The late John Reynolds watched over the birth of this new Waterford festival last year
The legendary Patti Smith and her band (pictured), The National and Damon Albarn’s The Good, The Bad & The Queen are the headliners for the All Together Now music and comedy festival, taking place in the delightful setting of Curraghmore Estate, Portlaw, Co Waterford over the August Public Holiday weekend.
Also on the bill are Tommy Tiernan, Leftfield, Neneh Cherry, Lisa Hannigan, The RTE Concert Orchestra (performing Leonard Cohen), Father John Misty (pictured below), Jason Byrne and dozens of other acts, including many on The Belonging Bandstand, specially designed by multi-award winning creator Morag Myerscough.
But there will be great interest too in the Emerging Artists stage, for which over 1000 Irish acts applied to perform.
This festival was established last year by entertainment promoter and owner of Dublin’s POD venue, John Reynolds. Sadly, John, died suddenly in October 2018 age 52.
Just ten acts have made it through to feature in the Emerging Artists stage. Dubliner A. SMYTH has been steadily releasing singles since last year with a plan to release his debut album in 2020. He sold-out his first headline show in Whelans in March has just played at Primavera Pro in Barcelona. Central to his focus and drive is the art of song-writing and he draws influence from the likes of Neil Young, Feist, Bruce Springsteen, Sharon Van Etten, Broken Social Scene, Big Thief and more.
Dublin-based trio ALFI combines Appalachian and traditional Irish music and song to produce a unique and tasteful sound. Their music features an unusual blend of harp, five-string banjo and uilleann pipes. Alfi released their debut EP Wolves in the Woods in May 2019.
Formed on the boreens of Waterford County, BACKROAD SMOKERS CLUB create layered grooves of funk, rock and psychedelic paired with surreal lyricism, brought to life in the comforts of a live setting.
Hailing from Clonakilty EVE CLAGUE is a singer-songwriter who draws on the rich variety of music she grew up with in her community to create a highly personal and direct style of songwriting. Having left school at the age of 15, Eve toured nationally with a number of bands as a vocalist and sax player and has clocked up more hours as a working musician than most artists in their early twenties. Her debut EP “Young Naive Me” released earlier this year was so well received with plays on national and regional radio stations. Now with a band made up of well-known players from Cork’s jazz/neo-soul scene and featuring some of her own string arrangements, Eve’s music crosses genres very naturally in songs which centre around her acoustic guitar and deeply honest vocal style.
FAT PABLO are a six-piece neo-psychedelic space band from Dublin. Taking influence from 60’s psych rock, modern hip-hop and post-punk, they have created a sound that is akin to bands like Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Grizzly Bear & King Krule. An underbelly of hip hop inspired bass and drums, psych guitars, a body of synth and cinematic visuals create a compelling space for Dave Barrett’s lamenting soulful vocals. The band takes great consideration in creating an audio-visual experience for the listener.
Singer and multi-instrumentalist JOHN FRANCIS FLYNN whose work centres around traditional and folk material from Ireland and further afield. He is a founding member of the band, Skipper’s Alley, with whom he has toured extensively throughout Europe and America. John is an active session musician around Dublin and has recorded with artists such as Lankum and Ye Vagabonds.
Award-winning Northern Irish experimental folk songwriter and producer JOSHUA BURNSIDE is something of a regional anomaly. With a brooding, powerful sound echoing artists of places afar and time long gone, his enthralling craft defies local comparison in striving towards an aesthetic as much as visual as it is sonic. Finding fans in Europe and America, his reputation as a blistering live performer grows daily. Check out his track A Man of High Renown.
KITT PHILIPPA Who is Kitt Philippa? They are human, they are searching and in music they find hope. Although raised on classical, the songs are strangely urban and often conveyed with digital sleight. An organ scholar and an experimentalist, KP plays piano, guitar, clarinet, prayer bowl and bicycle wheel. “An incredible, unique artist” – Phil Taggart (Radio 1) “Impressive is too weak a word.” – Hozier
PAPA RUA is a songwriter and producer from Meath. Papa Rua co-founded Anon Records in 2018. The debut physical release of Anon Records will feature Papa Rua, Pixie Cut Rhythm Orchestra and Mullski33 and is scheduled for this autumn.
ROB DE BOER is a half-Dutch/half-Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Dublin. An accomplished guitarist with a suave vocal style, he draws upon a wide range of influences including folk, motown soul and RnB among others. He has been busy of late with appearances at the likes of Forbidden Fruit Festival and Ruby Sessions with plenty more to come this summer including the upcoming release of his latest single State Of Mind.
