This August bank holiday sees a tonne of adventures at the ready for music fans. We have Castlepalooza in Charleville Castle, Tullamore showcasing some of the best Irish music currently doing the rounds. Expect great things from the sublime Ambience Affair, the boisterous Super Extra Bonus Party, Prodigy-esque antics from Noise Control and get in fancy dress for the ultimate Rocky Horror Picture Show performance.
For ravers and rockers, Marley Park is where to head this weekend with Metallica, Alice In Chains and Mastodon all playing there on Saturday August 1st. David Guetta, Fatboy Slim and Fake Blood shall then be pumping out beats of the large variety on Sunday August 2nd. Lastly for the adventurists this weekend, check out Field Day Festival in London's Victoria Park. It has a pretty darn great lineup with Mogwai, The Horrors, Micachu and The Shapes, Mystery Jets and Final Fantasy all ready to ear please. You also have the chance to bring out your inner kid with The Young Offenders Ping Pong, Onion Peeling Contest and the Egg and Spoon and Sack races all taking place throughout the festival. What more could you want.
I was unsure whether I liked this song when I first heard it but its contagious and summery notes have me bopping along every time I listen to it now. Sean Sullivan or Sean Bones, who is also a guitarist with indie poppers Sam Champion, released his debut album Rings last week and Dancehall is the first single to be taken from the reggae inspired album. If that wasn't enough to keep Sean Bones busy then, Sam Champion also have a new album ready for the listening on September 4th called Heavenly Bender out on North Street Records. Check them out!
If 70's influenced kaleidoscopic disco is your thing, then check out the video to The Emporer Machine's latest track Kananana, from his new album Space Beyond The Egg. Andy Meecham is probably better known as one half of Chicken Lips but this is his second record as the The Emporer Machine, however, some of his remixes on their own have become dance floor and DJ favourites, notably his version of Late Of The Pier's, The Bear's Are Coming track and Juan Maclean'sOne Day.
Friendly Fires return with another addictive single called Kiss Of Life out on XL Recordings on August 28th. It certainly has all things summery about it and the wonderfully picturesque video will have you dreaming of the wonderful sunshine we had about a month ago.
It's been a great week for Friendly Fires after receiving their first Mercury Music Prize nominations for their self titled debut, however Kiss Of Life is not included on the album. It should do pretty well as a stand alone single after the fantastic reception it received at Oxegen a couple of weeks back and Ed's dancing would put anyone in a good mood.
Calling all fans of Graffiti Art, Breakdancing, Parkour, Skateboarding, In-line blading, bmxing and beats! This weekend, July 25th and 26th sees the return of the Kings Of Concrete Jam in the lovely park behind the Civic Offices at Wood Quay in Dublin.
Expect body poppin' and lockin' with the B-Boy battles, world class murals from IAMDOOM, Jor, Kube, Rask and Filthy Lucre, Skateboard ramps galore, MC battles and tonnes more surprises.
All ages are encouraged as there really is something for everyone over the two day event.
The main B-Boy battle takes place on the Saturday starting with the heats at 2.30pm and the final at 4.20pm.
For those of you willing the party to never end, then you can check out the live art battle in the Bernard Shaw after everything is wrapped up on the Saturday evening.
For those of you who didn't know yesterday there was the longest eclipse of the sun in the 21st century to date. Of course Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore aka Empire Of The Sun knew this and decided to celebrate this occasion with a 6 and a bit minute live performance at the exact time of the eclipse yesterday in Australia. It happened at London GMT this morning at 4am for those of you wondering why you didn't notice anything different. Wacky costumes at the ready and the band delved into quite an eccentric performance playing Breakdown and Swordfish Hotkiss Night, showcasing what to expect from their stage performances that kick off down under in September. Fans in Europe will have to wait until next spring/summer to catch EOTS live as they don't intend on playing here until then.
So here it is, the 2009 Mercury Music Prize shortlist:
Florence and the Machine-Lungs Kasabian-West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum Bat for Lashes-Two Suns La Roux-La Roux Glasvegas-Glasvegas Speech Debelle-Speech Therapy Friendly Fires-Friendly Fires The Horrors-Primary Colours Lisa Hannigan-Sea Sew The Invisible-The Invisible Led Bib-Sensible Shoes Sweet Billy Pilgrim-Twice Born Men
I would like to see Friendly Fires, The Horrors or Bat For Lashes to scoop the prize, three very fantastic and addictive albums.
This August bank holiday sees a tonne of adventures at the ready for music fans.
