Latest news with #ElectricPicnic
BreakingNews.ie
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Electric Picnic to cost €25m to €30m to stage
Laois County Council has given the green light for the largest ever Electric Picnic festival to take place. Today, the Council granted the licence to EP Republic Ltd to stage the festival where 80,000 are to attend each day to see the likes of Hozier, Chappell Roan and Becky Hill perform. Advertisement Last month, Becky Hill was named as the final headliner and joined Sam Fender, Fatboy Slim, and Kings of Leon on the roster. The 80,000 for the 2025 EP - which is expected to cost between €25 million to €30 million to stage - is a 5,000 increase on the 75,000 tickets that were sold for the 2024 event. Entertainment for weekend ticket holders will commence on Friday at 2pm and finish at 4am on Monday, September 4th. The Council has granted the licence for the multistage live music and arts event at Stradbally Hall, Stradbally Estate, subject to 51 conditions. Advertisement The Council had received a number of submissions calling on the EP promoters to support local businesses. In one of six submissions made to the Council on EP Republic Ltd's application, David Walsh Kemmis of Ballykilcavan Brewing Company said: 'With a view to supporting small local businesses, I would like to see the Council enforce a planning condition that the festival organisers must provide access to the festival for food and drink suppliers based in Laois, even if their product is in competition with a sponsor of the festival However, in its 29 page planner's report into the licence application, the Council stated that submissions received relate to a number of issues relating to the event supporting locally produced produce and particularly the nearby Ballykilcavan Brewing Company. The report stated that 'this matter is outside of the remit of the Local Authority and therefore cannot be dealt with in the Event Licence. The decision to allow or not the Ballykilcavan Brewing Company or any corporate entity to trade at the event is a commercial decision for the Promoter.' Advertisement Ceo of Electric Picnic, Melvin Benn said last month that the cost of staging this year's Electric Picnic will be between €25m to €30m. In an interview, Mr Benn said Electric Picnic provides an enormous economic boost to the local economy. He said that every year, EP has 'an awful lot of local businesses and local traders that sell at the festival'. Mr Benn gave the example of Laois Taste which is a collection of local producers which sell their produce at the Electric Picnic Ireland EU foreign affairs chief criticised over 'clear la... Read More He said that 'we work very closely with local traders and I choose the ones that I work with. It is not up to the local authority to say who we work with. We have the freedom to choose who we work with and we exercise that freedom'. Tickets for the 2025 EP event went on sale on August 21st last and sold out within hours without any act confirmed at the time. This year's event returns to the traditional last weekend of August where it will run from Thursday, August 28th to Sunday, August 31st. The first Electric Picnic was staged on Saturday, September 4th 2004 when around 10,000 people attended.
The Irish Sun
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Penneys selling must-have denim mini dress in two different colours that's perfect for warm weather – and only €20
PENNEY'S fans are rushing to buy the latest chic look in stores that comes in two different colours and is perfect for concert season. The new Denim mini dress is now available for just €20. Advertisement 3 Get this must have summer look for just €20 Credit: 3 The new denim mini dress from Penneys is the perfect festival fit Credit: With a on the way this week, the retailer has all the best buys to keep you cool and stylish. Dance away in the fields of Stradbally or rock out at Malahide Castle in the latest look from Penneys. The new denim mini dress is just €20 and is the perfect festival fit. As the weather gets warmer, let your style get cooler in either the light or mid blue colour. Advertisement READ MORE ON FABULOUS FASHION Complete your warm weather collection as you pair this dress with combat boots, a cross body bag and some funky shades - perfect for Electric Picnic. Or get a more chilled day to day vibe with this trendy look when styled with an oversized shirt and low top trainers. Penneys bosses said: "The rounded neckline is super chic and gives it an elevated look and feel, while the seam detailing adds structure. "Stretchy for added comfort, it's finished with a central zip closure to the back that makes it easy to put on and take off. Advertisement MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN Exclusive Exclusive "Team it with your fave flat sandals and get set to soak up the rays in style". All sizes are available online starting from six and going up to a 20. Penneys re-opening of one of their most famous stores with Dublin Mayor Emma Blain there to share her must have buy Meanwhile, other fashion fans are loving the new dreamy dress in stores that is a must-have this summer. The new puff sleeve maxi dress is no exception to the rule at only €30. Advertisement Pick between the green or white to stand out this summer. Sizes range from six up tp 20, so everyone can be chic this summer. Penneys said: "Soft details and a solid green finish make this maxi dress an effortless choice. "The V-neckline and gathered detailing at the bust and waist create a gentle shape, while short puff sleeves with elasticated cuffs add a touch of volume. Advertisement "Pair it with your favourite accessories and some sandals or low top trainers depending on your plans." Both styles are available in select stores around the country. 3 Get all the latest summer looks in stores or online Credit: Alamy THE HISTORY OF PENNEYS THE Penneys brand grew from humble beginnings on Dublin's Mary Street, where it opened its first store in 1969. Known as Penneys branched into the UK in 1973 with its first store opening in Derby. The UK now has 191 Primark stores in total. However, the Penneys name could not travel to Britain as the American retailer JC Penney had the right to use the name in the region. And in 2006, the expansion into Europe began with an opening in Spain, followed by the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Austria, France and Italy. Primark went Stateside for the first time in September 2015, with the opening of a store in Boston. There are now 27 stores in America with branches in Florida, Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The retailer's opened its largest store in Birmingham in 2019. It spans five floors and features Primark's biggest beauty studio to date, a barbers and three restaurants.
RTÉ News
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Lord Henry – king of the castle who made Ireland rock
He was the lord of the manor who helped bring rock 'n' roll to the masses in Ireland, ushering in a whole new era of music at the Big House and attracting huge names to play on his lawn at Slane Castle. Lord Henry Mount Charles, who has died at the age of 74, may have been known as the rock 'n' roll peer, but he also lived a life dedicated to family lineage and local legacy. Over the past 44 years, he brought the likes of Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Queen, Metallica, U2, and Oasis to perform in the natural amphitheatre in the rolling hills around the River Boyne. Even Madonna, a woman who once fostered her own visions of being a lady of the manor, deigned to take to the stage at Slane on a stormy night in 2005. Sure, there had been big outdoor rock gigs in Ireland before, but the country was not quite the mecca for big names it is now — and we had certainly never seen anything like the monster gigs held at Slane. Lord Henry (and the "Lord" part was made up by the Irish media) changed the face and scale of live music in Ireland - annual events like Electric Picnic, All Together Now, and numerous boutique festivals around the country are testament to that. Not far from the site of one of the most consequential battles in European history, Slane Castle was the perfect venue for live music, as crowds of up to 80,000 flocked to Ireland's new stately home of rock 'n' roll. Slane was always an event. The well spoken, dashing, and gentlemanly 8th Marquess Conyngham never looked or sounded like anyone's idea of a concert impresario. But behind that accent and tousled elegance, he was a self - styled 'Sixties kid' and an avid fan of The Kinks, The Who and The Animals while at school in Harrow. As soon as he gained control of the expansive lands around his Boyne - side ancestral home, his rock 'n' roll dreams began to take shape. After leaving university, Lord Henry initially wanted to forge a career in publishing and worked for Faber & Faber in London. He also worked for the world - famous auction house Sotheby's and spent time in South Africa as part of an agricultural commission. But then came the phone call from his late father, Frederick, that was to change his life. "My father rang me," he told Brendan O'Connor on RTÉ Radio 1 in 2021. "I knew that one day I would have to shoulder that responsibility but I didn't expect it at that stage in my life, and I was hardly going to say no, because the alternative was selling the place — and I couldn't bear the thought of that — so back I came." On his return to Slane in 1976, he inherited a bankrupt estate and so, not unlike Lord Grantham and his perennially leaking roof, he set about rescuing his family home from ruin by staging huge outdoor gigs in the grounds. Thin Lizzy, with support from U2, played the first show at the picturesque venue in 1981, followed by The Rolling Stones in 1982. Recalling that first gig, the man who would become one of Ireland's leading rock 'n' roll dandies said: "Those were heady days — it was in the middle of the hunger strikes and it was a pathfinder event. We wanted to lift people's spirits, we wanted to do something different, and we were accused of all sorts of things — turning the place into Stalag 17, opening the biggest public urinal in Ireland — all this sort of stuff. But rock 'n' roll prevailed." Since then, Slane has played host to 26 concerts and some of the most memorable shows in Irish rock history, including Bruce Springsteen's debut Irish gig and two emotionally charged back-to-back shows by U2 in 2001, just days after the death of Bono's father. The place has entered Irish rock mythology. Croke Park and the Aviva are all very fine, but Slane always had its own unique sense of magic — and even mystic. Where else would you witness Henry's friend, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Mo Mowlam, sporting a pair of Zig and Zag zogabongs at Robbie Williams in 1999? Or gnarled behemoths Metallica belting out Whiskey in the Jar in front of a sea of 80,000 people? Or the moment Liam Gallagher swaggered up to the mic in 1995 when Oasis supported R.E.M., only to be hit full on the mouth with a sod of turf that came hurtling from the crowd — a moment Noel Gallagher later told me was the funniest thing he'd ever seen in his life? And for the Springsteen show in 1985, Henry took a leaf from Lord Iveagh's book and gave free tickets to the Dunnes Stores strikers, who were campaigning against the grocery chain's refusal to stop selling South African produce during Apartheid. Given Ireland's troubled history with the Anglo-Irish ascendancy and Ulster Scots plantations, here at last was a lord of the manor we could get behind. However, not everyone was happy with the rocking aristo. To some, he was the ultimate Hooray Henry. Speaking in 2021, he recalled: "I got some really nasty mail and unsettling threats. 'West Brit' was used frequently as an insult, but the more abuse that was heaped on me, the more it stiffened my resolve to forge ahead. The other thing was that I wanted an event where people came together from all four corners of Ireland to have fun and enjoy themselves by the banks of the Boyne — that in itself being symbolic. "But it was in the middle of the hunger strikes. There were mock funerals being held in County Meath and I was a son of a peer of the realm. But I was also a guy who had worked on an agricultural commission in South Africa and had gone to Harvard. I was a different person to the veneer. "I've always felt that Ireland is a sea fed by many streams," he added. "I just happen to belong to one stream, which is the Anglo-Irish tradition. I have every right to call myself an Irishman as the person next door." Like many of his class and religion before him, Lord Henry was committed to a united Ireland and held the view that Unionists must be brought along and convinced they could have a life where their rights are recognised in a "new Ireland". His own political aspirations, however, came to nought. He unsuccessfully contested the Louth constituency for Fine Gael in the 1992 general election and, in 1997, stood for election to Seanad Éireann for the Dublin University constituency — again without success. At the 2004 European Parliament election, he was approached by Fine Gael to enter the contest for selection as its candidate for the East constituency. However, when television presenter and agricultural journalist Maireád McGuinness emerged as a potential candidate, he withdrew. Amid all the highs and celebratory days out at Slane, there were low points. In 1984, Bob Dylan's gig was marred by a riot in the nearby village, and in 1991, the castle was almost completely destroyed by fire. His gamekeeper, Timothy Kidman, was killed by poachers on the estate in 1989, and there were two tragedies in the River Boyne on the day of the REM concert in 1995. His greatest challenge began when Lord Henry, who gave up smoking over 45 years ago and was a recovering alcoholic, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013. He fought it bravely and with characteristic good humour. For a man who was dedicated to family and to Slane itself, it is quite charming - and again, magical - to think that globally famous acts like The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and U2 were a huge part of keeping Co Meath history alive and rocking. In one of his last interviews, he said: "Part of who I am, and what I am, and what I've done is keeping this estate together. And now I know my son, Alexander, and his wife are there in the castle, the future is assured. "Slane — it has a draw, a pull, a fascination, and touches the spirit. I feel like a child of that. To me, there is no other place quite like it, nor will there ever be." The very popular and much-respected rock 'n'' roll peer will be missed - as a person of great human decency and as a man who brought joy to many, many people. Slane will forever remain a monument to his vision.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Rising Laois singer embracing country music revival with release of new single
The emotive single released by the 23-year-old via Youngblood Music is one of many traditional songs Alice intends on releasing this summer. Alice grew up in Stradbally and has always had a love for music with her family's interest in the traditional scene and her own involvement in musical theatre. 'I'd listen to anything and the inspiration comes from all over the place but it helps that I was always surrounded by music. Traditional music has always stuck with me through to my own music. 'With the likes of Amble and Kingfisher I think you can see the interest in trad music creeping its way up. 'Country music is having a bit of a revival. I lean into American folk in my music, but there is those traditional Irish music undertones with a banjo thrown in here and there.' Alice debuted last year with her single Wait and has performed live from pub gigs to Electric Picnic in her home town, as well as making international appearances at the Maryland Irish Festival and An Poitin Stil in the US. She blends her influences from her youth with modern music from the likes of Joni Mitchell and Noah Kahan. Alice's music all originates from personal experiences, which she said was 'uncomfortable' to show people when she first started singing live. 'My songbook is like my diary so it's weird to put it out there or play to a room full of people, it's like reading out your diary. 'Definitely when I started out I'd be feeling all the emotions of the songs all over again, but singing live is probably one of my favourite things to do now,' she said. Alice added that the music industry can be hard, but she has support from family and friends in the traditional music scene, along with Darragh O'Connor from Young Blood, and all her team at work in Curtain Call Stage School, Co. Laois. 'The music industry is hard for independent artists and women especially, but if you have the passion and drive, you can find a niche in it with lovely people. I know the scene that I'm in is full of musicians and people who want to uplift you.' Alice's aim is to continue channelling music of the 'people and music of home', no matter where home is for her listeners.
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Del Water Gap announces August 2025 gig in Dublin
Indie-pop songwriter Del Water Gap has announced an EU tour for later this year, which includes a show in The National Stadium, Dublin, on August 27th, 2025. The American musician had a stand-out performance at last summer's Electric Picnic. Advertisement Tickets will go on sale from €36.15 on Thursday at 10am from with bookings subject to a 12.5 per cent service charge per ticket. In December 2024, Del Water Gap's 2020 song 'Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat' was RIAA certified gold for 500,000 sales. In April 2024, he was announced as the opener for the North American leg of Niall Horan's The Show: Live on Tour and was later added to the UK and Ireland legs of the tour as well.
