You know it’s summer when… the fun of the festival season is here.
JOE and 7Up Free look at the evolution of festival culture in Ireland, from the original Slane right up to the Electric Picnic, and everything in between. We Irish love to have a good time, and music is a national passion.
Well, there’s that and our love for dirty, muddy fields and an innate desire to not have access to clean running water for three days.
What we lack in sunshine we more than certainly make up for in the craic stakes and it’s no wonder that music lovers travel from all over the world to uplift their Summer with the Irish people.
It all kicked off with Slane back in 1981, where the County Meath village’s sloping hills formed a natural amphitheatre, perfectly suited for some of the best bands in the world to come and strut their stuff. David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Queen and The Rolling Stones have all performed in Lord Henry’s back garden over the years but, for Irish fans, it’s probably the U2 double-header in 2001 that stands out as a particular highlight. Well, two Bonos are obviously better than one after all.
Féile (1990 – 1997), or the ‘Trip to Tipp’ as it was popularly known, first appeared in Semple Stadium when Slane was on a five year hiatus at the beginning of the 90s – clearly the Meath festival couldn’t handle the craic of the Irish punters and just needed a wee breather.
Féile duly took up the music mantle and continued the Irish festival tradition of being able to bring in the big guns when it came to headlining acts, with Van Morrison, Blur, Meat Loaf and JOE favourite Chris de Burgh all making appearances over the years.
So you think you’re reeeeal cool going to Oxegen yeah? Well Joe was heading along to that festival’s predecessor Witnness when you were still in nappies, so there. Actually, we did wear an actual nappy to Witnness one year but that’s a different story altogether.
The Guinness-sponsored festival ran from 2000 until 2003 and, as well as attracting thousands of festival-loving revellers, enticed the likes of Oasis, Muse and Coldplay to headline.
Unfortunately, JOE’s appeals for a re-appearance of Mr de Burgh fell on deaf ears.
WE LOVE YOU CHRIS.
Over the last decade, the boutique festival has become increasingly popular, perfect for those who don’t like the hustle and bustle of the larger festival mud-pits. The best of these is undoubtedly Electric Picnic which is now in its tenth year. This September you can look forward to Arctic Monkeys, Fatboy Slima and Björk rocking your tiny little world in Stradbally, County Laois.
7Up 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 7Up Free team might just make it happen!
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
