Music Festival at airport all set to fly

The 1980s reggae band UB40 and urban four-piece Rudimental, whose single ‘These Days’ hit the top of the UK charts last month, are the two headliners for a new music festival at Galway Airport over the June Bank Holiday weekend.

Early bird tickets for the Fever Pitch Festival have sold out with organisers hopeful of selling up to 6,000 tickets priced at €60 per day for the inaugural festival.

The Saturday bill is aimed at a younger demographic with DJs and singers dominating the lineup while the target audience for the Sunday is an older crowd with eleven bands scheduled to take to the stage in front of the old airport terminal.

“We booked Rudimental at the right time as they were number 1 on the charts last week with ‘These Days’ – ahead of the likes of Drake, Eminem and Ed Sheeran. This have also topped the charts with ‘Feel The Love’ and ‘Waiting all Night’ so they are our biggest act,” explained organiser Patrick Drayne.

Joining them on the ticket are Example, who have had two UK number 1’s with ‘Changed the way you kiss me’ and ‘Stay awake’ and are long time collaborators with Calvin Harris.

Chasing Abbey, which just won the RTE Choice Music Song of the year with ‘That Good Thing’, has been described as one of Ireland’s most exciting young bands.

Sean and Conor Price, who just finished an arena tour with stars of the X Factor, will also play – they sold out Vicar Street in 15 minutes last week.

UB40, which in their heydays sold 120 million records – with hits such as Red Red Wine, Signing Off and One in Ten – will play a 90-minute set on Sunday night.

Dublin veteran rockers Aslan – whose biggest hits include ‘This Is’ and ‘Crazy World’ – will be sure to entertain, as will Galway busking legends Keywest. The Riptide Movement, whose single ‘All Works Out’ features on the Discover Ireland ad’ are also on the bill.

Tribute bands to Oasis, David Bowie and Think Lizzy will play throughout the day in the smaller marquee. The event will host a food village, comedy tent and silent disco, as well as a full bar between 2pm to 11pm each day.

“Since we launched, we’ve been hearing back from people that Galway has been crying out for this type of a full-day event. It’s something very different. It has something for everyone – it’s not just electronica, it’s not just for younger people, we’re catering for all tastes and ages.”

Return buses from cities and large towns are currently being finalised for the event, which will have on-site parking.

While PFD Promotions have never organised a festival before, they are involved with nightclubs in Loughrea and Ballinasloe.

The Westport Music and Arts Festival – the last major music festival in the west of Ireland – was cancelled due to a lack of support from locals. Organisers moved it to Killarney only to cancel it there too due to a lack of tickets sales.

Patrick says they are hopeful of breaking even in their first year but have long-term plans to grow the festival into an annual music extravaganza.

“It’s our first year so it’s not about making money. It’s about building it up, showing that we can run a really good event with a focus on safety and traffic management – as well as having top acts,” he remarks.

“We chose the airport because It is only a few minutes from the city, there is a hard surface so it will not be muddy. There is adequate parking, plenty of space for a pick up and drop off area and the wider perimeter is already fenced off.

“We have put in a major amount of work to make this happen, especially on the safety side of things. We are working with a big event management company from Dublin called Cuckoo Events, who are handling all things safety and are working with a transport management company, the guards, the HSE, the fire service and numerous council departments. This event has been in the works for almost a year now.”

Tickets, priced between €54.50 and €89.50 plus booking fee of €5.95, are available from www.eventbrite.ie.