Electric Picnic in Stradbally Co. Laois was yet again another success with a wide variety of acts taking to the many stages across the weekend. The festival had something for every music fan, including Chaka Kahn, A Tribe Called Quest, The Pretenders and even an appearance from late nineties pop sensations S Club Party and 5ive .
Friday night saw English indie band The xx on the Main Stage. The band were met with a huge crowd of fans and played their much-loved hits including Intro, I Dare You and On Hold. Another crowd-pleasing act was Jenny Greene and The RTE Concert Orchestra who lifted the roof off Rankin’s Wood stage.
Saturday brought with it rainy weather but this did not dampen people’s spirits as this day featured some of the best acts to perform over the weekend. 80’s band Madness, hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest and DJ Pete Tong performing Ibiza Classics with a live orchestra were just some of the acts to light up the Main Stage. DJ Mura Masa was the best act of the day, and arguably the whole weekend, performing hits from his debut self-titled album in the Electric Arena.
Sunday featured yet another eclectic mix of music acts including the soulful Dublin Gospel Choir, critically acclaimed DJ Hannah Wants and up-and-coming singer Rag’N’Bone Man. Legendary 80’s band Duran Duran closed the festival at the Main Stage on Sunday night, signalling the end of an amazing weekend.
Michelle Townsend
Life Festival, Ireland’s premier underground electronic festival returned to Belvedere House and Gardens for its 9th year. It saw a host of acts, world renowned and unknown, international and homegrown. Fans flocked to the site for a three night celebration of all forms of electronic music.
Each stage carried it’s own individual sound for whatever the attendee’s ears fancied, be it heavy trance at the Index Stage or some groovy tunes at the Toast Tent. While the headliners, such as Rudimental & Duke Dumont on the main stage and Alan Fitzpatrick & Nina Kraviz at District 8 were what pulled traction among most of the festivals goers, the real highlights of the weekend came from the homegrown talent.
Dublin born Sunil Sharpe, a now internationally renowned name, performed an outstanding set at the District 8 Stage on the Saturday night and acts such as Maedbh O’Connor and Sarah Mooney, rocked the Index and District 8 stages respectively.
One of the most talked about acts of the weekend were Boots & Kats, who kept the party going at the Toast Tent for those who made it to the 5am raves in the woods. They will be performing to a full capacity District 8 on November 3rd.
The final highlight of the weekend was Versatile, whose day time performance on Sunday at the main stage provided a respite for those who needed a break from techno. Life is certainly a festival you should experience.
Aoife Horan
Longitude was hosted on an amazingly sunny July weekend this Summer. Crowds flocked to Marley Park to see some of their favourite acts and to have a fun filled weekend. Despite the trouble caused on entry on Friday with festival goers being caught in a crush, everything went ahead as planned. G-Eazy, Dua Lipa, Stormzy and Picture This performed energetic sets that left the attendees buzzing for the rest of the weekend.
Saturday hosted an array of well known acts such as Skepta, The Weekend, Mac Miller and Kaleo. The Head and the Heart, a mostly unheard of band, played an impressive performance at the Whelans stage. Without a doubt the highlight of Saturday was Welsh rock bank Catfish and the Bottlemen, who completely packed out the Heineken tent and had everyone singing their hearts out to their meaningful yet energetic songs.
Sunday was again a great success. JP Cooper who has that one hit that everybody knows (September Song) took the crowd by surprise with his other great songs. Jack Garratt fans were thrilled to see him give an outstanding performance in the Heineken tent. Other acts worth mentioning are Villagers, Milky Chance and Glass Animals. However there is only one act who could end the festival as well as they did; Mumford and Sons. Fans young and old gathered at the main stage to listen to their phenomenal performance. They even brought out Hozier to sing with them. Longitude has definitely redeemed itself after that amazing weekend.
Emer Handly
FIB festival is hosted in the small town of Benicàssim in Spain. This summer we headed off to Spain with rucksacks on our backs and glitter in our hair. FIB has many options available in terms of accommodation whether it’s a campsite, an apartment, or a hotel.
There were so many different and amazing acts at the festival, from famous acts such as the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Weekend and upcoming artists like Kaleo and Mura Masa. There were two stages in the main arena where Biffy Clyro, Stormzy and Dua Lipa performed amazing sets that had the crowd buzzing. There was also a separate area where EDM artists and DJs played.
The festival doesn’t start until 7pm and it lasts straight into the early hours of the morning. There were constant activities for attendees to make the most of their time in Benicàssim. There are beautiful beaches located nearby to soak in the sunny beams and get a few hours sleep on the deck chairs before the madness of the music filled night. FIB is a festival not to be missed.
Niamh Dunne