The Jameson Connects The Circle stage will be one of the places to be at the All Together Now Festival in Curraghmore, Waterford from August 4th to 6th.
Reflecting the eclectic nature of Irish music these days, Jameson Connects The Circle stage features electronic music, rap, indie bands, drill, R&B, dance, soul and much more across its weekend programming.
The BBC presenter Gemma Bradley will also be hosting in-conversation interviews with performing artists, further illuminating their craft beyond performance.
There are special guests and collaborations galore so let’s dip into our top highlights to check out from the Jameson Connects The Circle stage this year…
1.
Bricknasty
Simply one of the most exciting live bands I’ve seen this year...
What a year the Ballymun band Bricknasty are having.
With the release of their debut EP Ina Crueler on UK label FAMM (Maverick Sabre, Enny, Jorja Smith), the Dublin band Bricknasty stepped up into the limelight with their unique brand of narrative jazz-rooted R&B, hip-hop and neo-soul, informed by masked guitarist/singer Fatboy’s life growing up in the flats of Ballymun.
Live, those narrative-lead vignettes are placed in a livelier context with Fatboy, producer Cillian McCauley, Dara Abdurahman (bass), Korey Thomas (drums) and Louis Younge (sax/keys) bringing a punk spirit to their jazz-playing.
Bricknasty are one of the finest live bands in the country right now so you’d be mad to miss them.
2.
Travis & Elzzz
Gliders duo made history by having the highest charting Irish rap album earlier this year.
The Dublin rap duo Travis and Elzzz are part of Gliders, a community of rappers, producers and fashion brand reppin’ modern Irish culture.
In January, the pair’s debut mixtape Full Circle made history by becoming the highest charting rap album on the Irish charts (#2, only for Taylor Swift), and came after a solid couple of years of joint releases of boomin’ drill music.
Their recent live set at Longitude properly went off so expect their set at Jameson Circle stage to be among the buzziest acts of the weekend.
3.
Honeypot DJs
Honeypot is a club night and community for gay girls and friends.
Honeypot was started by Kerry Mahony and Emma Murphy (Rhyzine) last year and quickly became one of the coolest queer clubs on the Dublin block.
Marking themselves as a lesbian non-binary and LGBTQ+-centered club with playful branding that eschews the serious and more ubiquitous “Berlin-style” dark themed club nights, Honeypot stood out, and platformed DJs like Mercorn, Roo Honeychild, Bambi, Gadget And The Cloud, Pauline, Mooncup and more in its short time to date.
Their set at Jameson Connects The Circle stage will be their first festival appearance. Check out their sticky mix series to get a flavour:
4.
Coy Haste B2B Moving Still
A tasty B2B lined up for the Saturday.
Anyone who reads Nialler9 regularly will know the high regard we have for Jamal Sul, aka Moving Still, and his penchant for creating Arabic-inspired electronic bangers bangers informed by his upbringing in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
Pairing up with Jamal for a daytime B2B set is Toronto’s Brad Weber aka Coy Haste, more readily recognisable as Caribou’s live drummer. Check out his recent electronic solo work here.
5.
Selló
Irish rap is having a big moment, and Selló is at the forefront.
Selló had already made a name for himself with his uniquely Irish take on drill music, dubbed “Gaelic drill”.
On his debut mixtape, the Clondalkin rapper named Sellótape passionately brings together tracks infused with the soulful samples of Lankum’s Radie Peat and Sinead O’Connor. This tape not only pays homage to Irish culture through references to stirring Irish trad singsongs but also highlights the iconic figures of Irish football, Damien Duff and Robbie Keane. The participation of Irish MC guests A92, Reggie, Evans Junior, and Jrilla further amplifies the richness of the Irish music scene, showcasing the talents of young black Irish creatives. With the support of its release on Atlantic Records UK, in collaboration with local label Trust It, Sellótape stands as a significant milestone for black Irish music and the flourishing drill genre in Ireland.
6.
Abbacaxi x Pillow Queens
Collaboration is at the heart of Jameson Connects so expect a unique pairing on the Saturday night.
As part of the Jameson Connects collaboration series which sees artists collaborate on new music, Pillow Queens and the Dublin-based electronic multi-instrumentalist Abbacaxi will perform a new track on the Saturday night. In this exciting collaboration, these talented musicians will blend their styles and genres, a meeting of the indie rock of Pillow Queens and the electronic soul of Abbacaxi together for a special live performance.
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Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the cohost of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, event curator and producer of gigs, parties & events.
