It’s almost time for the festival summer season to begin, and now with good weather in session and the stage times in our hands for Forbidden Fruit, the June Bank Holiday Weekend in Dublin 8 is so close we can taste it.
Here’s our reasons for why you should be heading to Kilmainham on June 3rd and 4th…
1.
Annie Mac
The DJ guaranteed to bring house anthems, and big dance tunes to a festival.
Ireland’s coolest broadcaster may have added novelist, TV presenter and podcaster to her bow in recent years, but it’s always DJ Annie Mac first to us.
Annie continues to innovate her DJ vibe, as we saw with her recent Before Midnight parties, which made early clubbing a viable option at long last.
Annie is as home on a festival stage as she is in Ibiza or a massive club space, so this Forbidden Fruit set at The Undergrowth stage is going to be a big one to close the festival on Sunday evening.
2.
Yung Singh
I’m sorry have you seen Yung Singh’s Boiler Room???????
It might be one of the best in recent memory. Anything close to this and Forbidden Fruit is going to be lit.
UK DJ Singh is an open format DJ – meaning anything goes – garage, UK funky, DnB, Punjabi folk mixed with Drake, trance, Vengaboys and Vampire Weekend, as per the Boiler Room set.
So Sunday at the Lighthouse is a must see.
3.
The weather
You know the score. When you are contemplating going to a festival in Ireland, a dose of good weather will make every festival site sing. The June Bank Holiday weekend is reliable enough as Irish summer weekends go, and I’ve had many a sunny memorable experience on the hill at the main stage over the years since Forbidden Fruit arrived, like Bicep’s epic set last year..
Don’t just take my word for it, the weatherpeople have spoken and are predicting a smash hit.
4.
Sudan Archives
One of the best live shows around.
Cincinnati artist Brittney Parks played Whelan’s last year, and displayed the idiosyncratic stage show and music that has garnered her much attention.
Rooted in West African violin, booming electronic beats, R&B and hip-hop, Sudan Archives show is a celebration of self-love, bodily autonomy, heritage and family. She snarls, she sings, she raps and she exists with a level of confidence you wish you had.
5.
It’s a city festival
Not to state the obvious but Forbidden Fruit is the only Dublin city music weekend festival that a city dweller can WALK to or hop on a Luas with ease.
If you’re not a fan of lugging camping gear and a heavy slab of supplies to festivals, then a trip to the grounds of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham is a good choice. Their are five bars on site, and there’s Guinness 0.0 available as well as Passionfruit Martini as well as your usual ice-cold tipples.
And speaking of five, Forbidden Fruit features five stages across two days and a variation of genres, vibes and moods, so if you’re not at least considering it, then you maybe you don’t like fun?
6.
Channel Tres
I’m a big fan of Channel Tres‘ house music with spoken word vocals and funk in its DNA.
Smooth as silk, bumpin’ instrumentals, raspy cool baritone vocals, house rhythms, there’s a lot to love about Channel Tres’ Compton House music as he calls it.
Furnished with the history of Chicago house and Detroit techno, Channel Tres is an originator of his own sound – bringing a rap sensibility to house music, and live, placing it in a context of a show that features dancers and his iced cool stage presence. Just listen to ‘Controller’ and vibe out.
Aby Coulibaly / Still Blue
7.
The best of new Irish acts
Forbidden Fruit has always platformed new Irish artists on the rise and 2023 is no different.
Kilmainham has been the setting for many a memorable emerging Irish artist set. Trinity Orchestra return to their main stage slot this year as is now tradition, and South Dublin rapper Malaki steps up the biggest stage at the festival.
The late addition of chart-topper Jazzy and Galway electronic DJ and producer Kettama this week, add to the glut of Irish acts buzzing right now in Irish music.
8.
FF At Night
The party doesn’t have to stop before 11 o’clock.
A unique aspect of Forbidden Fruit’s M.O. is its secondary strand – FF at Night, featuring a coterie of visiting artists and local DJs playing across the venues of Dublin til 3am after the main event.
Whether it’s DJ Boring @ Tengu or Interplanetary Criminal and She at Centrepoint on Saturday, Yung Singh and Prozak at The Racket Space or the Special Guests to be revealed on Sunday, there’s lots of reasons to make the festival extend well into the night.
9.
Rina Sawayama
British-Japanese anthemic avant-pop artist.
Rina Sawayama has gathered herself a cult pop following without compromising her art in any way. She’s collaborated with Charli XCX and featured on a John Wick soundtrack, but her own music continues to sound like the sound of pop music breaking down the walls around it, drawing from hyperpop, rock, J-pop. Rina isn’t adverse to a big pop ballad either.
2022’s album Hold The Girl featured ‘Holy Til You Let Me Go’ which was co-produced by Stuart Price and For Those I Love’s Dave Balfe.
British-Japanese anthemic avant-pop artist.
Rina Sawayama has gathered herself a cult pop following without compromising her art in any way. She’s collaborated with Charli XCX and featured on a John Wick soundtrack, but her own music continues to sound like the sound of pop music breaking down the walls around it, drawing from hyperpop, rock, J-pop. Rina isn’t adverse to a big pop ballad either.
2022’s album Hold The Girl featured ‘Holy Til You Let Me Go’ which was co-produced by Stuart Price and For Those I Love’s Dave Balfe.
Rina is basically the kind of act you could imagine on a Pitchfork festival bill, as well as the Eurovision.
Weekend Tickets for Forbidden Fruit are on sale via Ticketmaster Ireland & usual outlets priced from €139 including booking fee. Day Tickets priced €74.50.
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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.
