music and arts festival takes place August 8th to 10th at Milford House, North Tipperary.
This is the third time the festival has taken place biennially, which features live performances, live art, workshops and more.
The festival is curated by Live Art Ireland – Deej Fabyc and Rachel Macmanus and this year features:
Performance art:
The line-up includes internationally renowned performance artist Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens, acclaimed Irish artist Sandra Johnston, alongside innovative practitioners Denys Blacker, Maja Zeco, Katharine Meynell, Monstera Deliciosa, Fergus Byrne, Paul Regan, Shirani Bolle, Marianne Araujo Marcote, Juliette Murphy, Marie-Chantal Hamrock, and Renn Miano.
Music:
Local and national musicians will present original works and collaborative performances, creating unique sonic experiences that complement the visual arts programming.
Musical highlights include performances by Liam Ó Maonlaí, Ian Whitty & the Exchange, Cait Ní Riain, Mc an tSaoi, Nightwood, Mary and the pigeons, VaticanJail, and Andy Spearpoint.
Keynote:
The festival will feature a keynote presentation by Laura Leuzzi.
Film:
A special film screening featuring work by Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens and b.h.Yael will complement the live performances.
Workshops
A handful of the artists will offer workshops to the festival attendees.
North Tipperary Queer Shed launch:
The launch the North Tipperary Queer Shed on Saturday 9th of August.
Camping: On-site camping available
Tickets: from the Live Art Ireland website from €65.
The Philosophy of a Borderless Romance:
At its heart, CONVERGENCE embodies the concept of “A Borderless Romance” – a passionate love affair between artistic disciplines, cultures, and creative voices that transcends geographical, stylistic, and conceptual boundaries. This romance speaks to the intimate connections formed when artists from different backgrounds come together to create something entirely new.
The festival’s philosophy embraces the idea that art, like love, knows no borders. It celebrates the magnetic pull between diverse creative practices, the seductive dialogue between sound and movement, between tradition and innovation, between the local and the global.
This borderless romance manifests in collaborative works that emerge from the intersections of different artistic languages, creating hybrid forms that could only exist in such an open, boundary-dissolving environment.
Just as romance involves vulnerability, trust, and the willingness to be transformed by another, CONVERGENCE invites artists and audiences to step beyond their comfort zones, to engage with unfamiliar forms of expression, and to allow themselves to be changed by the encounter. The festival becomes a space where creative intimacy flourishes – where Irish traditional music might dance with experimental performance art, where international voices blend with local stories, and where the audience becomes part of the romantic embrace between art forms.
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 co-host 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, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
