Oxegen doesn’t even enter the equation anymore when it comes to Ireland and music festivals. A whole bevvy of new offerings have sprung up over the last couple of years which means those of us who need to and absolutely should avoid Oxegen have plenty of good reasons to. I think we can all safely say we thought we were the business in Punchestown at 17, but let’s face it, when it’s time to move on, it’s time to move on.
I think I’d rather get a cotton bud stuck in my ear, a la Hannah from Girls, than set foot in that teenager-infested racecourse again. Believe me – it’s sore, it only happened to my cousin the other day, seriously (such a Hannah).
The newest kid on the block and dare I say the one looking the most promising for this summer is the Longitude festival in Marlay Park. I know, I know, I can hear you all saying it – sometimes the best festival memories are made on the campsites and Longitude is a non-camping festival. Still, I think we’re all old enough to appreciate going for a pint afterwards, or even going out, or best of all, home to a shower and a bed.
Longitude is as good as we’ll get this summer when it comes to line-ups. The line-up is headed by Pheonix on Friday, Vampire Weekend on Saturday and Kraftwerk on Sunday. Other acts include Foals, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Villagers, Hot Chip, Jake Bugg and Modest Mouse, to name but a few. You can check out the full bill so far on longitude.ie.
The rest of the bill will be announced on April 8th, after they close the early bird offer. That’s another thing that’s pretty sweet about Longitude, the price. The early bird offer is a very wallet-friendly €44.50 for a day ticket and €129.50 for a weekend ticket. That changes to €54.50 and €149.50 on April 7th, after the early bird offer ends.
Longitude has found its spot, in what is usually a pretty crowded summer festival season. At that price and with Marlay Park as its setting and the tagline of more than just music, they’re onto a winner. Just what that “more” consists of has yet to be revealed, but if it matches the standard of the music there’s not likely to be many complaints.
Headliners Kraftwerk, Phoenix and Vampire Weekend are not the only draw. Yeah Yeah Yeahs continue the moment they’re having right now alongside Foals and Hot Chip high up on the bill, not to mention popular Irish performers like Mmoths, Villagers and Kodaline.
Forbidden Fruit, the other Irish urban non-camping festival, is Longitude’s direct competition. So far Longitude is winning out on that one, as we all want to see something new. Although we could always make it to the two – tickets for both would work out around the same as one for Electric Picnic, who are taking procrastination to another level this year.
Also key to the excitement building about Longitude is that they brought their stellar bill to our attention first. Slow and steady may win the race in some respects, but Longitude is the one festival on everyone’s lips because they beat the others to the chase. Every other promoter must be sweating since MCD dropped this news.
Who needs a J1 when there’s this to look forward to? Not me. Roll on July 19th.
Claire Healy
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