Festival fever: your essential guide to getting back out in the fields

 It’s official, festival season is back. We’ve never been so happy at the prospect of getting sweaty and dancing in a field with thousands of strangers! If you used to be a festival pro but are slightly daunted at the thoughts of getting back into it after so long away, here’s our guide to doing it right. By Jen Stevens

The crowd cheer on Snow Patrol playing on the Main Stage at Oxegen 2007. Photo. Mark Stedman/RollingNews.ie

Ireland has a mega history of festivals. There have been some great days, some lost weekends and a lot of very good music at Irish festivals over the years. 

Immortalised by the great Christy Moore, Lisdoonvarna was a sort of an Irish version of Woodstock and ran from 1978 to 1983. For many it was an introduction to what a festival really was and international stars like Jackson Browne, U40 and Emmylou Harris took to the stage alongside homegrown talent like Van Morrison, Planxty, Paul Brady and Rory Gallagher in the Co Clare town.