Nick Cave and Sinéad O'Connor to headline All Together Now festival in Co Waterford
Sinead O'Connor and Nick Cave feature among the headliners for All Together Now in Co Waterford in 2022.
After nearly two years of delays, the Irish summer festival circuit is preparing to announce its 2022 lineups, doing so against the backdrops of the long-term management of Covid-19 onsite, and the logistical issues posed by the post-Brexit situation for touring artists.
The first big name of 2022 to reveal their lineout for next year is POD and Aiken Promotions' All Together Now, happening at Curraghmore Estate in County Waterford from July 29-31. The festival presents a stacked lineup for casual music fans and dedicated gig-goers alike for its third instalment, after two years on hold owing to the Covid crisis and all that attended, and a 2019 instalment plagued by logistical issues that led to massive traffic jams on the road to the site.
Speaking in a statement, festival organisers said: "We thank those of you who have continually supported us. Without you the festival would not be possible. Our team has, and will continue to work tirelessly to create a special festival for our return.
"Festivals are places of escape, discovery, and celebration. They give us the space to dance, laugh, sing, and give us all a sense of belonging and togetherness, something we are longing to get back to."
Pitching itself at audiences wider than the "Leaving Cert rite-of-passage" stigma that many August Bank Holiday affairs have had to contend with in recent years, the festival has dug deep for established international topliners, including Australian crooner Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, reprising the hits on their first tour in four years; techno institution Underworld, marking 25 years since the release of Trainspotting-featured breakout hit 'Born Slippy', and UK electronic outfit Groove Armada on their farewell tour. Meanwhile, Sinéad O'Connor's headlining set, following a career resurgence in recent years, will be the singer's only festival performance in Ireland next year.
Homegrown heroes near the top of the bill include the cream of a new generation of fiercely independent Irish artists, including alt-country queen CMAT, currently preparing her debut LP and riding high with new earworm 'No More Virgos'; DIY punk outfit Pillow Queens, preparing album number two after appearing on the US Late Late Show with James Corden; Cork post-punk five-piece The Altered Hours; proudly Dublin-accented R&B singer and songwriter Gemma Dunleavy; and Limerick-based rapper/spoken-word artist Denise Chaila.
Dublin noise-makers Girl Band make their post-Covid return, performing tunes from critically acclaimed LP 'The Talkies', voted the greatest Irish album of all time in a recent critics' poll, citing its uncompromising nature and the band's acclaimed live shows.
Other international headliners include Brooklyn shoegaze band DIIV in their Irish debut, and prolific Australian psychedelic rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, have also been announced.
- Limited tickets are on sale Thursday November 18 at 8am on ticketmaster.ie. Tickets purchased for the 2020 and 2021 festivals are valid.
