10 Irish music festivals... who's playing, how much, and how to get there
Crowds at the Electric Picnic Festival in Stradbally, County Laois. Picture: Niall Carson/PA
Headliners: Jack O’Rourke, Rachael Lavelle, Cormac Begley, King Kong Company
This festival’s raison d’etre? “It’s an outpouring of our community’s need to create and celebrate, to let loose and live. Please take the opportunity to try something new.”
Taking place in An Daingean and around the peninsula, calling into venues as various as the Great Blasket Centre and St James’s Church, Féile na Bealtaine may not have the profile of Other Voices but is still one to treasure, with activities for all and sundry on offer throughout the weekend.
Tickets: Various prices, but with lots of free events too.
How to get there: You might need a car or bike to get to some of the further away events, but the majority take place in the town of Dingle.
Headliners: Breanndán Ó Beaglaíoch, Síle Friel
Entering its sixth year on beautiful Arranmore, Féile Róise Rua honours the legacy of singer Róise na nAmhrán, its ethos to celebrate and nurture unaccompanied song. The festival is not so much based on performance as the sharing of songs, tunes, and stories that might otherwise be lost. There are also plenty more activities to nourish the soul. Lucy O’Hagan, for example, seeks to help people reconnect with nature by tanning eel skins by the fire.
The festival is run according to a social enterprise model where all profits are put directly into the community or back into the festival.
Tickets: Sold out, but there is a waiting list on Eventbrite
How to get there: The ferry from Burtonport, Co Donegal, to Arranmore takes 20 minutes.
Headliners: MK, Belters Only, Jazzy
Music at Punchestown in summer might have some of us getting nostalgic for the messy days of Oxegen but this two-day event is very much for the younger dance music fan (though taking place on the June bank holiday weekend, they’ll be missing out on the Leaving Cert class of 2024).
Belters Only aka Bissett and Robbie G, have enjoyed a phenomenal rise over the past couple years — they’re also playing Cork’s Musgrave Park on June 21 — having sold out Dublin’s 3Arena recently. They produced Jazzy’s unstoppable ‘Giving Me’, and will be joined at the two-day, non-camping event by the Dubliner as well as acts from further afield such as Marc Kinchen. MK headlines June 1 and Belters Only on June 2.
Tickets: From €65.70
How to get there: Punchestown’s about a 40-minute drive from Dublin City, about two hours from Cork city. Keep an eye out for bus companies offering travel to the event.
Headliners: Bicep, Overmono, Nelly Furtado, Four Tet
She may be 'like a bird', but Nelly Furtado looks like an odd standout in this dance-heavy lineup on the June bank holiday, though she enjoyed some success with a Dom Dolla collab last year. Belfast’s Bicep bring their Chroma show to town, a constantly evolving AV/DJ show, while Overmono are one of the hottest acts around.
Techno, house, and pop are well represented at Forbidden Fruit — you might be hard-pressed to find a guitar on site this year. The only disappointing thing to keep in mind is that the music will end before midnight (keep in mind it’s a non-camping festival).
Tickets: Day tickets from €89.50, weekend tickets (tier 4) from €175.
How to get there: A five-minute walk from Heuston Station.
Headliners: blk., Jazzy, Cian Ducrot, Johnny Marr
Running since 2008, Sea Sessions mixes music, surf, and sports to offer a fun-packed weekend of activities. Throw some frisbee on the beach while you take a break, go skateboarding or BMXing before you open your cans — you can’t say that about many of the other festivals on this list.
As for the lineup, Cork’s Cian Ducrot and Limerick’s fast-rising Kinfishr headline the Saturday, while the likes of Dublin’s Jazzy and Bricknasty offer the cool factor. The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr kicks off a trio of Irish dates on the Sunday.
Tickets: Three-day non-camping from €149.95, camping (four nights) from €184.95, day tickets from €69.95.
How to get there: Bundoran is about 7km from Ballyshannon and 35km from Sligo. Direct buses from Dublin are planned
Headliners: Jungle, Jessie Ware, Soulwax, Romy
The solstice weekend last year saw Beyond the Pale clash with Body & Soul, splitting the audience on a weekend where the weather was not friendly to either festival. B&S is sitting out this year, saying: “We now find ourselves in a different time — the world has changed, and it’s time for us to evolve further.”
Beyond the Pale is back for its third edition, however, and brings perhaps the lineup of the summer, including xx singer Romy, the Sugarhill Gang, and David Holmes, among many others, and with a strong focus on Irish acts.
Tickets: Tier 2 weekend tickets from €239.
How to get there: Less than an hour from Dublin city centre, though you can get the DART to Bray and a shuttle bus service to the site.
Headliners: Central Cee, Doja Cat, Becky Hill, 21 Savage
Longitude has suffered a bit of an identity crisis over the years. It went full rap and hip hop in recent years — and looked like the hottest festival around as a result — but has pulled back on that somewhat, mixing in a heady dose of younger dance acts. But there are still highlights on this year’s lineup.
Doja Cat has exploded, thanks to TikTok, since she was last in town in 2018, while 21 Savage is making his Irish debut.
Tickets: Two-day tickets from €199.50, day tickets €99.90.
How to get there: Public transport from Dublin city centre to Marlay Park; it’s about a 40-minute cycle too.
Headliners: The National, Jorja Smith, Future Islands
Should we mention the mud, the rain, the weather warning? That’s what was faced at All Together Now 2023 — and yet the good times and the music still triumphed. Hopefully, ATN (and all the other festivals) has learned its lesson and will be ready for any adverse weather this year. There are 18 stages of music, theatre, spoken word, storytelling, comedy, wellness, food, and more. As for the acts, the exquisite shoegaze legends Slowdive right next to Natasha Bedingfield (‘Unwritten’ had a moment on TikTok) should tell you all you need to know. For those curious, there’s a great kids section and family camping.
Tickets: Tier 3 weekend tickets from €235.
How to get there: Curraghmore House is just over two hours from Dublin, and 90 minutes from Cork. There will be shuttle buses from Waterford Bus Station to the site every day.
Headliners: Lineup tbc in April
Coldplay’s gigs at Croke Park at the end of August see Electric Picnic move from its end-of-summer slot to a couple of weeks earlier — though that hasn’t affected ticket sales; all 70,000 or so tickets have already been snapped up without even one name announced. It’s also celebrating 20 years in 2024 — how times, and festivals, have changed since then. EP is sprawling, with something to interest you around every corner. The crowd has gotten younger in recent years, and it's become a rite of passage.
Tickets: Sold out
How to get there: Stradbally’s about an hour from Dubin City, two hours from Cork — but lots of public transport options will be available.
Headliners: Grandbrothers, Jape, Mildlife, Muireann Bradley
Promoters Homebeat celebrate 10 years of Another Love Story this summer. A boutique festival of around 2,000 attendees, they say much of the thought behind the festival stems from a deep belief in the amazing well of talent to be found on this small island, and the simple idea that there may be a kinder, more sustainable to do this kind of thing.
Irish newcomers like Muireann Bradley mix with established acts such as David Kitt, amid a mélange of very cool dance acts and DJs. There’s a keen attention to detail on site, with saunas, river dips, forest walks, and the Love Olympics all on offer.
Tickets: Weekend tickets from €215. Sunday tickets available closer to the date.
How to get there: 50-minute drive from Dublin, 10km from the M4 (Exit 10 Kinnegad).
