Five ‘chapters’ in, and All Together Now (ATN) really feels like a proudly established fixture on the national festival schedule. Ain’t that great?
The event has subtly extended itself thanks to its Thursday night opening; its layout was both extended and tweaked this time around and there were even more food and drink outlets to avail of. What’s not to like about even more of a bloody good time?
With the disassembly of most of the 18 stages on the ground of Curraghmore House proceeding with pace this week, thoughts have already turned towards the 2025 edition, with organisers announcing the ATN Loyalty Scheme and the promise of discounted ticket prices. It’s an excellent marketing move, whetting the appetites of festival goers who have made Curraghmore part of their annual mega-gig itinerary.
From the barnstorming opening act that King Kong Company provided for the early campers on Thursday evening last (and again on Saturday) through to the awesome, thunderous beat delivered by The Prodigy on Sunday night, All Together Now joyously rocked from start to finish.
While Belted Galloway cattle and sheep grazed away, unperturbed by the shiny happy delirium beneath them, a smorgasbord of talent performed across 18 separate stages to approximately 25,000 punters.
Ranging from the freewheeling folk sound of the Mary Wallopers to the crowd-pleasing Natasha Bedingfield, the latter back on the circuit following a five-year hiatus, ATN’s latest edition showcased its greatest level of musical variety yet.
No one can doubt that The Prodigy provided a seismic sound to round off events on the Main Stage last weekend; the success of Dec Pierce’s ‘Block Rockin Beats’ on Today FM has clearly won the group a new, younger and equally enthusiastic generation of fans.
Yet here’s my only ‘but’ of the entire weekend. Would a more mainstream act on the Main Stage provide ATN with a more crowd-pleasing grandstand finish?
Don’t get me wrong: Jorja Smith, King Kong Company (deputising for Róisín Murphy), The National and The Prodigy clearly went down well. But would a well-known solo act/band with a shedload of hits living in the muscle memory of punters send everyone home on an even better note?
Granted, this really does register as minor criticism given the stunning light show which accompanied The Prodigy’s seismic sound as Sunday night galloped towards Monday morning.
The relative proximity of ATN’s multiplicity of stages made for ideal wandering territory, akin to hitting shuffle on your streaming service.
At the finely crafted Lovely Days stage on Friday night, Brisbane-based Confidence Man exuded cool, class and charisma: it was immediately easy to imagine this quartet supporting Kylie Minogue or performing to much bigger audiences very soon.
The new circular Immerse stage by AVA, occupying the spot previously anchored by Arcadia, made for an incredible sight after dark, with its thumping techno sound and stunning graphics drawing enthusiastic crowds every night.
Back on the Main Stage on a cool Friday night, Brit Award winner Jorja Smith told an appreciative audience: “It’s my first time in Waterford…and this feels like I’m at a party.” With backing singers as equally honey-voiced, Smith’s blend of soul and R&B won over a large crowd which immediately warmed to her palpable excitement.
Performing prior to Smith, James Vincent McMorrow was in sensational voice throughout his set and deserved to play to a much deeper audience. Of the male vocals which caught my ear last weekend, his was the one that will most prominently remain with me as the nights begin to draw in.
Variety is the beating heart of All Together Now. Through food chats featuring Paul Flynn and Eunice Power, comedy and the long-form public interview, there was so much to enjoy away from the beats booming across Curraghmore Estate.
“It’s so lovely to see so many people come to a book event at a festival, when you could be drinking cans, getting ‘langers’ and just wandering around, looking at the clouds,” said author Marian Keyes at the start of her interview with Tom Dunne on Saturday last.
Talking about ‘My Favourite Mistake’, her latest best-seller, Keyes also reflected on her 30-year career in published writing, which began in the guise of her debut novel ‘Watermelon’ back in 1995.
“I feel incredibly lucky and incredibly grateful,” she said. “I never thought something like this would ever happen to me. I’m just endlessly delighted.” The conversation between Tom and Marian inside the ‘All Curious Minds’ tent (it felt like we all knew each other by the end of their chat) flowed wonderfully and featured an inspiring contribution from the floor.
Offering a comment rather than a question, an English secondary school teacher shared a memory about a Fifth Year student of hers, someone whom she hadn’t previously taught “so I’d no baggage when it came to her”.
Within the first few weeks of the new school year, the student produced an essay which “sent chills” up her teacher’s back.
“She came to me about a month later and said she had been with teachers for the past four years but they knew her; they knew the background, they knew the issues, but she said it was the first time she’d ever got encouragement to write,” the teacher said while the rest of us in the tent listened intently. “Her mother told me I changed her life.”
Marian Keyes’s eyes grew even brighter following that spirit-elevating reminisce. “Oh, that’s beautiful,” she replied, while everyone inside the tent rightly applauded. It was a genuinely lovely moment, one I was thrilled to witness.
Amidst the fun, there was time for both heartfelt story telling and a discussion about the planet’s future.
At the Global Solidarity Hub on Saturday afternoon, Sean McCabe, Climate Justice Officer with League of Ireland club Bohemians (amongst the many hats he wears) said a wider cross-party discourse on the environment was essential between now and the general election.
“While the Greens in government might be doing some things around the environmental piece, it can’t be disconnected from how the entire lived experience of young people has been in the last five years – and that’s a huge issue,” he said.
“There shouldn’t be one party that is seen as the political wing of the climate movement; it should be infused in every party’s agenda…the key piece should be that we’re all in the tent of reducing emissions and then we’re having a discussion about how you can do it. But we’re still in that weird zone where it feels like you need to have Greens in government in order to see emissions go down.”
Accessing the site proved impossible for many people with disabilities last year. Thankfully, the ATN team took on board last year’s criticisms with ears clearly and welcomingly open when it came to Chapter Five.
When walking through the site on Friday last, improved signage and additional access platforms in several areas along routes which grew impassible last year given the poor weather, were quickly evident.
As Festival Curator Will Rolfe told me in the build-up to ATN: “This year, our accessibility team are operating an onsite shuttle bus to assist people getting to key points on site.” The improvements made on that front were as visible as they were welcome.
Emitting a voice and showcasing a talent that would enhance any atmosphere, 17-year-old Muireann Bradley, brought to prominence by her appearance on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny last New Year’s Eve, played a stunning set under the Hidden Sounds canopy.
The Donegal-born performer, who made her guitar talk while playing/singing the blues with a healthy dash of country and folk, held the packed tent spellbound for 40 minutes, during the festival’s only notable spell of heavy rainfall.
Combining a technical masterclass in musicianship with a voice of remarkable maturity, Bradley’s performance was surely the highlight of the festival for many if not most of those who witnessed it. What a talent and what a joy to witness her brilliance in so intimate a setting.
While The National produced a deep set of numbers on Saturday night, much to the delight of their substantial festival following, the charming Dolly Show, a note-perfect Dolly Parton tribute act, had hundreds swaying and singing along at the Belonging Bandstand come teatime on Sunday. Fun was the name of the game for ‘Dolly’ and her band, and they didn’t let their audience down.
Four blistering days and nights at ATN concluded with Skream, the UK-based DJ, winding up events at the (literally) fire-breathing and suitably relocated Arcadia at 4am on Monday morning.
“Something John Reynolds (the late founder of POD) said during one of our first trips to Curraghmore still rings in my ear today,” according to Will Rolfe, whose team deserve credit for a job brilliantly done. “The site is the headliner – and that hasn’t changed.
“Curraghmore is one of the most lavish natural landscapes I’ve seen for festivals hosted anywhere in the world. It’s a natural valley, which makes it feel enclosed and quiet, but also comes with challenges - especially when it’s wet. But the beauty of the location is worth working to overcome those challenges.” Amen to that, Will. See you all come 2025!
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