All Together Now: Five talking points from Day 2
The Mary Wallopers on stage at All Together Now in Co Waterford.
Matt Berninger et al are such regular visitors to these shores that some of us could be forgiven at not being hugely excited at the prospect of their two-hour headline show on Saturday. It follows a gig at the 3Arena in 2023 and two relatively by-the-numbers albums last year.
But then they get onstage and you forget your qualms. They're irresistible. Berninger, like Nick Cave here two years ago, can't resist reaching out to the front rows and finds himself in the crowd just a couple of songs in. Their best song in recent years, 'Tropic Morning News', sounds electric, while 'Bloodbuzz Ohio' and 'The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness' are greeted as the anthems they are.
The most uplifting set of the weekend belongs to the youngest performers at All Together Now. It's the summer of the Kabin Crew and Lisdoonvarna Crew as they take over the bespoke Belonging Bandstand for an hour at 5pm Saturday.
Looking the part of seasoned pros, they sing and dance - and hula-hoop - all together with each getting their own moment and rap in the spotlight. With Kabin Crew head honcho GMC Beats urging them on, they and the crowd look like they're having the time of their lives. It's impossible not to smile or maybe even tear up at their talk of being proud of where they're from (Knocknaheeny) and overcoming difficulties. When they drop the song of the summer, 'The Spark', there must be about 20 kids onstage - it's utterly glorious.
After taking Glastonbury by storm early in the summer and with a seemingly non-stop touring schedule behind them, Dundalk trad band the Mary Wallopers take to the main stage in the early evening. Alas what should be a joyful homecoming runs into tech difficulties and it's more than 20 minutes in before they start to hit their stride.
But when they do, just try and stop them! 'Blarney Stone' and 'Eileen Óg' are rollicking but it's the trio of 'quiet' songs in the middle, each taken by the main trio, Sean McKenna and Andrew and Charles Hendy, taking aim at the hypocrital anti-immigrant far right, which really stand out. 'Building Up and Tearing England Down' proves particularly powerful.
There are trad raves and trad porn, the latter hosted by the idiosyncratic, trolley-toting Acid Granny, to be found across the All Together Now Bill over the weekend. We keep hearing we're in a golden age of trad and folk music and it's so interesting to see people doing something different with it.
Mid-afternoon Saturday, the 11-piece all-female band Biird produce something approaching a wall of sound, with no less than three harps on stage. Clad mostly in white and with cowboy boots aplenty, they're headed by Lisa Canny, a seven-time All-Ireland champion on harp and banjo. Their sound skews country and western and their take on the likes of 'Tell Me Ma' is a lot of fun. Expect to hear a lot more about Biird as they take flight.
There's too much fun to be had at Sing Along Social at the main stage in mid-afternoon. A staple of music and family-friendly festivals around the country, it's the brainchild of Aoife McElwain. It's basically karaoke writ large. Any scepticism can be left at the bar as they roll out hits by Ronan Keating and Shania Twain.
There are at least 14 people, including a couple of drag queens, helping thousands of people shake off the cobwebs and scream loud, with props and crowd engagement - lines are made in the crowd for people to show off their best Michael Flatley and Jean Butler impressions during Riverdance - the order of the day. Simple fun expertly done.
