Music Editor Holly Alder delves into the beauty and grime of Irish festival culture, and what’s to be expected for 2024’s upcoming festival season.
It’s Sunday morning. You open your eyes, and it feels as if you’ve just been born. Everything hurts, your vision is blurry, and you’re simultaneously freezing and sweating. Condensation is dripping onto your forehead from the tent walls and you’re not quite sure if your friend beside you is sleeping with their eyes open or just staring at the tent ceiling in despair. Welcome to the Sunday morning of any Irish music festival, a pivotal moment for any young Irish person.
Welcome to the Sunday morning of any Irish music festival, a pivotal moment for any young Irish person.
During my teenage years, I always thought all music festivals resembled the American ones you see on Instagram. Coachella springs to mind, but while it’s obvious not every festival is going to be littered with influencers and celebrities, I at least envisioned sunshine and cute outfits.
How sorely mistaken I was. I’ve been to around a dozen music festivals, most involving camping. Whilst this is an activity I’ve always loved, nothing can prepare you for the adventure that is camping at a music festival in Ireland.
My first-ever camping festival was the last ever iconic T in the Park in Scotland. This experience might have geared me up for the Irish festival experience, as nothing has quite compared to the filth since. I was 17, fresh out of school and completely unprepared to camp in a field for four days. The following year, T in the Park was pulled completely after having run for twenty-two years (1994-2016) due to the absolute chaos that ensued. Perhaps that is why my little teenage self was completely unphased by the shenanigans of Irish music festivals.
One of the main things about Irish music festivals that separates them from the rest of the world is, of course, the weather. We are graced with rain almost every week, and plans simply cannot be made by relying on weather forecasts. We must be prepared for rain, shine or snow. I’ve often woken up to my belongings floating beside me, my clothes soaking and my tent completely caved in from the rain – although some would say it’s all a part of the experience. As I get older, and maybe wiser, I realise that travelling to warmer parts of the world to enjoy a few days of listening to non-stop music seems like a much more viable option.
Despite all of the seemingly negative traits that come with Irish music festivals, the positives completely outweigh the bad traits. For instance, I am confident that no one knows how to party like the Irish. The feeling of togetherness at a festival is truly unforgettable – when someone falls in the crowd and everyone scrabbles together to pick them up, the people who embrace the landslides of mud and rain and roll around like children, or the meaningless conversations you have all weekend long. The laughs you have at a festival with your friends are some of the most serious belly laughs you’ll ever experience, all while your worries and responsibilities melt away for the weekend. All this is coupled with the power of music. Whether you go to small independent music festivals such as Knockanstockan or Fuinneamh, to larger scale events such as Life Festival and Electric Picnic, live music is one thing that brings people from all walks of life together.
Despite all of the seemingly negative traits that come with Irish music festivals, the positives completely outweigh the bad traits. For instance, I am confident that no one knows how to party like the Irish.
The love that is felt throughout festival fields is something that continues to persevere every single year, the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic stressing the importance of Irish music festivals for many. Music festivals are more than gigs or a weekend away – the pandemic taught festival goers as much. While Life Festival has been cancelled this year due to unforeseen circumstances, recurring festivals such as All Together Now, Electric Picnic, Fuinneamh and the newest addition to the Irish music festival lineup, Otherside Festival, are all set to go ahead this summer with fully stocked lineups. For those who don’t particularly like the sound of camping (which is weird considering how much I’ve sold it in this article), there’s an array of day festivals and three-day non-camping festivals for you to get (roughly) the same effect. Whether the chaos is for you or not, this summer is looking like it’ll be a scorcher for the festival scene.