7 areas to explore at All Together Now

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We’ve previously discussed the 10 acts you can’t miss, a spotlight on Jameson Connects The Circle stage, 6 reasons not to miss the festival and our recommendations for Irish acts at ATN this year, but with 18 stages set across a 3000-acre site, there is a lot to explore at All Together Now this year, taking in natural amphitheaters, rolling lawns, gentle hills, and hidden forests programmed with music, spoken word, comedy, theatre, debate, art, workshops, wellness, mischief and much much more.

Here’s a pick of some areas at All Together Now to explore with a few brand new areas on site at Curraghmore this year.

1.

Lovely Days

Lovely Days stage with Guinness is a new addition to the festival this year, with the announcement of Annie Mac to coincide with the news.

The Lovely Days stage is billed as “one of the festivals main stages… reimagined by Guinness to create a multisensory space”, with a new custom-built stage by design by Irish creatives Kev Freeney and Jordan Ralph under “an outstretched orbiting halo, surrounded by nature and textures of black Shou Sugi Ban timber and gold”.

 “Visuals will surge from LED screens behind performers, onto the halo, and ripple outwards along monoliths flanking the stage and into the festival crowd.”

Consider us intrigued.

There will be a Guinness 1759 Bar at the stage too. Here’s the lineup for the stage across the weekend.

2.

Ping Pong Disco

One of the hits at All Together Now last year, was Ping Pong Disco, a domed area where, a DIY collective of DJs, creatives, artists and queerdo’s brought the house down.

Featuring performances by Paradise Cabaret hosted by Lords Of Strut’s Cian Austin Jesus, art design by Brian Wallace and music programmed by Cork disco sounder Eddie Kay, Ping Pong Disco offered a lot of disco, dancing, cabaret performers and ping pong as commentated in surreal fashion.

Ping Pong is back this year with that and much more including performances from (Sexy) Tadhg, F’Art with The Dirtbird, Shee, The Sloppy Sheilas, Jordan Nocturne, Tonie Walsh, Austin Ato and lots more silliness.

3.

Éalú Le Grá

Showing a willingness to expand in interesting ways, All Together Now is bringing a flavour of a small Galway-based music and arts festival called Éalú Le Grá to Curraghmore for the first time.

Éalú Le Grá is a small independent festival with a “mission is to bring the community together through love, dance, and wholesome shared experiences.”

There will be music, workshops, yoga, sound baths, dancing, giant LED mushrooms, a multicolored dolmen, and a vibrant glut of music from Caoivin, Kiruu, Osnlade, Burlie Mac, Get Down Edits, Dylan Fogarty, Delac and lots more; lots of disco, electronic, house and live music.

Photo: Molly Keane.

4.

Seanchoíche

Seanchoíche is a storytelling only recently founded in Dublin that has spread around the world hosting events in London, Amsterdam, and Melbourne, along with events around Ireland too.

The idea is simple, anyone can register and get up and tell a story of whatever kind – spoken word, personal anecdotes, monologues, a tall tale, fictional narratives, poetry pieces and anything that fits the description.

The success of Seanchoíche suggests that yes, the Irish love a good story – so much so that Seanchoíche will be its own area at All Together Now for the first time.

You can register here to tell yours at the festival.

5.

Arcadia

🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 Fire emojis all the way 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

Or:La closing her set last year with Madonna and Justin Timberlake’s ‘4 Minutes’ as the flames went off at Arcadia was the final magic moment of the weekend and at previous years, Maribou State and Erol Alkan left big impressions at the fire-breathing outdoor stage Arcadia.

This year early campers will get a few more hours of the Arcadia Bug flames and tunes with DJ Deece on the decks on the Thursday. Across the weekend, we’re looking forward to dancing to the likes of CiCi, Partiboi69, Pagan, Saoirse, Robert Hood, Long Island Sound, Cailín, Sally C and Helena Hauff.

6.

Theatre of Food: Grub Circus

A returning experience at All Together Now since day one, Grub Circus is a two-day programme of food-themed events, demos, cooking competitions, tastings, workshops, debates programmed and hosted by food writer Joe McNamee, and featuring some of Ireland top food personalities, chefs, makers and producers.

Pro tip? Don’t queue up for your coffee anywhere else, Grub Circus will have some some of the best coffee roasters in the country gathered together in one tent -Gary Grant (Imbibe), Tony Speight (West Cork Coffee), Dustin Khan (Cloudpicker) for some ethical coffee tasting.

Grub Circus is to place to be to try some unique Bloody Marys and cocktails, listen to gardeners like Diarmuid Gavin talk about growing in city spaces, listen to bread makers wax dough, compete to win a prize of cookery class/ lunch/garden tour at Ballymaloe Cookery School, listen to DJ Stevie G match tunes to natural wines.

It’s a jam-and-spoon-packed programme, featuring no less than 8 chefs with Michelin stars between them. Catch some food knowledge Jordan Bailey (formerly Aimsir), Damien Grey (Liath), Kevin Thornton, Jess Murphy (Kai), Kwanghi Chan (Bites by Kwanghi), Aishling Moore (Goldie), Rory O’Connell, Darina Allen, Denis Cotter (Paradiso), Enda McEvoy (formerly Loam, Éan Cafe Galway), Paul Flynn (The Tannery), David Bradshaw (Frank’s), and many of the country’s best suppliers of food and drink.

7.

Rise Nordic Spa

Rise and relax….

All Together Now will have Danish wood-fired hot tubs and saunas on site from RISE Nordic Spa to help ease those tired bones and rejuvenate yourself before you go again.

Hot tubs can fit up to 6 friends together and saunas up to 3.

You can book here.

All Together Now

The fourth chapter of All Together Now takes place Friday 4 – Sunday 6 August 2023.

Tickets available at www.alltogethernow.ie/tickets


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