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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Forest Fest review: Peter Hook and Teenage Fanclub among highlights of Day 2
Forest Fest, Emo, Co Laois, Saturday July 26 ★★★★☆ If you, like me, are one of those sad sacks who bore all and sundry by moaning about the 'good old days' of festivals then Forest Fest in Emo, Co Laois will finally shut you up. Now in its third year, this boutique gathering sports a well looked after car park and campsite for a start. Once inside, the Village and Perfect Day stages are to your right, or head straight for the Fleadh (and some nice craft beer action) or the main stage. The site's compactness saves on shoe leather but means there's some sound spillage between stages, albeit nothing that'll spoil anyone's day. A great kick-off from Limerick's Dylan Flynn & The Dead Poets, whose early Springsteen, saxophone-driven rocking eventually drew an enthusiastic crowd after a brief delay with the gates. These Charming Men's Smiths tribute was as superb as always. Therapy dotted their set with Philo-isms ('We need your helping hands') and they (and Kilkenny's Kerbdog) were like a shovel to the head but in a good way. Peter Hook & The Light provided an enjoyable time-trip, despite the fact that Hooky and his guitar player couldn't make up half a singer between them. I haven't seen two bass players on stage since the glory days of Spinal Tap but versions of Blue Monday and Love Will Tear Us Apart are always welcome. Teenage Fanclub at Forest Fest. A brief stop for a bit of head-banging to the concertina of Buille before joining a packed tent for the Classic Beatles. 'John's' wig disproved all of Isaac Newton's apple-related theories but that didn't stop a great show, almost drowned out by the communal singing. Later, we were treated to a spirited set from Manic Street Preachers. "Do you remember the 90s?' James Dean Bradfield asked. It's a safe bet most of this audience does. Huge cheer for Design For Life, as there always should be, and the rest of a career-spanning selection from the Welsh Clash, especially a particularly good You Love Us, which we undoubedly do, was equally useful. 'You're the people we're here for!' Right on. The sound wasn't great at the back, and the bar and the bathroom were a fair hike from the front of the main stage, and more toilets are always welcome. But these are minor quibbles at a festival where the staff were fantastic and there was a fine variety of food and drink. My night ended with Teenage Fanclub because there will always be something irresistibly attractive about the combination of overdriven guitars and harmonies. Everything they played was teleported in from some glorious jangly dimension, but the selections from 1991's Bandwagonesque, especially The Concept's heavenly coda, were a blessing. A near-perfect ending to a great day out. Where can I get a ticket for next year? Read More Mary Coughlan review: Ride On among the highlights of triumphant homecoming show in Galway
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Forest Fest 2025: stars align to send feelgood festival fans home happy
Jack L v Kerry v Donegal was always going to be a tough gig. As he took to the stage and his image also filled three giant screens, the All-Ireland football final on the two flanking the stage shrank to one corner so the fans watching the last 20 minutes huddled closer, rivalling those keen to see the Athy troubadour strut his stuff. It wasn't Donegal's day but Jack Lukeman more than held his own, aided by the Suso Gospel choir. Otherwise, it was all about the music at Forest Fest in the picturesque village of Emo in Co Laois , now in its fourth year and as established a part of the festival calendar as Electric Picnic up the road in Stradbally. Saturday was the biggest day in terms of crowds and star acts, but a magical performance from The Magic Numbers, building from melodic pop to ever more muscular rock, sent those watching home on a high, giving a satisfying sense of the best wine having been saved till last. Elsewhere, Qween on the main stage and in particular The Complete Stone Roses on the Fleadh stage also delivered blistering, crowd-pleasing sets. READ MORE Nick Lowe had set the bar high early with a solo set that proved once again what a fantastic songwriter he is. 'I was advised to keep things up tempo as it's a festival,' he said, 'but with just an acoustic guitar there has to be light and shade.' Caravaggio would have been jealous of the result. Franz Ferdinand at Forest Fest. Photograph: Brian Bastick Franz Ferdinand at Forest Fest. Photograph: Brian Bastick Tony Hadley is still looking good but the former Spandau Ballet sounds now like a cocktail singer, whereas Billy Bragg's music has matured and his politics are as relevant as ever. 'Sunday night is the perfect festival slot,' he told the crowd. Friday night, they were saving themselves; Saturday night they're too drunk; whereas last night they had lost all inhibitions. He told a funny story about meeting a woman in Boulder, Colorado before a gig, who asked the name of his band. When he told her, she said, there used to be a singer in the 1980s called Billy Bragg. It's a good yarn, and it captures a truth that festival founder Philip Meagher has capitalised on. Many great acts from the 1980s and 1990s are still around and appeal to a key demographic. There are some great up-and-coming acts as part of the mix, such as Pillow Queens and The Oars – but the core ingredients are proven, tried and tested. Travis at Forest Fest. Photograph: Brian Bastick A thrilling set from Manic Street Preachers on Saturday night was a huge highlight. Singer James Dean Bradfield led the Welsh band through a string of great songs, kicking off with Motorcycle Emptiness, in front of a capacity crowd. The Manics have had their share of misfortunes, most notably the loss of Richey Edwards, but the set is dedicated to another late colleague and their producer is standing in for their keyboard player who is ill. Perhaps this gives songs such as A Design for Life and You Stole the Sun from My Heart an edge others lack. They close with If You Tolerate This Your Children Will be Next, as three Palestinian flags are waved near the front of the crowd. 'This is the sound of Laois I've been looking forward to hearing,' says Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos, fresh from Glastonbury, as their hit song Do you Want To is met with a roar of approval on a sunny Friday evening. Kapranos, as limber as a flamenco dancer, delivers a hit-filled set as shining as his black satin bomber jacket: Take Me Out, Hooked, Michael, Walk Away and This Fire were standouts. Tom Meighan at Forest Fest. Photograph: Brian Bastick If Franz Ferdinand are top-of the range glossy, The Dandy Warhols, who followed, are prestige matt, with fewer pyrotechnics but a set including hits Bohemian Like You and We Used to Be Friends that slowly builds to deliver a captivating soundscape, complemented by a powerful visual display on the screens behind. Something Happens had got the ball rolling earlier, Tom Dunne offering some sound advice: 'did you all take your medication before coming out today?' Other Friday highlights included Alabama 3's rendition of Woke up this Morning, the singers dressed like Pearly King and Queen, as a fan shinned her way up and swung from a pole in the Village Stage tent. A feature of the festival is its plethora of brilliant covers bands. Friday night closed with Live Forever Oasis, Daft Punk Tribute and Thin as Lizzy on three stages, while Walk the Line (Johnny Cash) and Qween closed on other nights. No complaints as they delivered some of the most crowd-pleasing sets. Standouts included Pogueology, The Classic Beatles, Neil Young tribute Harvest and superb Smiths act These Charming Men, who have graduated from the third to second stage and deserve a main stage slot next year. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want. Peter Hook made a welcome return to the festival, and delivered a solid set, this time focused more on his time with New Order than Joy Division. He too was pleased with the crowd. 'You've made an old man very happy,' he said, responding to the adulation that greeted a strong finish featuring True Faith, Temptation, Blue Monday and Love Will Tear Us Apart. Sharon Shannon at Forest Fest. Photograph: Brian Bastick Earlier, Larne rockers had dedicated Die Laughing to the late Ozzy Osbourne. The Stranglers were rather downbeat, apart from Always the Sun, Peaches and the brilliant Golden Brown. It was curious to go from that song of heroin addiction to another delivered by an irrepressible Mary Coughlan, The Ice Cream Man (inspired by an Irish Times story she reads in a Galway pub, she said). Rather miscast on the Fleadh stage, she packed it out with songs as dark and sparkling as her runners. The Susu choir joined her on stage for a beautiful rendition of I Would Rather Go Blind, which she first heard aged 15 when stepping out with 'future president' Catherine Connolly 's brother. Her rousing rendition of Ride On is the best I've heard. The sound quality throughout was exceptional and overall the organisation was impeccable, but the stage timings irritatingly went half an hour awry on Saturday afternoon. Kula Shaker. Photograph: Brian Bastick This is a feelgood festival, attracting young and old and sending them home happy. The bands too. Teenage Fanclub singer Raymond McGinley can't help smiling as he delivers a joyous set, with Sparky's Dream and What You Do to Me standouts. The Riptide Movement, headlining the second stage on Saturday night, caught the mood with the glorious closer All Works Out. 'Tomorrow's a new day.' Here's to next year.
The Journal
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Journal
Should RTÉ televise Irish music festivals?
NATIONAL BROADCASTER RTÉ should consider televising independent Irish music festivals, according to Forest Fest organiser Philip Meagher. Meagher suggested that RTÉ could draw from the BBC's coverage of Glastonbury, saying that it 'always makes for great television'. Advertisement The broadcaster previously confirmed it will not be televising Electric Picnic this year – a decision the Music and Entertainment Association of Ireland (MEAI) described as an 'opportunity missed'. So, let us know your thoughts: Should RTÉ televise Irish music festivals? Poll Results: Yes (715) No (195) Unsure (47) Yes No Unsure Vote
The Journal
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Journal
'A music industry on their knees': Organiser says smaller festivals need government support
GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO step in to help support smaller, independent music festivals in Ireland, according to Philip Meagher, founder of music festival Forest Fest. The festival, which returns to Emo, Co. Laois for its fourth year this weekend, will see Franz Ferdinand, the Manic Street Preachers, Travis and Orbital headline the main stage, while many up-and-coming Irish acts will be supporting. 'A lot of people in the music industry are literally on their knees because of the spiralling costs involved. Without the proper support structure in place, it's hard to see a future for the smaller, independent festivals going forward,' said Meagher. His comments come as other music festival organisers in Ireland have said that mounting costs are making it harder for them to keep going each year. There has been calls for the Department of Culture to roll out a 'more transparent' funding model for grants which many organisers say would help to safeguard the future of smaller festivals. Earlier this month there was confusion about whether major player Beyond The Pale would go ahead, while a number of beloved smaller festivals are not going ahead this summer, including Sea Sessions, Body and Soul, and Wild Roots. 'Extremely challenging' 'It is extremely challenging and the costs associated with putting on an event of this type and size are astronomical,' Meagher told The Journal. It is time now for the government to 'look at supporting smaller festivals around the country to assist with that cost', he said, adding that these festivals give opportunities for young bands in the country. 'It gives them an outlet to perform in front of large audiences. Without the independent festivals, there isn't that route for bands because the more established, bigger festivals don't seem to curate their events around the younger, up-and-coming acts. So we'd like to think we play an important part in that,' he said. 'It would be money very well invested by the government, because they get a huge return from the point of view of tourism, from the point of view of the catering industries [and from] the music industry itself,' he added. Advertisement Earlier this year, the government announced a Small Scale Local Festivals grant of €5,000. 'That wouldn't even pay for a water tanker,' commented Meagher, who believes the government need to dig deeper. Concert goers at Forest Fest in Laois Over-35s not hanging up their festival wellies just yet Meagher explains that unlike some of the larger festivals in Ireland this summer, Forest Fest is geared towards an 'older demographic'. In the era of 'day-clubbing' events, where those in their mid-thirties and above are hitting the nightclubs during daylight hours, Meagher said that the older generation is not hanging up its festival wellies just yet either. 'The whole idea is to provide a top end festival for an older demographic. I just found that a lot of festivals are geared more towards the 20 to 35 bracket, that there wasn't really a particularly designed event for the 35 and up demographic. 'So we basically set about raising an offering based on music of a particular generation, going back to the 80s, 90s, and also the best of the up-and-coming acts as well,' he said. Meagher said when people reach a 'certain age', where they might have had their families, they might have some free time now. 'They want to relive their youth and they're more than able to do it, they're well able to party and have a great time,' he said. RTÉ should broadcast from music festivals Showcasing Irish festivals by the national broadcaster is something Meagher said should also be considered, stating it would be a 'great idea' if RTÉ could broadcast from independent music festivals during the summer months. 'I've been watching the BBC coverage over the last number of years [of Glastonbury], it always makes for great television. And certainly I'd be very, very open to the national broadcaster visiting us and setting up on site. 'I think people would be very, very interested to be able to see behind the scenes at a festival and what exactly goes on and then to hear some live performances. I think it would be a wonderful idea,' said Meagher. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Five For Your Radar: Skibbereen Arts Fest, Happy Gilmore, Fantastic Four...
Streaming: Happy Gilmore 2 Netflix, Friday, July 25 Nearly 30 years on from the original film, Adam Sandler - fresh from a star turn at the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live as well as the Oscars ceremony earlier this year - returns to the fairways. Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio aka Bad Bunny and Sandler's daughters Sadie and Sunny feature alongside the returning Ben Stiller and Julie Bowen and a stellar cast including Eminem and golfers from Rory McIlroy to Bryson DeChambeau. Skibbereen Arts Festival: Various venues Friday, July 25, to Sunday, August 3 Music, art, film, theatre, spoken word, literature, and comedy are all well catered for at this year's expansive programme in Skibbereen Arts Festival. Paul Noonan and Daithí Ó Drónaí of Houseplants. Picture: Nina Val A 90s-themed street party kicks things off on Friday evening, while on Saturday, Catherine Airey, an author with West Cork roots, discusses debut novel Confessions, and HousePlants, a dance band led by Bell X1's Paul Noonan, play the Town Hall. One of the most exciting acts in the country, RÓIS, plays on Wednesday. Festival: Forest Fest Emo Village, Co Laois, Friday-Sunday, July 25-27 Returning for its fourth outing this weekend, Forest Fest has amassed an interesting lineup headed by Franz Ferdinand, Manic Street Preachers, and Travis. Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand: appearing at Laois' Forest Fest. Orbital will bring the ravers, while the likes of The Farm and Kula Shaker provide the Britpop (and post-Britpop) vibes - as will the Oasis tribute band on Friday night. There's a healthy mix of Irish acts, Forest Fleadh and Ibiza Rewind areas - choose your weekend adventure wisely - and lots more across five stages. Cinema: Fantastic Four: First Steps out now A couple weeks on from DC's attempt to revamp Superman, Marvel dusts off the Fantastic Four for another go at the silver screen. Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm and Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in Fantastic Four: First Steps Prestige TV stars Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), Vanessa Kirby (The Crown), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) all feature in what begins as a 1960s throwback family comedy - taking inspiration from Marvel's TV shows WandaVision and What If…? perhaps - though the story sounds like typical superhero fare as a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer, enter proceedings.. Theatre: Stones in his Pockets The Everyman, Cork, Tuesday, July 29, to Sunday, August 10 Written by Marie Jones and directed by Matthew McElhinney, this Barn Theatre production of the award-winning West End and Broadway hit Stones in his Pockets comes to Cork for the next fortnight. Set in rural Ireland, a small village is turned upside down by the arrival of a Hollywood studio to film the latest blockbuster. Told through the eyes of local lads Charlie Conlon and Jake Quinn, who are employed as extras, it soon becomes clear that Tinseltown's romanticised dream of Ireland is a long way from reality…
