2023-09-09 Wild Food Festival, Naas

Well, it's the end of the summer and, as usual, the last summer festival on my list is the Naas Wild Food Festival. It's a great mix of food and music, a perfect way to spend a warm weekend!

I got there about 30 minutes late on Saturday, so I only got to catch the tail end of Lypton Village's set. I saw them earlier in the year at the Bealtaine Festival and they were excellent, they really got the crowd going!

Next up onstage was a Naas local, the fantastic Gemma Cox. I've seen Gemma on many occasions, she has a stunning voice, catchy, quirky songs, always fun to catch live. Definitely check out her music and, when you see her playing live, go. You will enjoy it!

Following Gemma was Saibh Skelly, I'd seen Saibh busk in Dublin a few years back, but the first time i got to see her live was when she supported Janet Devlin in Dublin, back in November 2021. I enjoyed her set that night and have been keeping an eye and an ear out for her music. I'd high hopes for her set at the festival and I wasn't disappointed. She's far more confident on stage, her voice sounds stronger also. Surely there are big things ahead for her!

I saw Lea Heart last year at the Playing Fields Festival. I had no idea who she was, I'd not heard of her before, but the crowd knew who she was, and they sang all night long with her. She put on a great show. Since that show, I've watched as she's toured Ireland, played the Electric Picnic, supported Sigrid and Lewis Capaldi. Safe to say, she is going places. Tonight's show was just pure pop and the crowd really enjoyed every minute of it. And why wouldn't they? She has a fantastic way with her fans and they love her for it.

Closing out the night were the Bjorn Identity. This was my second time catching them live this summer after previously seeing them at TribFest. They were brilliant that night and, well, they were equally as brilliant tonight. The thing with tribute bands are, like them or loathe them, you know the songs and you will end up singing along. The only way out of this is to leave, and you're not going to leave early when there is craic to be had, are you???

Anyway, I really enjoyed their set. It's just pure fun and, as it happens, they're excellent musicians and singers also!

Roll on Naas Wild Food Festival 2024!

Now for some photos and a video!

Gemma Cox

Saibh Skelly

Lea Heart

The Bjorn Identity

Interview with King Kong Company

Originally published 10/09/2013 on Chunk.ie So, there I was, wandering around the Electric Picnic wondering who I was going to watch next. One of the lads said he had heard good things about King Kong Company and that we should check them out, so off we headed to the Body and Soul Arena to do just that. As I mentioned in my review of the Electric Picnic, the gig was epic. I figured we just had to interview them here on CHUNK.ie, and here it is! First things first, congratulations on a storming gig at the Electric Picnic. It completely blew me away. Was this your first Picnic experience? We’ve been to many Electric Picnics over the years but just as punters, and it’s always been a great festival, so it was a fantastic experience to play at its 10 year anniversary. King Kong Company is a rather interesting name for a band, where or how did you come up with it? The name is taken from the film Taxi Driver. If you look closely, Travis Bickle is wearing a badge which says King

2022-11-04 Mairead Carroll - Moat Theatre, Naas

Every now and then I have a choice of gigs to go to... This night, I could have driven into Dublin to see Meryl Streek in the Workmans Club , or I could stay local and go see Mairead Carroll in the Moat Theatre in Naas. Well, it was a no brainer. The weather was terrible and, well, I felt terrible too, so I figured I'd stay local. Mairead has played the Moat Theatre before, but always as support, never as the main attraction. Tonight, would be her debut headline performance and she didn't let anyone down! I'm not quite sure how to describe here music. It's not folk, it's not trad, it's not country or rock... It's. well, it's very light and soft and calming. Mairead is a poet who, only relatively recently, has started putting her words to music. It's a very relaxing affair! Her songs are very personal, and, at first listen, you might think them melancholy, but then you hear the joy and the love in them, and you start to see them for what they

2022-03-26 Buskers on Grafton Street, Dublin

I took a walk around Dublin today, thought I'd check out the buskers on Grafton Street. There's a fine history of busking in Dublin, acts like Hothouse Flowers , The Frames , Rodrigo y Gabriela , Damien Rice , Paddy Casey , Kodaline and a host of others all cut their teeth on and around Grafton Street. It stands to reason that some of those busking today will be successful in the future! So, who did I get to see today? Well, check out the photos below: Zoe Clarke Allie Sherlock Paul Jenkinson

IrishMJ

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