Who's playing at the Meadows Festival in Dublin and what could we expect?
L-R: CMAT and Saint Sister - two of the homegrown acts playing the Saturday of Meadows festival in Dublin in August.
After the reaction to last month's A Pilot Festival, part of the slow rollout of events leading up to the return of gigs and festivals, promoters POD have announced a weekend of events from August 20-22 at the IMMA Royal Hospital in Kilmainham.
Featuring a mix of homegrown indie, folk and soul on the Friday and Saturday, and closing up on the Sunday with a double-header of orchestral crowdpleasers, the events also boast early conversation and spoken-word panels from the All Curious Minds crew.
The fact that there are more gigs happening at big venues, with testing being straightened out better in time for last month's big pilot event, hopefully bodes well for a gradual return to live music over the latter part of this year.
While distinct public health guidelines for this series of events have yet to be announced, the festival has confirmed that people will only be admitted in pods of four and six, with groups assigned to numbered pods on site.
Expect a one-way system around each part of a segmented festival site enroute to limited food and drink options, and tightened searches at the gates - only small bags, no cloakrooms or storage.
Also, last month's pilot event was cashless - card only at the till, and sadly for music nerds, no merchandise stalls to support artists directly.
The booking of Meadows continues to hint at the post-pandemic picture for live Irish music: a greater emphasis on independent, homegrown artists, that will almost certainly be the wider direction Irish festivals take after the twin phenomena of Covid-19 and Brexit play themselves out.
Friday, August 20 is the first of three days that see two shows happening each day, with doors opening at 4pm for a matinee show with much-vaunted folk singer-songwriters David Keenan and Niamh Regan, and again at 8pm for Dundalk shoegazers Just Mustard, fresh off their new record deal with US indie label Partisan Records, and folk singer John Francis Flynn.Â
Both artists have released stunning debut albums in recent years, with the former in particular fancied for international success as touring resumes.
Saturday, August 21 sees doors open at 1pm for day one of All Curious Minds' spoken-word bill - more info to be announced.Â
The 4pm matinee is a double-headliner in its own right, as Northern folk duo Saint Sister continue their victory lap after the release of their second album, Where I Should End, joined by Ireland's new queen of country, Dubliner CMAT, whose mix of humour, pop nous and reverence for the country music tradition has endeared her to a lot of people over lockdown.
The evening show at 8pm sees Dublin outfit A Lazarus Soul headlining, joined by Cavan singer-songwriter Lisa O'Neill, noted for her flair for storytelling and compelling live presence.
Sunday, August 22 is opened by day two of All Curious Minds' spoken-word events at 1pm, before Dublin classical ensemble Glasshouse take the stage all day - doors at 4pm for a matinee show playing the music of Kate Bush and David Bowie with guests, with the 8pm evening show seeing them take on the songbooks of Prince and Joni Mitchell.
- Tickets from €19.10 per person go on sale tomorrow via Ticketmaster.
