More about: All Together Now

In a weekend which saw horrible rain fail to soak the spirits of punter, followed the very next day by the sun splitting the stones, All Together Now reminded ticketholders why they had held onto their ticket for over two years, and why it’s quickly garnering a reputation as one of Ireland’s most underrated festivals. 

Hosted high in the hills of Portlaw in Co. Waterford, it’s beautiful mesh of music, conversation, art installations, cooking, reading and food offered punters the opportunity to partake in any number of activities, and spend their time doing whatever their heart desired. Feeling a little hungry and want a meal cooked by an award winning chef? No problem. Want to sit down and listen to a conversation with six-time Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan? That can be arranged? Want to relax and take part in a mini yoga retreat? Be my guest; everything and everyone is catered for.

For those more musically inclined, the line-up was a site to behold. It’s three nights headlined by Jungle, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and Underworld, all of whom put on a show for the ages. The undoubted victor of the weekend, however, was Nick Cave who put on a performance of such passion and showmanship that it wowed all in attendance. Performing tracks from across his 17 album discography, it was his connection with his most dedicated fans that really stood out. The love and adoration he received from those closest to the stage, as well as the love and appreciation he gave back, was a sight to behold, and left no doubt that we were witnessing a master at his craft. Across his two hour set, accompanied by a huge backing band, the highlight was one of the opening tracks. “There She Goes My Beautiful World”. You could send the pain and emotion in his voice, and the strength it took to take it onstage. Considering all that Cave has gone through in the past number of years, its incredible to think that he is willing to forgo an understandable break in favour of bringing joy to thousands across the world, it’s amazing to witness his power.

Midway through Friday afternoon, the festival’s app pinged with the news that Kerry actress and recent Mercury prize nominated singer Jessie Buckley and her bandmate Bernard Butler were to give an intimate performance in one of the festival’s smaller tents at midnight. By the time the pair took to the stage, the tent was packed, with seats saved for those who arrived over 30 minutes in advance. Buckley gave an enchanting performance, opening with the mesmerising ‘Babylon Days’ before hitting songs such as ‘The Eagle & The Dove’ and ‘We’ve Run The Distance’. “It’s so fucking good to be home” Buckley laughed to screams of applause, and it truely felt like a unique moment in time, a pair at the height of their powers in such an intimate setting.

While often unnoticable, an issue that ran across the weekend was in sound control. Each stage’s proximity did lead to sound clashes at times, in particular when quieter acts were left battling the noise of EDM, but overall it worked fine. It was noted by a number of acts, including comedians who were placed right by the bandstand, but it never had the potential damage it could have.

The surprise package of Saturday came in the form of Cork alt-rock trio Pretty Happy, who opened their hour long set with a 2 minute play about a man named Fintan O’Toole from Midleton, who one day released the family he thought he loved were mere fragments of his imagination. Jumping straight into ‘Salami’, their songwriting and style is organised chaos, like it were taken directly from the copybook scribbles of a 16 year old emo; but it works so well, especially when they feature off the wall concepts including the play; and guitarist Abbey Blake screaming lyrics down a landline phone, which was hooked up to her guitar’s distortion pedal, leading to a gloomy drone effect. A sight to behold, no doubt about it. It fit perfectly with the day’s weather, which snapped into rain and 3pm before bucketing down for over 6 hours.

The festival’s final day, glorious in the heat and the unexpected but much-needed sun, was defined by country pop artist CMAT. Saturday had seen the festival receive backlash for platforming anti-trans speakers as part of one of their live talks. This led to CMAT’s impassioned plea for equality, and questions of whether one of the biggest names on the day would even take to the stage. A statement from the festival followed on Saturday night, which said that the speakers “do not align with the views of ATN Festival”. When CMAT did take the stage on Sunday, it was to the backdrop of the transgender flag; and before performing her biggest track ‘I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!’ she gave a beautiful speech about the importance of transgender rights, and of a fan who once told CMAT they listened to the song whenever they took their testosterone injects because it reminded them the importance of being themselves. The visibly emotional CMAT explained she never wanted to be featured alongside any line-up with anti-trans speakers; but noted that having spoken to the festival she believed they made such a decision on error, and that they didn’t know of the speaker’s beliefs. “I owe the trans community a lot” she added as the track began, “I owe them my career”. And with it the biggest sing-along of a glorious weekend began, and a beautiful memory of solidarity was born.

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More about: All Together Now