Indiependence lives up to crowd’s high hopes

In a festival landscape dominated by boutique and small-sized festivals, Indiependence is not just holding its own but is asserting itself as one of the essential events on the Irish live music calendar.

From the stage, Paul Noonan, lead singer with Saturday night’s headliners Bell X1, saluted the independently-run event, which was on the same weekend as Oxegen and which has been such a strong supporter of Irish artists.

Bell X1 were one of the last additions to the festival and preceding them on the main stage were homegrown talents as Kodaline and We Cut Corners. Friday night saw international acts We Are Scientists, The Fratellis, and De La Soul, but the first main stage festival moment came early in Kodaline’s set. The Dublin group made their first festival appearance in Mitchelstown last year and enjoyed a triumphant return before a sellout crowd. “We’re Kodaline… we’re a band from Dublin,” front man Steve Garrigan’s introduction was greeted with boos from a section of the crowd, smarting from the defeat in football.