Help! Find me the best Festivals of 2019

From Body & Soul to Forbidden Fruit and Electric Picnic, there are plenty of summertime festivals to excite, delight and thrill all the ardent festival campers this coming season.

So, dig out the dinky flat heeled ankle boots, the Boho clothes you wouldn’t normally wear, plonk on the obligatory flower hair wreath and your on point witty T shirts to start planning those weekends full of music, street food and way, way too little sleep.

Its Festival Time!

Ireland really knows how to do festivals!  These days there are just so many to choose from. From good clean family fun to hippy trippy eco warriors or just blasting it out to sounds with the gang.  Our unique Festival guide will help you plan your summer events and make May to August fly by in a haze of festivals….

May

‘Life’ comes to Mullingar on the 24th-26th May. Life is the festival of dance music and yeah… it will be waking up the sleepy surroundings. Located in the amazing surroundings of Belvedere House where the grounds and the lake are a perfect background for the chance to make your moves to international and local dance music talent.  Electronic music fans throng to Life and it is easy to see why. Celebrating its 15th year, this is Ireland’s most revered and well-established electronic music event, in other words this is the dance music mecca.   

June

There are so many festivals to enjoy in June.

Forbidden Fruit kicks the month off at Kilmainham, in the grounds of the iconic Museum of Modern Art, Dublin.  The June bank holiday is the perfect timing for this six-stage festival event which offers an eclectic range of music over all tastes and styles. An awesome line-up includes Elbow, Skepta, Danny Brown and Mura Masa. Comedy, art and great food combine to make this gig an annual go –to event for so many die-hard fans.  Cocktails, parties, fashion and lots and lots of amazing sounds make Forbidden Fruit a Festival that represents the diversity, uniqueness, fun and craziness of the capital city.  

Solstice brings Midsummer madness in Cavan. Fake beaches but real craic. A food village, the Sunset stage and the club arena nightclub make this festival sound like the place to be in June. The Facebook page is alive with beautiful people having beautiful fun.   Solstice only started last year with its inaugural festival and all reports were pretty positive.  On the downside, they have yet to announce their acts for 2019, while tickets have been on sale for the past few months.  But then, maybe it’s all about the ambiance and making the longest day of the year seem like the shortest. June 22nd in case you don’t know when the Solstice is.

Body and Soul ( 21st– 23rd June) in BallinLough Castle, Co Meath is often referred to as the ‘grown up’ festival, and caters well for those who haven’t quite left their raving days behind, but like some concerted  recycling and  hot stone massages before they dance it out in the big tent.  A Fantastic line up in a beautiful setting with little interesting arty bits and musical cameos behind every faery tree, Body and Soul is more than just a yoga-momma day out.   Super friendly (yeah, even family friendly-vibe) and well organised event, this festival does exactly what it says on the Marquee… it restores the equilibrium to the Body and Soul. Choose the quiet tent camping area, if you have had adverse reactions to lost drunk visitors stumbling in on top of your cosy sleeping bag. Choose the normal camping sites if you want the option of late-night revelling and partying.   There is a family friendly site too, if you have wee ones in tow.  

Sea Session, Bundoran 21st -23rd June.  Donegal’s surf music festival is headlining 2019 with Sigrid, the Sugar-hill gang, The Two Door Cinema Club and a host of other excellent music. This is an awesome line up to accompany all the tanned beautiful people camping out along the Wild Atlantic Way for one of Ireland’s super fun events.  Sea Sessions is in its 12th year and unsurprisingly, it sells out every single year and has dedicated festival returnees. It’s a festival for the fit and freaky, for the buffed and tanned and for all who love to bop to music by the ocean waves.  Body Boarding, surfing, volleyball and numerous other exhausting events are enjoyed by the happy crowd.  Of course, an equal number of festival goers enjoy lifting pints and swaying gently to this cool, slick line-up.

Bulmer’s Festival.    Every Thursday is Festival time at Leopardstown Racecourse.  From June 6th to August the 15th, All summer long, Leopardstown brings you a fantastic line-up of live gigs, great food, and thrilling horse racing on the Racecourse. Bulmer’s Live at Leopardstown has all the makings of a great night out, with a difference. Concert & Racing for only €17! The great thing about this gig is that the kids can come too, for a lower ticket price, naturally. So, get ready to enjoy bands like The Stunning, The Bay City Rollers (who??) and many others.  Free shuttle buses and Luas at certain times.  Book the next block of Friday’s off from work and enjoy Festival Nights

July

Longtitude.  We love Longtitude!  In Marley Park, Dublin from the 5th to the 7th   July.   However, it seems a bit mean to tell you that CardiB has been announced as the last headliner in this awesome festival. Why?  Because it is all sold out folks!  Yes, 2019 tickets have been snapped up. But should you win some on a radio show or blag some from a friend then you are in for a treat. Longtitude has a rep for attracting the younger festival goers (18-25) and is one of Dublin’s biggest outdoor music festivals.  Sell a kidney or donate a limb for a ticket to this gig. Trust us, you won’t regret it.

August

Another Love Story Festival takes place in Killyon Manor, near Kinnegad, Co West Meath from the 16th to the 18th August.    It’s really hard to describe this event and probably because we have not been, but mainly because the organisers say this

Out of the quickest of thoughts, the faintest of notions, the momentary flash of imagination’s incandescent light bulb & the heartfelt meanderings of a group of friends – Another Love Story came to life. A bespoke weekender of music, art, conversation, food, fun & frolics nestled in and amongst the glorious grounds of Killyon Manor.’

Hmmm…. The intriguing website and eclectic musical line-up promises a more genteel festival than the norm and with a whimsical arty type edge.  It’s still camping!  It’s still festival time! But it is probably not the place for the bag o’ cans and the throw away BBQ.  Dig out the wicker picnic basket and the box of merlot.  Class line-up of music too! 

Electric Picnic.  It’s synonymous with being young in Ireland.  How many of today’s yummy mummy’s and hipster dads popped their festival cherry at The Picnic, it is still the most popular outdoor music event in Ireland, and a big hit for first time and veteran festival goers.  Over the years its audience has graduated from its ‘breakfast rolls and leave the tent behind image’, into a music loving, fun following audience and Electric 2019 is another well organised, well attended festival.    But, let’s not get too excited as tickets went on sale in December 2018 and sold out in 15 minutes.  2020 beckons lads.  Let’s not get left behind.

Some of our Festival deals now on!

For more info on any of the festivals:

Life-festival

Forbidden Fruit

Solstice Festival

Body and soul

Sea Sessions 2019

Bulmers Festival

Longitude

Another love story

Electric picnic

A Survival Guide to Stress-Free Festival Camping

It’s the height of summer festival season!

There is nothing more exciting than popping your tent up in a crowded field alongside thousands of other excited festival goers! The mood on that first evening is of cheerful expectant happiness. Throngs of cheerful revellers arrive, hauling their camping gear, food, drink and essentials across the muddy terrain. Only a hardy, well prepared few will look as fresh and cheerful on Sunday evening.

In our survival guide to stress-free festival camping, we offer some practical tips for pre-festival organisation and preparations that should see you warm, dry and fully functioning in terms of shelter for the weekend. How you organise the rest of things…well, that is entirely up to you!

What should I bring? 

Basics:  Some people literally bring the kitchen sink and some just arrive with the cursory bag o cans.  The best idea is somewhere right down the middle. You will need a tent, a roll mat, sleeping bag and a rain mac. Everything after that is a bonus. If you picture yourself sitting at the tent chatting into the wee hours with new found friends, then camping chairs are a real godsend. Thankfully, all of these items are now lightweight and easy to carry. A torch will reduce the number of tents you stumble into as you return in the wee hours with your happy head still bopping to the beat. Torches light the way to the loos (Don’t look down!! Whatever you do, don’t look down!). They help you find the paracetamol before it’s light outside. Head torches are the best, as they leave hands free.

Loo roll, sun-cream, insect repellent, first aid kit and wipes are basics too, for all the obvious reasons.  Keep it simple and keep it light. A lot of good camping stores offer festival camping deals. Check out these amazing offers:

Extras:  Consider a light weight, portable cooler for the beer and the water. Nothing like a cold one in front of the new canvas home. Portable power is also a good idea. If you don’t feel like queuing for the mobile phone providers to charge your phone, then bring along a good power pack. Forget about the solar powered options, even in countries with a lot of sun these are way too slow. Pack Bluetooth speakers if you fancy a private party!

Food at festivals is part of the fun experience. But, if you feel like making your own, there are simple folding stoves to heat the beans or make the tea. This option will add to the weight of the gear and it is worth remembering just how far away the bus stop or car park is. A wheeled cart or trolley will get many jealous glances from other festival goers.

A Light Footprint:  New technology in the structure and production of tents has made them simpler to erect. There is better rain proofing, wind proofing and they are so much easier to store. Resist the temptation to leave it behind on your last day. You are throwing away Sunday afternoons spent playing house with nieces and nephews. You are discarding somewhere pleasant to change your clothes on busy beaches. You will use it again, once fatigue and hangover have worn off. The space taken up in storage is small enough to warrant the effort of bringing your gear home.

Enjoy the Chilled Vibe:  Festivals are all about the craic. So, love life in your tent city. Frisbees, hula-hoops and giant bubble kits are a bit naff at other times but are totally on point for the festival scene. No doubt, your blue tent looks just like all the others in a sea of blue tents. Fly your flag!  Place a distinctive marker of some kind, church fete bunting, a flag or a giant flashing red arrow on the top of your tent so you can find your way home. Stay hydrated, stay patient and keep that chilled vibe to the forefront at all times. Rock on campers!

Crowds Enjoying Themselves At Outdoor Music Festival