Music in the City
When I was growing up in Dublin, music festivals only happened in fields a good coach or DART journey away, or at least a couple of hours playing sardines in an overloaded car on a rare scorcher of a day. Those were the days. These days it’s pretty much the same, except now you also have the option of catching a festival right in the heart of the city.
The summer festival season is kicking off in Dublin Town with Meteor Camden Crawl this coming weekend 3-5 May. Fifteen venues will open their doors for two days to Dubs and visitors alike, for a tasty smorgasbord of music, comedy and all sorts of fun and games. This is the showcase’s second year running and it seems to have already secured a cosy place for itself amongst musicians and revellers alike. You can see the line-up, timetables and tickets here.
Forbidden Fruit is back for its third innings on the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham this June 1-2. It’s unique draw is that it feels like you’re in a big field in the country, but you have the luxury of catching the LUAS to town or hot footing it to the nearest local after you’ve seen a plethora of bands. Selected venues in town also host official after parties for those who want to keep the candle burning. I’d recommend you attend these too, and experience the spirit of the festival is brought indoors; minus the muck. Check out the pretty awesome line-up and ticket prices on the website.
Fresh to the scene and yet to be officially launched is new kid on the block youbloom@Dublin, heralded by Sir Bob Geldof as “an amazing opportunity for independent bands/artists and has the potential to become Dublin’s SouthBySouthWest.” The showcase is a multi-national, multi-venue, multi-genre event taking place June 28-30 across 5 venues, and will include industry workshops, trade shows and conferences. It offers “Brave New Music” from unsigned acts from both home and abroad, as far as Brazil, USA and Gibraltar; Exciting for music fans and musicians alike. Watch this space for info coming soon.
No tent purchase necessary!