Island to buy it or before getting it from Amazon. If you have the Kindle edition, I better be seeing some title page action in those photos bitches! The pictures can be e-mailed to ayearoffestivals@gmail.com, Tweeted @YearofFestivals or posted on the Year of Festivals in Ireland Facepuke page. I’ll be updating the social media channels with pictures as I get them. The winner will be announced on Monday 25th of August, all going well. Not the easiest competition to enter, but that means not too many people will be in the mix for a prize that isn’t the Best Festival Pack Ever, but you have to admit, it is fairly feckin’ daycent.

Good Luck!

A work of literature outstanding in it’s own field

 

Electric Picnic 2005 was when I began to get turned off festivaling in tents. There were two lads sitting outside the tent next door to ours, both from the same town and both equally out of their bins. They spent the early hours of Sunday morning discussing how sound they thought the other was and wondering why they’d never talked before, what with them living in the same town ‘n’ all. Their inane chemically fueled chatter nearly drove me demented, as did the piss poor music selection they were bangin’ out on the stereo. It was a festival, you can’t go and ask them to keep it down, so I fashioned ineffective earplugs from baby wipes and blades of grass. I’ve never forgotten them, but I’m willing to bet they never spoke or embraced the next time they met either. Furtive glances and uncomfortable half memories of being loved up are likely to have followed. I could be wrong, maybe they got married!

Choose you neighbours carefully

The flip side of that experience was in a van at Helium in Ballymahon last year. After staying up until about 7AM at a bonfire, singing our heads off, we went back for some needed z’s in the van. A pair of boy racers parked behind us started banging out the Out There Brothers at about 10AM – “Boom, Boom, Booooom. Let me hear you say way-oooh”. Fuck no! I ducked up front, checked the mirros, let down the hand-brake and rolled 20 feet down the field to a whole new neighbourhood. Vans rock. Even if it’s not a camper, a mattress in the back of a rented Transit can sometimes be enough to get you through a weekend’s festivaling.

Wanderly Wagon II  

My first van was a 1973 VW Bay that I worked on for five years, finally getting it to become a glistening and functioning festival wagon. The thing about these beautiful vans is that they are vintage vehicles, and even with twin carburetors, you can only expect acertain amount of performance, economy and comfort from them. Wanderly Wagon I reminds me of a former girlfriend – beautiful to look at, but impractical to live with on a daily basis.

Wanderly Wagon I

There was no way that my beautiful vintage van would have been able for the laps of the country that saw me clocking up 183 festivals in 12 months. It broke my heart, but I sold it and upgraded to a 93 VW California (WWII). A German psychiatrist living in Barna sold me the van and it immediately felt like the perfect vehicle for the campaign ahead. Over an arduous 12 months on the road, there were more than a few running repairs needed on Wanderly Wagon II. An engine replacement was required at one point, but we both made it over the line. I don’t know which of us was more battered and bruised from the experience.

 
An unfeasibly shiny Wanderly Wagon II

Last Summer I upgraded again, opting for a 2011 Nissan Primastar, it beats any equivalent VW van hands down for price, drive and functionality. There was no way I could have afforded a VW of the same age and mileage; even a 2006 California with much more on the clock and less features was 5K moe expensive. As with many things in life, you pay for labels.

Wanderly Wagon III lowering the tone of the neighbourhood at Vantastival

Over the years I’ve rented campers in Spain and driven my own around the UK and France. Here at home there are more options every year for renting a van in which you can  hit up a festival. It’s expensive, but not much more so than forking out for a tee-pee at a shindig that bandies the word “boutique” about the place like a Sex and the City wannabe on a shopping spree in Kildare Village. The price drops considerably if you find some like-minded festivalers to share the cost of a bus for a weekend. There are more and more camper rental companies popping up every year and as a result it’s becoming more economical. I’ve picked out five of the best and had a chat with them on your behalf. Here’s the sceal…

Lazy Days outta Wicklow have beautiful busses, but they book out early 

First scanning and chats showed there’s not much joy in renting a van in the republic for anyone who has had their full license for less than 8 years i.e. is under 25, due to insurance laws in Ireland. There is some good news for younger drivers from Bunk Campers working out of Belfast however, but it’ll cost ya a few bucks more for the privilege. General advice is to book and plan as early as possible and check out as many different companies as you can find. Do keep an eye out for extras that might be added on top of the listed price, this can be in the form of kitchen equipment and mileage limits, but it’s usually pretty clear when you starting rooting about in the terms and conditions. I’ve asked the companies I talked to for costs around the time of Electric Picnic, so do check prices for any specific dates you have in mind. If there’s a bit of traveler in you and you’d like to get in touch with your inner Pecker Dunne, these are my top 5…

Celtic Campers – www.celticcampervans.com

This company have the biggest fleet in the Republic, with about 30 different wagons to choose from. Stephen told me they had a few vans rented out to Irish festivalers who hit Glastonbury last year and it’s a regular occurance to have a few heads making the trip from here over to Worthy Farm in their campers. He has a couple of vans rented out for Doolin Folk Festival and a Belgian TV Crew rented a van for last year’s Vantastival. Even the ploughing championships brings a bit of business their way. For a 6 berth camper for 4 nights round Electric Picnic time, it will cost you €600-€800 with a returnable deposit of €500-€2000. Deposits depend on license and insurance details. It is pricey, but when you split the costs six ways, things start to get a bit more attractive. Probably nothing available for Electric Picnic at this stage, tends to book out around February and March for the do in Co. Laois. Check the website for pricing and availability around the time you want to hire, or get in early next year.

Bunk Campers – http://www.bunkcampers.com/en/campervan-hire-locations/ireland/belfast/

You will have to travel up to Belfast to pick-up and drop-off if you’re renting a Bunk Camper and are from the republic, but the good news is that there is likely to still be some limited availability around EP time from this crew and you get a 5% discount from dealing with the Belfast depot. This crowd have somewhere in the region of 50 vans available and there is the possibility that drivers with a full license for less than 8 years might be able to rent a van, but it’ll cost ya. The youngest drivers that can be accommodated are 21 year olds, give Bunk a shout for more details. Basic costs are £75 a day for a 2 birth and £120 a day for a 6 berth. There might be some extras to add on to this, so do have a good rummage in the terms and conditions, but it’s definitely an option, especially for any late starters.

The Bunk Bus

Vanderlust – www.vanderlust.com

Working out of Co. Clare with a relatively small fleet, Dave deals in custom design and luxury, pitched purposely at surfers and tourists along the western side of the island. My current van, Wanderly Wagon III, is an ex-rental that I bought from Dave and I’m extremely happy with it. Truth be told, it’s a bit more flash than I’m used to. You’ll find that some companies have a minimum rental period, which can be a bit of a pain for festival weekenders, but Dave has an interesting twist on it. The minimum rental period is a week, but you don’t have to use the whole week in one go. You can use the van for 3 days for a festival in July, and then use it for the remaining 4 days in August. Weekly costs for the vans that are designed and fitted by Dave are €954 for a 2 berth, €1155 for a four berth and €1295 for a six berth. Only 12 vans in this fleet, but go have a gander and prepare to drool.

Craic ‘n’ Campers – www.craicncampers.ie

A new arrival on the scene and a crew that are causing a stir wherever their vans turn up, quickly becoming the punters first choice for festivals. Most camper rental companies don’t focus on festival trade, the large majority of their business coming from foreign visitors, but the approach from Craic ‘n’ Campers is somewhat different. Festival trade seems to be the primary focus of Craic ‘n’ Campers. There are only a few vans in the fleet, but one of them is a Bosco themed bus that is possibly the best place to lay your head down at any festival… anywhere… ever!

Ta sé go hálinn

Five options there for anyone who want’s to dip their toes into the world of ‘life on the road’, be careful though, it can be addictive. If you do get hooked up with a van, give me a shout, we can start a convoy. That’s a 10-4 Rubber Ducky.

Safe Travels, Don’t Die.

 

Another bank-holiday weekend looms large on the horizon, and with it comes a gaggle of festivals, stampeding towards us in a frenzied cloud of white feathers, honkin’ away like attention seeking geese. It’s easy to get spooked by the hissing squawks. May bank-holiday weekend was a mouth watering antipasto, this time round, you are invited to shove a napkin in your collar and tuck into the filling prime primo offerings. Here’s the menu of mayhem for this weekend, choose wisely and make sure you pick the right vino to accompany them…. Buon Appetito!

1. Cat Laughs Kilkenny – Click Here

This festival is like the Beano appearing in my Christmas stocking when I was a kid – an annual favourite. I’ve hit the Cat Laughs many times over the last number of years and although some gigs have been better than others, I never been at a totally shite one. Three or four comedians per gig is good odds for a laugh. Kilkenny is fast becoming one of the best towns (lads, get over it, ye’re still not a city) for socialising in Ireland, and on a weekend where you can fire a few laughs into the equation, it has to be a contendor for being one of the best festivals over the weekend.

2. Bloom – Click Here

Have to admit that Bloom isn’t really my bag, this festival is primarily a gardening showcase but it has a lot going on under the hood. The food element to this thing is massive and throw in the fact that it’s uber-family-friendly, with kids going free (20 snots for adults) and it makes for a highlight on many Whit Weekend calendars. It’ll get mental busy on Saturday and Sunday, so if you want to see the exhibitions and smells the roses, consider checking it out on Thursday or Friday. I did duck in for a gander last year and was impressed by the set-up and by how much prosecco the mulch massive put away in an afternoon. Keep sketch for Gypsi Swing in the Lyric FM garden, they’ll be knocking out choons to charm the sun out from behind the clouds.

A blooming convincing Dorothy

3. Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival – Click Here

If it’s in wilder growth you want to get your hands dirty, head to Ballyshannon Co. Donegal for the Rory Gallagher Festival. The main tent will have all the big acts on show during the night and into the morning, and if you’re turned on by electrified blues, this festival will fire your engines. If you don’t know who Rory Gallagher was, you might be at a bit of a loss at the main stage, but on the streets there’ll be plenty to keep you entertained, watching the lunatics at play is good for hours of entertainment. I’ve been to a few festivals at this stage but nowhere have I seen a healthier crop of head-a-balls than on the streets of Ballyshannon. They’re a wild bunch that like to party hard, climb phone-boxes and consume copious amounts of commotion lotion. This is not a festival for your mild mannered prudish maiden aunt.

The wild bucks of Ballyshannon

4. Listowel Writers’ Week – Click Here

All year round there are writer’s festivals the length and breadth of the country that offer readings, workshops and sideshows to fuel and fire the imagination, and I’ve been to most of them. Listowel Writers Week in Co. Kerry is the yardstick by which I’d measure all the rest, you could say they wrote the book on it (soz).  You can expect the usual mix of high quality national and internationally acclaimed authors, music and film, but there is one possible blip in an otherwise impressive programme; I’ll be there on Saturday reading from the book version of A Year of Festivals in Ireland in Woulfe’s Bookshop at 12:30PM, but don’t let that put you off. This year’s line-up for Dublin Writers Week packed more punch, but in Listowel it’s the atmosphere and vibe that makes it swing. The little buzz you get from arriving in town and being greeted by a smiling waving John B Keane is pretty much indicative of what to expect all weekend long.

There goes the neighbourhood

5. KFest – Click Here

This is the second year of this arts festival offering in Kilorglin, serving up a bit more culture than the goat shindig, but the town will stil be rockin’… just smelling a little less of billy goat’s piss. Daithi, SOAK, RSAG, Ka Tet and Lowlek head up an impressive music line-up for an arts festival that also fires some poetry, film and visual art into the mix. On a weekend that sees the country awash with gigs and gee-gaws, it’ll be interesting to see how it fares second time round. If you’re in the neighbourhood, it’s certainly worth considering.

6. Forbidden Fruit – Click Here

This is the big one this weekend. A lot of people are keeping their powder dry, seeing what the weather might do before commiting to the session in Kilmainham. The line-up isn’t outrageously good, but it’ certainly not bad. Flaming Lips, Fuck Buttons, Little Dragon, Gold Panda and Wild Beats should all impress, but do keep your ears peeled for two Irish acts that have already excelled on the festival circuit this year – Sounds of System Brakdown and Dublin Afrobeat Ensemble, well worth a gander.

Fruit pickers in the sun

7. Down with Jazz – Click Here

This is another peach happening in Das Kapital this weekend. A little more understated and cooler than the hoopla up in Kilmainham, the vibe under the umbrellas of Meeting House Square in Temple Bar will be heaven for Hiberno hepcats. OKO are there for anyone who likes hard edge jazz cut with some electronics, Umbra keep it contmporary with the young lad of the Guilfoyle’s plying the family trade and Booka Brass Band will inject more of a party feel to proceedings. Another class act of a festival.

8. Innishannon Steam and Vintage Rally – Click Here

The carry-on in Co. Cork is a bit more rural and wholesome than the craic in Dublin. Steam engines are at the heart of it, but expect a hearty helping of tractor-porn, set dancing, sheaf tossing, colcannon and raffles. It’s unashamedly old-skool, but gatherings like this have been working well since our grand-folk used to fire a fling, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s nice to have something to offset the commercialism that can sometimes clog up the festival landscape. Did I mention there’ll be tractor-porn?

Working up a head of steam

9. Ard Nahoo Yoga Festival – Click Here

Right, let’s be honest here. It’s not likely that I’m going to be rocking up to this one over Whit Weekend, but a yoga retreat is probably be just what I need. Balance is good and it’s in that spirit that I’ve included the Ard Nahoo Yoga Festival in the list. It would probably be a much better way to spend the weekend that lepping around to bands in Kilmainham, and some people are well aware of that, so this might be just the spot for them. Don’t think it’s all up-dog and saluting the moon though, there’a a bit of Trance Dance Yoga to be had here in Co. Leitrim… Leitrim? Not exactly a place where you’d expect to find find what The Guardian deemed to be one of the world’s Top 10 Yoga retreats. Might book meself in for Tuesday. Did they name this festival after the mystic in The Mighty Boosh?

10. Bandon Music Festival – Click Here

Small town, big gig. Passed a poster for this one last week as I was buzzing around West Cork, and couldn’t help but be impressed. Mundy I can take or leave, but Le Galaxie, Kormac’s Big Band and Hudson Taylor are acts you’d expect to find rocking up to the gates of Forbidden Fruit. Le Galaxie may be a little over exposed after an amazing two years on the festival circuit, but they still shke a crowd and getting a chance to catch them in West Cork is pretty sweet for any Bandoners with a ear and a foot for a stomp.

11. An Tostal Drumshanbo – Click Here

The tunes aren’t the main attraction at An Tostal in Drumshanbo Co. Leitrim but it does have a heaped helping of that traditional community vibe with a smattering of modern festival trimmings. Shenanigans in the lake, An Tóstal Bingo and Bagatelle out on the boulevard is what you can expect from this one. It’s a local festival for local people, but I’d bet you’d get a fair welcome if you turned up from out of town.

12. Foynes Irish Coffee Festival – Click Here

Is it a shot of real-life Fr, Tedness you’re after? This is probably the lad for you. Friday night sees not only the Powers Irish Coffee Championship in a flying boat museum, but also the semi-final of the Birney Madigan Memmorial Cup. The Clowns and Robots fancy dress in the local community centre should add to the general surrealism of proceedings, topped off nicely by a performance on Saturday night by Christy Moore… impersonator Liam Byrne. For the love of God make sure they keep the fireworks technician away from the whiskey on Sunday night. Whiskey and people who drink it all weekend are highly flamable.

Coffee and cáilín

13. Clancy Brothers Festival – Click Here

De-mothball your bánín and air your fishernans cap, they’re celebrating the life and work of The Clancy Brothers in Carrick-on-Suir this weekend. I happened accross this festival by accident last year on my way home from… somewhere or other :-\ It’s another community driven festival, with the possibiltiy of a gig-rig by the river. If you want to stir up some healthy debate, enquire as to whether Liam Clancy was from the Waterford or the Tipperary side of the river. Be prepared to run faster than Sean Kelly could cycle.

14. Glen of Aherlow Walking Festival – Click Here

The odd thing about walking festivals is that you tend to get less of them during summer months than at any other time of year. The reaon is that people involved with walking clubs tend to disperse, and would you believe that I’ve been told it can get to warm walking in our mountainous regions during an Irish summer!? Whatever the story, there’s less of them, so when a good one pops up at this time of year it tends to stand out. Tipperary’s finest side will be on display over Whit Weekend when the Glen of Aherlow Fáilte Society will be taking all comers up Galtee Mór and beyond. For those who don’t want to scale the dizzying heights of rasher mountain, try Darby’s Bed, a passage grave outside Galbally. Could be a good spot for a lie down after the trek up The Big G.

15. Laois County Fleadh – Click Here

County fleadhs present denizens of diddly-eye with the opportunity to learn a few new tunes, sharpen some steps, immerse themselves in a tempest of trad and marvel at the skill of players with more chops than Dawn Meats. The most important element of any fleadh is people enjoying themselves, and you can be sure there’ll be plenty of that going on this weekend in Abbeyleix.

16. Doonbeg International Jazz Festival – Click Here

This jazz festival won’t be as hardcore as Down With Jazz in Dublin, but for non-afficainados, it’ll be a bit more approachable and entertaining. There are plenty of homegrown acts on the bill and some from Scotland and The Netherlands too; the international part of the festival name is a bit stretched in fairness. I was surprised to find out that this is the 15th year of this jazz festival and one of the things that it can certainly brag about is that all the gigs are free. Hard to argue with the economics of that.

17. Bike Fest Killarney – Click Here

Killarney is usually a spot for garishly dressed retired Americans to sniff out their roots like a pig on the trail of a truffle, but this weekend petrol powered hogs will be passing out the nappy’d horses as the preferred mode of transport for the Irish Bike Fest. Bikers from around the world will arrive in Killarney to show off their choppers and socialise in the tented village on the grounds of a pretty swanky hotel. This is a pretty tame and well heeled affair compared to MCC rallies taking place around the country all summer long. There will be more beer bellies and greying locks than Hells Angels and brawling at this one. An interesting crew to keep sketch for are the born again Christian bikers that I ran into down here the last time I attended – “Born to be Mild” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

Chrome plated bikers

18. Moby Dick Festival in Youghal – Click Here

In east Cork there’s a festival celebrating the link between Youghal and Moby Dick. The version of Melville’s tale that featured Charlton Heston was filmed in the Co. Cork seaside town and they’re not letting us forget it. It’s a community festival that won’t go blowing to many minds, but might be worth checking out if you’re passing through on your way to Cork’s Ocean to the City Festival. Now that I come to think about it, the festival in the city is probably a much better family day out for visitors. Go to both and tell me how you get on. I won’t be setting sail for either.

19. Dungarvan Tradfest - Click Here

They’ll be yelping and hot stepping through the West Waterford night at this shindig not far down the road from Youghal and not a million miles away from the Laois County Fleadh. This festival features the All Ireland Bucket Singing Championships, a competition where challengers sing trad songs with a metal bucket over their head. I know all about this competition because I was once the reigning champion. Really! Unfortunately I’m not going to make it down to don the crown/bucket this year, so the field is wide open. Knock yerself out!

There’s some cheoil in the bucket

20. Duncannon Military Re-enactment Weekend – Click Here

Duncannon Fort Military Re-enactment weekend comes in from leftfield, but bear with me. There is something uniquely Irish about sitting outside a pub with a large bottle of cider discussing GAA with two fully uniformed Nazis. The Co. Wexford town takes on a surreal atmosphere when the hordes descend to dress up and play soldiers. Knights, Nazis, jeeps and khakis will populate the town all weekend and it makes for a very interesting day’s gawping. Added to the gallery is the wonderful beach where you can still drive down and camp for the night; it’s one of my favourite spots to pull up the handbrake in Wanderly Wagon II or WWII as it’ll be known at this shindig.

Careful Now

There you go, that’s twenty of the best of ‘em. Please enjoy irresponsibly.

Safe Travels, Don’t Die.

The kind and clever folks at Falcon Holidays have designed a fairly nifty interactive quiz to help you find your ideal holiday, and they’ve tacked on raffle for iPad Mini to sweeten the deal. You choose the type of shoes you bring on holiday (experience tells me that some of you might go into melt down when forced to pick just one type. Take deep breaths and choose slowly). You slide a plane along your average flight time, pull the thermometer level up to your ideal heat, answer a few more questions and hey presto, the Falcon Sunshine Selector finds you a destination match. It’s like internet dating for package holidays minus the awkward dinners and creepy texts.

 

Falcon holidays are one of Ireland’s largest tour operators and they’ve been sending Irish families off to get freckled-up for over 25 years. I wouldn’t usually be a fan of package holidays, but the prospect of a week or two chilling on a Greek island surrounded by turqoise water or a weekend snorkelling in the Red Sea would easily turn me. If the folk at Falcon ever want me to head off to write about any of their destinations, they won’t exactly have to exert themselves by twisting my arm.

Go give the quiz a whirl, and if you win the iPad Mini, I’m expecting a pint from ya! The quiz closes on Friday the 30th of May, so get your skates on…

Click Here To Try The Quiz and Enter the Draw

(This is a sponsored blogpost, but all opinions expressed are those of A Year of Festivals in Ireland)

Another bank-holiday weekend looms large on the horizon, and with it comes a gaggle of festivals, stampeding towards us in a frenzied cloud of white feathers, honkin’ away like attention seeking geese. It’s easy to get spooked by the hissing squawks. May bank-holiday weekend was a mouth watering antipasto, this time round, you are invited to shove a napkin in your collar and tuck into the filling prime primo offerings. Here’s the menu of mayhem for this weekend, choose wisely and make sure you pick the right vino to accompany them…. Buon Appetito!

1. Cat Laughs Kilkenny – Click Here

This festival is like the Beano appearing in my Christmas stocking when I was a kid – an annual favourite. I’ve hit the Cat Laughs many times over the last number of years and although some gigs have been better than others, I never been at a totally shite one. Three or four comedians per gig is good odds for a laugh. Kilkenny is fast becoming one of the best towns (lads, get over it, ye’re still not a city) for socialising in Ireland, and on a weekend where you can fire a few laughs into the equation, it has to be a contendor for being one of the best festivals over the weekend.

2. Bloom – Click Here

Have to admit that Bloom isn’t really my bag, this festival is primarily a gardening showcase but it has a lot going on under the hood. The food element to this thing is massive and throw in the fact that it’s uber-family-friendly, with kids going free (20 snots for adults) and it makes for a highlight on many Whit Weekend calendars. It’ll get mental busy on Saturday and Sunday, so if you want to see the exhibitions and smells the roses, consider checking it out on Thursday or Friday. I did duck in for a gander last year and was impressed by the set-up and by how much prosecco the mulch massive put away in an afternoon. Keep sketch for Gypsi Swing in the Lyric FM garden, they’ll be knocking out choons to charm the sun out from behind the clouds.

A blooming convincing Dorothy

3. Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival – Click Here

If it’s in wilder growth you want to get your hands dirty, head to Ballyshannon Co. Donegal for the Rory Gallagher Festival. The main tent will have all the big acts on show during the night and into the morning, and if you’re turned on by electrified blues, this festival will fire your engines. If you don’t know who Rory Gallagher was, you might be at a bit of a loss at the main stage, but on the streets there’ll be plenty to keep you entertained, watching the lunatics at play is good for hours of entertainment. I’ve been to a few festivals at this stage but nowhere have I seen a healthier crop of head-a-balls than on the streets of Ballyshannon. They’re a wild bunch that like to party hard, climb phone-boxes and consume copious amounts of commotion lotion. This is not a festival for your mild mannered prudish maiden aunt.

The wild bucks of Ballyshannon

4. Listowel Writers’ Week – Click Here

All year round there are writer’s festivals the length and breadth of the country that offer readings, workshops and sideshows to fuel and fire the imagination, and I’ve been to most of them. Listowel Writers Week in Co. Kerry is the yardstick by which I’d measure all the rest, you could say they wrote the book on it (soz).  You can expect the usual mix of high quality national and internationally acclaimed authors, music and film, but there is one possible blip in an otherwise impressive programme; I’ll be there on Saturday reading from the book version of A Year of Festivals in Ireland in Woulfe’s Bookshop at 12:30PM, but don’t let that put you off. This year’s line-up for Dublin Writers Week packed more punch, but in Listowel it’s the atmosphere and vibe that makes it swing. The little buzz you get from arriving in town and being greeted by a smiling waving John B Keane is pretty much indicative of what to expect all weekend long.

There goes the neighbourhood

5. KFest – Click Here

This is the second year of this arts festival offering in Kilorglin, serving up a bit more culture than the goat shindig, but the town will stil be rockin’… just smelling a little less of billy goat’s piss. Daithi, SOAK, RSAG, Ka Tet and Lowlek head up an impressive music line-up for an arts festival that also fires some poetry, film and visual art into the mix. On a weekend that sees the country awash with gigs and gee-gaws, it’ll be interesting to see how it fares second time round. If you’re in the neighbourhood, it’s certainly worth considering.

6. Forbidden Fruit – Click Here

This is the big one this weekend. A lot of people are keeping their powder dry, seeing what the weather might do before commiting to the session in Kilmainham. The line-up isn’t outrageously good, but it’ certainly not bad. Flaming Lips, Fuck Buttons, Little Dragon, Gold Panda and Wild Beats should all impress, but do keep your ears peeled for two Irish acts that have already excelled on the festival circuit this year – Sounds of System Brakdown and Dublin Afrobeat Ensemble, well worth a gander.

Fruit pickers in the sun

7. Down with Jazz – Click Here

This is another peach happening in Das Kapital this weekend. A little more understated and cooler than the hoopla up in Kilmainham, the vibe under the umbrellas of Meeting House Square in Temple Bar will be heaven for Hiberno hepcats. OKO are there for anyone who likes hard edge jazz cut with some electronics, Umbra keep it contmporary with the young lad of the Guilfoyle’s plying the family trade and Booka Brass Band will inject more of a party feel to proceedings. Another class act of a festival.

8. Innishannon Steam and Vintage Rally – Click Here

The carry-on in Co. Cork is a bit more rural and wholesome than the craic in Dublin. Steam engines are at the heart of it, but expect a hearty helping of tractor-porn, set dancing, sheaf tossing, colcannon and raffles. It’s unashamedly old-skool, but gatherings like this have been working well since our grand-folk used to fire a fling, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s nice to have something to offset the commercialism that can sometimes clog up the festival landscape. Did I mention there’ll be tractor-porn?

Working up a head of steam

9. Ard Nahoo Yoga Festival – Click Here

Right, let’s be honest here. It’s not likely that I’m going to be rocking up to this one over Whit Weekend, but a yoga retreat is probably be just what I need. Balance is good and it’s in that spirit that I’ve included the Ard Nahoo Yoga Festival in the list. It would probably be a much better way to spend the weekend that lepping around to bands in Kilmainham, and some people are well aware of that, so this might be just the spot for them. Don’t think it’s all up-dog and saluting the moon though, there’a a bit of Trance Dance Yoga to be had here in Co. Leitrim… Leitrim? Not exactly a place where you’d expect to find find what The Guardian deemed to be one of the world’s Top 10 Yoga retreats. Might book meself in for Tuesday. Did they name this festival after the mystic in The Mighty Boosh?

10. Bandon Music Festival – Click Here

Small town, big gig. Passed a poster for this one last week as I was buzzing around West Cork, and couldn’t help but be impressed. Mundy I can take or leave, but Le Galaxie, Kormac’s Big Band and Hudson Taylor are acts you’d expect to find rocking up to the gates of Forbidden Fruit. Le Galaxie may be a little over exposed after an amazing two years on the festival circuit, but they still shke a crowd and getting a chance to catch them in West Cork is pretty sweet for any Bandoners with a ear and a foot for a stomp.

11. An Tostal Drumshanbo – Click Here

The tunes aren’t the main attraction at An Tostal in Drumshanbo Co. Leitrim but it does have a heaped helping of that traditional community vibe with a smattering of modern festival trimmings. Shenanigans in the lake, An Tóstal Bingo and Bagatelle out on the boulevard is what you can expect from this one. It’s a local festival for local people, but I’d bet you’d get a fair welcome if you turned up from out of town.

12. Foynes Irish Coffee Festival – Click Here

Is it a shot of real-life Fr, Tedness you’re after? This is probably the lad for you. Friday night sees not only the Powers Irish Coffee Championship in a flying boat museum, but also the semi-final of the Birney Madigan Memmorial Cup. The Clowns and Robots fancy dress in the local community centre should add to the general surrealism of proceedings, topped off nicely by a performance on Saturday night by Christy Moore… impersonator Liam Byrne. For the love of God make sure they keep the fireworks technician away from the whiskey on Sunday night. Whiskey and people who drink it all weekend are highly flamable.

Coffee and cáilín

13. Clancy Brothers Festival – Click Here

De-mothball your bánín and air your fishernans cap, they’re celebrating the life and work of The Clancy Brothers in Carrick-on-Suir this weekend. I happened accross this festival by accident last year on my way home from… somewhere or other :-\ It’s another community driven festival, with the possibiltiy of a gig-rig by the river. If you want to stir up some healthy debate, enquire as to whether Liam Clancy was from the Waterford or the Tipperary side of the river. Be prepared to run faster than Sean Kelly could cycle.

14. Glen of Aherlow Walking Festival – Click Here

The odd thing about walking festivals is that you tend to get less of them during summer months than at any other time of year. The reaon is that people involved with walking clubs tend to disperse, and would you believe that I’ve been told it can get to warm walking in our mountainous regions during an Irish summer!? Whatever the story, there’s less of them, so when a good one pops up at this time of year it tends to stand out. Tipperary’s finest side will be on display over Whit Weekend when the Glen of Aherlow Fáilte Society will be taking all comers up Galtee Mór and beyond. For those who don’t want to scale the dizzying heights of rasher mountain, try Darby’s Bed, a passage grave outside Galbally. Could be a good spot for a lie down after the trek up The Big G.

15. Laois County Fleadh – Click Here

County fleadhs present denizens of diddly-eye with the opportunity to learn a few new tunes, sharpen some steps, immerse themselves in a tempest of trad and marvel at the skill of players with more chops than Dawn Meats. The most important element of any fleadh is people enjoying themselves, and you can be sure there’ll be plenty of that going on this weekend in Abbeyleix.

16. Doonbeg International Jazz Festival – Click Here

This jazz festival won’t be as hardcore as Down With Jazz in Dublin, but for non-afficainados, it’ll be a bit more approachable and entertaining. There are plenty of homegrown acts on the bill and some from Scotland and The Netherlands too; the international part of the festival name is a bit stretched in fairness. I was surprised to find out that this is the 15th year of this jazz festival and one of the things that it can certainly brag about is that all the gigs are free. Hard to argue with the economics of that.

17. Bike Fest Killarney – Click Here

Killarney is usually a spot for garishly dressed retired Americans to sniff out their roots like a pig on the trail of a truffle, but this weekend petrol powered hogs will be passing out the nappy’d horses as the preferred mode of transport for the Irish Bike Fest. Bikers from around the world will arrive in Killarney to show off their choppers and socialise in the tented village on the grounds of a pretty swanky hotel. This is a pretty tame and well heeled affair compared to MCC rallies taking place around the country all summer long. There will be more beer bellies and greying locks than Hells Angels and brawling at this one. An interesting crew to keep sketch for are the born again Christian bikers that I ran into down here the last time I attended – “Born to be Mild” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

Chrome plated bikers

18. Moby Dick Festival in Youghal – Click Here

In east Cork there’s a festival celebrating the link between Youghal and Moby Dick. The version of Melville’s tale that featured Charlton Heston was filmed in the Co. Cork seaside town and they’re not letting us forget it. It’s a community festival that won’t go blowing to many minds, but might be worth checking out if you’re passing through on your way to Cork’s Ocean to the City Festival. Now that I come to think about it, the festival in the city is probably a much better family day out for visitors. Go to both and tell me how you get on. I won’t be setting sail for either.

19. Dungarvan Tradfest - Click Here

They’ll be yelping and hot stepping through the West Waterford night at this shindig not far down the road from Youghal and not a million miles away from the Laois County Fleadh. This festival features the All Ireland Bucket Singing Championships, a competition where challengers sing trad songs with a metal bucket over their head. I know all about this competition because I was once the reigning champion. Really! Unfortunately I’m not going to make it down to don the crown/bucket this year, so the field is wide open. Knock yerself out!

There’s some cheoil in the bucket

20. Duncannon Military Re-enactment Weekend – Click Here

Duncannon Fort Military Re-enactment weekend comes in from leftfield, but bear with me. There is something uniquely Irish about sitting outside a pub with a large bottle of cider discussing GAA with two fully uniformed Nazis. The Co. Wexford town takes on a surreal atmosphere when the hordes descend to dress up and play soldiers. Knights, Nazis, jeeps and khakis will populate the town all weekend and it makes for a very interesting day’s gawping. Added to the gallery is the wonderful beach where you can still drive down and camp for the night; it’s one of my favourite spots to pull up the handbrake in Wanderly Wagon II or WWII as it’ll be known at this shindig.

Careful Now

There you go, that’s twenty of the best of ‘em. Please enjoy irresponsibly.

Safe Travels, Don’t Die.

The Irish festival calendar is relentless, there is no room for the weak or the meek, “Go hard or go home” it screams as it fist pumps the air. It does however change gear quite often, not quite turning off the engine, but just easing it’s foot off the accelerator slightly… just as well, there’d be thrown rods and blown pistons otherwise. After a fuel injected opening weekend of Vantastival, Kilkenny Roots, and the two-stroke two-step up at Countryfest in Monaghan, the rest of May branches out nicely, still keeping the days full, but offering some options that won’t require doses of detox tea and milk-thistle. We’ve crossed the threshold into peak festival season, and although July is the busiest festival month of them all, May isn’t far behind. Surveying our festival landscape with a busted telescope and a stuffed parrot on my shoulder, these are what I see as being the Top 20 festivals for the rest of May (not including the last few days that lead into Whit Weekend – that’s going to be a whole other story)

Baltimore Fiddle Fair – Click Here

May 8th to 11th

They’ve been on the fiddle in Baltimore for longer than most of the jaded MEP’s you’re likely to witness scaring crows off lampposts all over the country. This is a gem of a festival that never grabs too much of the spotlight, or sees itself splashed all over the pages of the national newspapers… and that’s just fine. This and Dublin Writer’s Festival below would be my pick of the bunch. They sold out the John Sheahan (The Dubliners) and Eamon Keane concert faster than Garth Brooks playing a squash court, and such was the demand that they moved it to a bigger venue to try keep all the fiddle fiends happy. This is How We Fly are popping up at a few festivals and the bowing action of Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh was always going to make them a popular choice for a gig in West Cork. Eddie Reader will no doubt enchant the Baltimore folk on Saturday and on Sunday night I’m going to try my best to get down for a double header of Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser & Californian cellist Natalie Haas feat. Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (Altan) followed by a Mancunian quartet made up of Dezi Donnelly, Mike McGoldrick, John Joe Kelly & Damien O’ Kane. This should be a fairly stunning night of music, on a par with anything at any other festival in the country this year. A night or two in Baltimore might see you unscathed, but a full weekend will certainly have you suffering from fiddlers elbow.

 

Galway Early Music Festival – Click Here

May 8th to 11th

Medieval, renaissance, baroque and ancient music is what will be dealt out over four days in the city of the tribes… and you thought your playlist was old skool!? Coracle will present ancient sounds and music of Scotland, while Norbert Rodenkirchen will be taking audiences back to the 80′s… the 1280′s! Norbert’s concert takes inspiration from the story that inspired the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The programme will feature historical pieces and imaginings based on ancient Slavic melodies from the Baltic regions. The odd thing is that for music that is so old, you’re bound to hear something new. Even Larry Gogan would be out of his depth here.

Men in tights  

Barrow River Arts Festival – Click Here

May 9th to 11th

This is another classy offering, but the music here feels almost cutting edge compared to Galway. Beethoven and Shostakovich Sonatas vs. Schubert piano trios all performed by internationally renowned artists in the sumptuous surroundings of Borris House in Co. Carlow. If the music here is a bit too modern for your sensibilities, you can drop out to feast your eyes of the visual art from Alan Davie or close your eyes while Barry McGovern gives your ears a Beckett bath and a Joycean shower. Culture vultures would do well to stick their talons deep into this one.

Borris House – Some gaff!

Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine – Click Here

May 16th to 18th

I’ve been working on a theory that food festivals are a music festival substitute for folks who, for whatever reason, just aren’t willing or able to get their freak on in a field anymore. It’s still a flawed theory that I haven’t worked all the kinks out of yet; the feckers at these things might not lep up and down a lot, but they put away some gargle. As if to prove the point they have a Drinks Theatre at this one where there will be a multitude of talks and tastings. I’m not sure that I’d be enthralled by an event that has wine critics discussing their favourite beers, a bit like Sky Sports cricket commentators getting the hurling gigs, but luckily the beer and cider producers will be on hand too. Food festivals can sometimes feel like a celebration of an industry that enjoyed it’s own monstrously inflated economic bubble, some of those who had their hands on the pump will be reading and ranting here, but we all like drink and quite a few of us a partial to a drop and there is no denying that the best of both will be discussed and digested in Ballymaloe. Yotam Ottolenghi will be a hot ticket with his middle eastern delights and Sandoe Ellix Katz might suggest something handy to wash it down as he discusses his book The Art of Fermentation. Also keep sketch for Ms. Susan Boyle’s wonderful Wine Goose Chase show, it almost educated my palate :)

The glitteratti of grub

Fleadh ’64 Clones – Click Here

May 16th to 18th

In 1964 Clones was the host town for Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann and this festival not only commemorates the event, it sets out to create a whole new bunch of memories. Plenty of sessions, concerts, céilithe, singing and stories to keep the pickiest pipers and the finickiest flautists blowing hard.

 A Fleadh in The Protestant Hall!?  - The times are a changin’ :)

Fleadh Nua Ennis – Click Here

May 18th to 26th

Don’t let the name mislead you, the ‘new’ fleadh has been running in Ennis for 40 years. The Clare crowd like to lord it over the rest of the trad music playing population, and it’s not without some justification. When it comes to tunes, the know how to sow a serious crop in Co. Clare. Similarly to Clones you can catch concerts, céilithe, sessions, street entertainment, Irish language classes, set dancing competitions, Sean-Nós dancing competitions and performances, story telling, Singing Sessions, wren-boys and possibly a spoon player or two, if they don’t get run out of town. For a shot of trad, this is a safe bet.

 

 Fleadh eile 

Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival – Click Here

May 21st to 25th

“Our village is our screen” is the tag line used by this little festival that offers short films and big fun. Steve Coogan and David Putnam are just two of the visiting speakers who’ll be presenting their work at the festival. Not only is the quality of this festival extremely high, the folks behind it are serious fun and this permeates the programme. The extensive programme has something for everyone, but even if you don’t have an interest in cinema, there’s enough going on at the fringes to keep the most critical critics cushty. The world’s most isolated cinema is out on Long Island and I’ll definitely be taking the ferry out for a gander at that. This festival has industry heads at it’s core, as well as running a competition that’s a pretty big deal, there are workshops in all aspects of film making running all weekend. Gold star stuck to this festival, can’t wait to visit the crew in Schull :)

Wexford Food and Wine Festival – Click Here

May 22nd to 25th

It’s a food a wine festival… surely you know the score by now! Artisan producers, cooking demos, farmers markets and some beer and wine on the fringes. Declan O’Rourke has a concert here that will be worth checking out and one of my favourite beers in the country, White Gypsy, will be in town to give a food and beer matching talk. The open air market is open for grazing on Saturday and Sunday. Ancient cooking methods and bee-keeping workshops add a dash of originality to proceedings in the south-east. No where near as fancy as the gig in Ballymaloe… but d’you know what… that might not be a bad thing.

World Sheep Shearing Festival – Click Here

May 22nd to 25th

“The Olympics of Sheep Shearing” – what you need to do is decide if this is something that you actually want to witness. I can’t resist, but it will come as no surprise that i have a bit of a festival kink in me. The crew behind this tell me that there is live music, craft exhibitions and the Good Food Ireland Village. It probably won’t be the won’t be the best festival you’ve ever been at, but it won’t be that baaaaaaaad either ;)

 

“Ahhhh Jaysis!!! Stop tickling me!!!”

Wicklow Arts Festival – Click Here

May 23rd to 25th

A community arts festival that kicks off with fireworks to start things with a bang. Tom Crean: Arctic Explorer is the theatre offering and it has been critically acclaimed wherever it’s been performed in previous years. Comedian and conjurer Jack Wise is well worth a gander. I’ll be there reading from “A Year of Festivals in Ireland” on Saturday night, so you should probably avoid that gig… the rest of it should be fine.

A piece of literature that’s outstanding in it’s own field

Life Festival – Click Here

May 23rd to 25th

Why don’t we hear more about this festival? It’s a pretty big deal, but mostly for people with a penchant for electronic music. LFO, Fourtet, Ben Klock, Nathan Fake and Groove Armada DJ’s should have the leppin’ like loons. There has been a couple of previous attempts to broaden the appeal by including some ‘meat and two veg’ bands. The Hot Sprockets, Rarely Seen Above Ground, Booka Brass Band, Raglans, Kormac’s Big Band and Meltybrains all make an appearance here, as they do at many other fine festivals this summer, but if you’re not at this one already, would you go especially to see them? When the sun shines, Belvedere House is one of the finest festival venues in the country and the crowd here are well trained hedonists, but the atmosphere is friendly and safe. It’s worth your consideration.

Na buachaillí Booka at the “A Year of Festivals in Ireland” booklaunch 

Inisboffin Walking Festival – Click Here

May 23rd to 25th

A walk in Connemara at anytime in any weather is always worthwhile, but when you get a chance to be led around one of the most picturesque islands in The Whesht by local guides that will be pointing out places of interest and filling your head with historically relevant tales. There is nothing negative that can be said about walking festivals, and this one on Inisboffin has more positives than most.

Connemara Bog Week – Click Here

May 23rd to June 2nd

This 10 day festivals based in Letterfrack has it’s highlight on May 25th with a Gig Rig, food stalls, cookery demo and sheaf tossing. a community festival in the heart of Connemara. The concerts run over the duration of Bog Week in Kylemore Abbey can throw up some special evenings. If you were hitting the walking festival in Inisboffin anyway, it’d be worth stopping off in Letterfrack for a buzz around the bog.

Baltimore Seafood Festival – Click Here

May 23rd to 25th

The month kicked off in Baltimore with the fiddle fair and they’re at it again towards the end of the month with two festivals running over the same weekend. The scenic seaside village in West Cork is ideally placed to haul in the finest fodder the sea can offer. The village is usually bustling at the weekend, but expect it to crank up a notch when some of the cooking will be happening out on the street to coincide with the Wooden Boat Festival.

Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival – Click Here

May23rd to 25th

Salty auld sea-dogs will gather to natter, kick hulls, pull oars and hoist sails as the maritime traditions of our Atlantic coastline are celebrated is style in west cork. The food and wine is by the quayside, but the fun is out on the water where wooden vessels of all shapes and sizes will bob around in the bay. At any time of year Baltimore is a pretty special place to visit, for this weekend it will be en fete. The Wooden Boat and Seafood festival are pretty much joined at the hip, so I’m only counting them as one festival.

 Heave! 

The Dublin Set: (The capital has some good ones this month, so it gets it’s own section)

Dublin Writer’s Festival – Click Here

May 17th to 25th

The most impressive line-up of any of the literary festivals (and although I may be biased this year… it’s actually true!). Spoken word and performance from Polar Bear, Joanna Trollope, Gruff Rhys in conversation and performance (ahead of his performance later this summer at Castlepalooza), Ray Davies (The Kinks) in conversation with Joe O’Connor, and Johnny Vegas in Conversation in the National Concert are just a few of the events that catch my flighty eye as I skim through the extensive and mind boggling programme. There is also the launch of ‘Festival Heads’ a photo exhibition from the festivals of Ireland that is accompanied by a reading from the book “A Year of Festivals in Ireland”, the exhibition and reading are by me!! 1PM on Tuesday 20th May in Culture Box in Temple Bar… it won’t be a highlight, but it’ll be alright, like. You better feckin’ go, I don’t want to be sitting there on my own like a tool :-\

Super Furry Fella – Gruff Rhys 

Whelan’s Liffey Banks Festival – Click Here

May 18th

The Liffey Banks Sessions have established themselves as a crew that out on quality roots, folk and trad gigs – pretty much anyone wielding an acoustic noise making implement with some skill is a potential target for these gigs. They’ve teamed up with Whelan’s to put on a one day festival that will feature some of their top picks from the new crop of homegrown rootsters. Uilleann piper Leoanrd Barry recently release his Album New Road in Whelans (with a performance from Christy Moore on the night) and his band will be worth catching. The Whileaways, Moxie and Aldoc feature on the bill too. a daycent way to while away a Sunday.

Dublin Dance Festival – Click Here

May 20th to 31st

This is the tenth outing for the key festival for those interested in contemporary dance on Ireland. Choreographers and dance artists from around the world will be entrancing and amazing Dublin audiences for 12 days. Bodies in Urban Space should be worth checking out and it’s quite possible that if you’re knocking around Dublin during the festival you might bump into them. 20 bendy and acrobatic performers will be making there way through the streets of Das Kapital and making sculptures from their bodies as they go… just don’t get caught in the middle of them… or on second thoughts… that could also be an interesting way to spend a day! :)

 

Any room in there for a small fella? 

International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival – Click Here

May 5th to 18th

This is the biggest theatre festival of it’s kind in the world, and it’s apt that Oscar Wilde is used in the logo and promo material for the festival, a fitting tribute and perfect ambassador. The programme for this is another extensive one that will take some sifting through, but the Gay element of the festival is only by the by really, the quality of the theatre being brought to the stages of Dublin during this festival transcends transgenderism. ‘Away from Home’ takes on the subject of homosexuality in Premiere League soccer with an interesting story that looks like being well worth catching.

Have you enough to be getting on with there? I’d hoped to include the wonderful Dublin City Soul Festival in the list, a free event that usually takes over Merrion Square at the end of may. An announcement is due from the Soul Festival crew on the 16th of this month and I’m hoping for good news, but that late in the day, it’s not looking likely. I’ll let you know when I hear something. That’s May pretty much covered, except for that very last weekend that drifts into June for yet another bank-holiday weekend. There is so much happening that weekend that it requires a whole post of it’s own. In the meantime get the milk-thistle in and brace yourself! There’s another perfect storm brewing.

Safe Travels, Don’t Die.