All Together Now 2024

long term EP'er here, first time ATNer. my thoughts on last weekend seeing as im coming back to normal now.

we arrived lateish on friday (around 6ish), and got caught in that rain bringing our gear from the car park to the boutique camping site. Dragging drink for 5 people in a toby truck was difficult enough work through the car park field, and path was getting muddy at that stage. However it wasnt the worst distance to travel, and soon enough we were in and brought to our belletent. the set up in the boutique site is very good and id absolutely be doing that again, all our crew are in the 40-50 age grade. We could hear and see Declan mckennas gig from the main stage while we got set up. Food was first on the list and the tikka masala from kerala near the big wheel was absolutely delicious, and perfect set up for the evening. New to the site we decided to do a bit of exploring. The crowd and the music coming from TBL8 Brass in the schweppes Born Social area was the first attraction, great craic was had, with delicious cocktails. some more exploring and then over to Lovely days for confidence man. we were there early but the crowd got so busy it became uncomfortable as the began so we dropped back to the edge and only caught the first song. not my kinda thing anyway. cant really remember who else we caught on friday night, apart from stevie G on the band stand i think. Back for some well earned sleep, but jesus friday night was cold!

saturday brought sunshine and heat, perfect antidote to the cold friday. cans cracked open and in we headed. the access directly from the boutique to the main stage is just excellent. We went back down to the bandstand area for food, and got the most delicious "sausage box" which was filled with fried potatoes, sausage, and your choice of gerkin, salad, sauce slaw etc. it was so filling neither myself nor my wife could finish the whole lot. we headed over towards the main area as OTA were my main "must see" if the weekend. Dublin Gospel choir on the bandstand stage were very good and had the crowd up and dancing. We stopped into global roots to check out Zoe Basha, lovely chilled bluegrass blueszy tunes. Over then to overhead the albatross in SKOW who absolutely melted heads! They were tightAF as always and everything turned to 11. The others in our group who didnt know them were well impressed, and one of their new songs, Your Last Breathe, was the highlight for me. Ive heard 'time' before, but it never ceases to be impressive, and that view of the great dictator giving that monumental speech on those big screens to that wall of sound is something ill never forget. Amazing! Then caught a little bit of le boom before going to the main stage for the mary wallopers, who did not disappoint. They're still essentially a pub band but theyre riding high on their popularity and more power to them. Hung around for a while then for the national who again completely nailed it. They started a bit slow but bloodbuzz ohio was the start of a much better connection between matt and the crowd. They completely smashed it out of the park and while theyre considered sad-dad rock, ive never found them anything but uplifting. We headed back to the tent with KKK banging away in the backgound, haven seen them lots of times before.

sunday was to be the big music day. back down top the bandstand for food again, catching the hit and miss tommy tiernan. a toasted hombre sourdough sandwich was the perfect breakfast. We were there early for the dolly show, and got the word that she was delayed, so we made out way down to the wellness area to catch the glasshouse ensemble do some works by sakamoto, mc'ed by louis duffy. they were magical and someone id go out of my way to catch again. Heading out top the londis for ice we came across the last city stand with playback doing the 'stop making sense' album by talking heads. That was a great find for a singalong and bop along to THs madness. Back over for the wailers bringing the good vibes on the main stage, only grip i suppose was the lack of very early wailers tunes, but i guess the crowd got what it wanted. i think they did play a couple of earlyish songs in 'stir it up' and 'get up stand up'. Pretty sure we then went back down to the band stand for the dolly show, who was quite good in her reproduction. Again not my cup of tea, but the crowd loved it. Over again to the main stage for future islands who i was very impressed by. Id prefer to catch them at a smaller dedicated show though, and get the full impact of Sam Herrings frontmanship. Another trip then down to hidden sounds to catch muireann bradley who was beautiful, such a talent for one so young! some more good food from the Venezuelan food truck and then over for the prodigy. ive seen them a few times at this stage, the first time about 2009 in the point, and maxim is still doing his "where are my warriors" schtick. they felt flat to my ear, and the abrupt ending just after the outer space intro was just weird. its like they were told to get off the stage at 12:00 sharp. That was it for us and back for some well deserved r+r.

pros:

the whole place was busy, but never felt like it was too busy. apart from confidence man i never felt like it does on a sunday in EP. Its a gorgeous site, well laid out and plenty of nooks etc and seating if you need it.

the food:

was great all weekend. Ive no problem spending between 10-15€ for decent food twice a day, and this is made much more palatable by the next pro.

free flow:

what a absolutely fantasic thing for a festival. as has been mentioned already, it allows for people to come into the festival site early and chill and have some cans. This beats loading up in camp sites before hand and being smashed at 3pm. This also has the advantage then of keeping the camp site fairly clean (well the boutique area anyway, it was very well kept). i still spent a good bit on pints, as the guiness was delicious, but that was completely by choice. Never had to queue for a drink all weekend as well is a plus point.

the music:

such an eclectic mix. i was a bit apprehensive that it would be EDM / dj heavy but there was more than enough for all tastes.

organisation:

cannot fault the travel into and out of the festival by car. campsite was well prepared, clean, organised and helpful. mens showers were very easy to access, but they could have done with and 100% more female showers. either that or some girls need to shower quicker?

of course, this thread and the whatsapp group as well, for keeping up with recommendation tec

cons:

not much to be honest. the walk from the bandstand (lowest point) to the main stage (highest point) is pretty tough on the calves and knees, but its to be sucked up. While the site is rolling, its not too expansive.

some stonework underfoot was loose and i can see how some people went over on their ankles. similarly after a great week, some areas were soft underfoot, so i wouldn't like to see what it was like after a weeks rain beforehand. not sure what the organisers can do about this though, they have laid hard surface paths in certain areas.

all in all a highly enjoyable memorable weekend, and definitely plan to do it again next year. completely no EP fomo anymore.