All Together Now

It was our first time at All Together Now (ATN), the music festival held at Curraghmore Estate outside Portlaw on the August Bank Holiday weekend since 2018. As we hadn’t been to a multi-day festival in at least thirty years and only go to concerts infrequently, we weren’t sure what to expect. Would we be out of place as sixty somethings at this celebrated ‘cool’ music event.

So what was it like?

Driving to the festival on Thursday in the early afternoon in our van, we stopped at the well-stocked Centra in Portlaw to buy a multi-bag of crisps and some soft drinks ( the just-in-case supplies…we already had the hard stuff) before heading to Curraghmore estate. A young fella in Centra was sweating as he stocked shelves  and told us that it had been really busy all week with the people setting up for the festival. There was little traffic although we had to exit the estate to find the campervan area (Gate 3) despite being waved forward by numerous stewards. We were directed to the third row of campervans on an almost grassless field, bone dry after the long spell without rain. A man with a three metre stick directed a neighbouring van in beside us, laying his stick on the ground to ensure correct distance. Nothing like a bit of technology to keep people inline. Our neighbour – three brothers- complained that a passing van – which didn’t stop – had damaged their wing mirror near Kilmeadan.

The entry policy specifies no glass and no gas cannisters. Although we had mainly cans of beer in the fridge, we also had a glass bottle of vodka, a bottle of wine and a small gas cannister to make tea/coffee. We didn’t expect a thorough search…regular attendees had said that the searches were cursory. The steward in high vis had other ideas… she searched under the bedclothes, opened my bag of clothes, rummaged in a crate that contained some beers and the stuff from Centra, then searched Caoimhin’s clothes bag where an electric toothbrush switched itself on. The vibrating bag made her jump with fright and embarrassment much to the amusement of her male colleagues. The upshot was that the other side of the van – which contained the contraband- was not checked. The policy of no gas is a sensible up for the tent area where the tents are squashed in tighter than sardines in a tin but it didn’t really make sense in the campervan area. The pop-up Londis shop on site also sold sausages (raw) so I presume that they could be cooked somewhere.

It was great to arrive on Thursday afternoon – especially as it was such a sunny day –  although the entrances into the stage area didn’t open until about 6pm. It was breezy in the campervan area where was on high ground above some of the tent areas, which became progressively more squashed as the weekend went on. The campervan/caravans areas felt like the penthouse suites.

People talk and concentrate on the music at festivals so we were unprepared for the magic of the lighting and the beauty of the ATN setting, the many trees and winding paths, the slopes and natural amphitheatres. Strolling around on that first evening, we were enthralled and enchanted.  Trees were lit up to become multicoloured paintings. Giant tulips were hiding in the woods and everywhere there was avenues of flower lamps and shimmering overhead awnings. There was playgrounds for children and tents for yoga and pilates down by the lake. There were talks about food and making cocktails using Irish products; there were comedians , drag shows, spoken word, art and pottery classes.

The friendliness and good humoured atmosphere was brilliant…there were many oldies like us, some even older; there were families and toddlers in buggies and of course lots of young people in festival garb, the more outrageous and colour-clashing the better. We met up with our daughter and her friends at a couple of gigs and there were lots of multi-generational groups.  There were random conversations in the queues for the porta toilets…which were plentiful and cleaned regularly although it still helped not to breathe too deeply in some of them. There were showers somewhere but we never found them…not washing for several days is part of the experience although I wondered how I smelled by day 5 when we stopped at Lidl on the way home.

The food stalls were plentiful…but expensive. There was lots of street food options and the usual plethora of pizza and burger places. We made coffee/tea in the mornings and even fried up a sneaky egg for a egg and cheese blaa each morning. The multi-pack of crisps, bought in Centra, was devoured.

Christy Moore was fabulous. What a man to be still going strong at 81 years old! The tent –Some Kind of Wonderful– was packed out with a very interactive crowd but the sound quality was poor there….not just for Christy but for other acts. Barrington Levy (a Jamaican reggae icon) was not happy at all with the acoustics. The Wran (four brothers from the Comeraghs in Waterford) play trad with a modern twist and the crowd went wild for them…great gig with incredible energy. We also loved Boolaboom, a 22 piece brass and percussion, playing jazzed-up belters and samba-infused reworks. The band was enjoying themselves as much as the audience. There was Pulp from the eighties and Underworld from the Nineties and of course, Kneecap. There were folk singers like Kean Kavanagh and contemporary soul from India Blue. There was lots of flashing lights and DJs and dance and house and many genres that I couldn’t even attempt to categorise. Really there was something for everyone. We didn’t know that Greta Thunberg was at ATN until we head it on the radio on the way home.

If you are a music aficionado, this is your place….with eighteen simultaneous stages, your dilemma will be deciding which one to go to. But if people-watching in a magical setting, with music as a mere backdrop, is your thing, this is also the festival for you. Even if you prefer just catching up with friends and hanging around your tent or campervan/caravan with an occasional foray to the stages, you will still enjoy ATN.

Just a piece of advice, if you want to beat the traffic snarls, go as early as you can, on Thursday preferably…you also get your money’s worth with plenty of gigs on Thursday evening and a calmer atmosphere. Leave as early as you can on Monday morning. We were gone by 8am and had no issues in exiting but by midday, it was difficult leaving the estate.

 Our first visit to ATM was a real success…admittedly the weather was great. The dust was more of an issue rather than the more usual mud. We are already thinking about going next year….but only if we can get a campervan ticket which are like Goldust.

Learning to Fly😎😎