The best Irish festivals to book for next summer

Forbidden Fruit

In my mind, Forbidden Fruit pushes play on festival season. Taking place over two days on the June bank holiday weekend on the grounds of the Irish Museum Of Modern Art at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, it whets the appetite for what’s to come over the months ahead.

It’s a non-camping festival with a curfew, so whether you’re yet to rough it in a field for the weekend or are over the backache of tent living, it’s an ideal opportunity to partake in the revelry and still get to rest those weary bones come nightfall.

It’s Dublin’s first and longest running city centre festival, so it’s got quite the reputation for all the right reasons, and its 11th instalment made it one of the front runners on the Irish festival circuit. This summer, headliners included Four Tet, Barry Can’t Swim, Overmono, and the one and only Nelly Furtado, who absolutely stole the weekend.

The Irish continent included Le Boom, Gemma Dunleavy, SHEE, Sally C, and Qbanaa (to name but a few), and though the musical offering is largely electronic, house, and techno, there’s a broad scope of genres to be found across the site from the minute the gates open at 2pm.

Another Love Story

I was a ‘first-time lover’ at this year’s 10th anniversary of Another Love Story, a festival I’d long dreamt of attending, and it did not disappoint. My weekend was drenched in art, culture, and discovery. If you’re after something intimate and wholesome, yet packed with incredible performances and new music, this is the place for you.

Despite the poor phone signal (which actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise), I stumbled upon some truly captivating acts. One standout was DUG, an American folk duo whose mesmerising performance left the crowd wanting more. Another highlight was YARD, a brilliant fusion of experimental electronic sounds with techno and rock.

Sampha the Great and Modeselektor were the icing on the cake, making my experience unforgettable.

Beyond the music, there was so much to explore—swimming in the nearby lake, relaxing in the sauna, or trying your hand at pottery at Throwing Shapes. With a variety of food options and cosy hangout spots, the festival offered plenty of space to unwind. The art installations in the forest were a particular favourite of mine; they were absolutely stunning.

Overall, Another Love Story felt refreshingly intimate and never overwhelming. If you’re a first-time festival-goer, this is one I highly recommend. It’s a truly special experience, and I’ll definitely be back.

—Words by Amber O’Shea, Social Media Manager

All Together Now

This year, a 25,000-strong crowd descended on the grounds of Curraghmore House for the fifth chapter of All Together Now, a music, arts, food and wellness festival that has claimed the August bank holiday weekend as its own. It’s become an annual tradition for many, and each instalment sees improvements and progressions so that it could reach the level of polish it exhibited this year.

The standout mainstage performance of the weekend has got to go to one Ms Natasha Beddingfield and The Mary Wallopers, who managed to turn the field into a céilí dancing session as the crowd linked arms and thrashed around to their heart’s content, hedonistic Aussie party people, Confidence Man, and the mesmerising Glass Beams, who made their Irish debut at the Lovely Days stage.

Aside from the music offering—which made a concerted effort to spotlight the wealth of homegrown talent we’re blessed with this year—All Together Now’s range of experiences surpass just music. There’s a whole Theatre of Food, a wellness area for yoga and even saunas, a craft village, live podcasts, comedians, storytelling and conversations that engage the mind from early morning into the night.

The age demographic is: everyone. As I mentioned, it’s a family-friendly festival, so you’ll see whole families wandering around all wholesome, plenty of twenty-somethings buzzing to be free from the working world for a weekend, and those in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s having a boogie into the early hours.

Read our full review here

Electric Picnic

Last but by no means least, Electric Picnic should be on everyone’s bucket list. A festival that every Irish person should experience at least once, it really needs no introduction. In fact, it’s already sold out for next year, so this recommendation serves only as a reminder to keep an eye out for those selling their tickets on their Instagram stories far closer to the time, or directly after the lineup is announced (no shade, but who knows?).

I feel as though the main complaint about EP is that it’s a young crowd hellbent on having one last blowout before stepping into their new lives in college, and while that may be partially true, the demographic is just as broad as at any of the aforementioned festivals. Old, young, visibly-grumpy-26-year-old me — we were all present and accounted for.

There is so much effort put into the making of this festival, from the different areas ranging from wellness and food to theatre and discussion, and the art installations and decorations all over the place are incredible. There is something new to look at with every step you take, so make sure you spend some time in the main arena during the day, rather than waiting it out at the campsite until the headliners come on.

Speaking of headliners, I am personally still not over seeing Kylie Minogue in the flesh. Maybe I’ll never recover. I first saw CMAT live at Electric Picnic back in 2022, so seeing how much she’s grown in such a short space of time was incredible. Elsewhere, Faithless were absolutely insane, and The Wolfe Tones stole the show.

Honourable mention to the festival’s healthy lineup of Irish acts, with some personal favourites including Cardinals, The Clockworks, The Scratch and Big Sleep putting on incredible sets.