There are few nations in the world that can claim to have the same love for music that the Irish do. It’s in our blood, and we shout/sing it from the rooftops. Hell, we even have a musical instrument on the front of our passports as a symbol of the country.
So, in turn, we embrace festival culture with a passion that’s hard to express or explain. We may not have the sun-soaked joys of Benicassim, nor the uber-cool factor Coachella brings to the musical calendar, but make no mistake, we bring the party!
From Trip to Tipp in the 90s, right up to the plethora of festivals that now make up our summer weekends, we love our music and we’ll take any chance we get to don some wellies, pack ourselves into a muddy field, and sing and dance our little hearts out. Here are four of the finest festivals of the last twenty years. Take a walk down memory lane, then look forward to the summer joys yet to come. Just don’t forget to pack the baby wipes…
Féile
From 1990 to 1997 Féile was a pilgrimage for most Irish music fans. Most often held it Semple Stadium, the festival earned the nickname Trip to Tipp. Irish acts like The Pogues, Christy Moore and even Chris de Burgh (yes, really), shared bills with the likes of Meat Loaf, Elvis Costello, Bryan Adams and The Prodigy. Just imagine the after parties. RIP Trip to Tipp.
Slane
Dating back to 1981, and still going strong, Slane is the grand Daddy of Irish festivals. Every year any number of celebs can be spotted at the Meath venue, but the most prized sighting is that of Lord Henry himself, sitting in his extraordinary back yard and soaking up the atmosphere. Slane has played host to Springsteen, Bowie, Queen, The Rolling Stones and too many more to mention. Eminem disappointed fans when he cancelled his planned 2005 appearance, but he returns to the venue later this year. He follows Jon Bon Jovi, who described a Slane headline as ‘always the goal’. Ah bless him.
Witnness
Before there was Oxegen, there was Witnness. From 2000 to 2003, Punchestown Racecourse welcomed revelers to camp on site and party to a soundtrack of artists like Oasis, Green Day, The Foo Fighters, Coldplay and Basement Jaxx. In 2004 sponsors Guinness were replaced by Heineken, and Witnness became Oxegen.
Electric Picnic
In the same year as Oxegen replaced Witnness, Electric Picnic was born. The trip Stradbally in count Laois has every year since been a summer highlight for fans of quality music and a truly chilled and happy atmosphere. EP was one of the first festivals to really embrace arts and culture alongside music. With more eclectic and unusual artist selections than most big festivals, audiences are also treated to gigs by high-profile comedians and incredible performance artists. Highlights over the years have included Groove Armada, Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Massive Attack, Beastie Boys and the legendary Grace Jones. It gets better every year.
7-Up Free is asking people to submit what will uplift their summer. They will be giving away lots of prizes throughout the summer for the best entries. To be in with a chance to win people can enter via Twitter using the hashtag #upliftmysummer or enter via Facebook or the website www.7up.ie. Whether they want a weekly Friday ice cream to brighten their day or tickets to one of the hottest festivals in Europe, the 7-Up Free team might just make it happen!
