BORDERING ON GENIUS
Fest promises ‘forward-facing’ acts
■IRELAND’S newest festival Borderline is platforming some of the best emerging musical talents across the country and beyond.
The two-day showcase has already been crowned one of Timeout Magazine’s Best Things to Do in the World for 2024, an accolade that festival booker Simon Merriman says stems from the stellar line-up.
“I think it just goes to show how strong the lineup is,” Simon told Scene ahead of Borderline’s debut at Dublin’s Workman’s Club next Thursday.
“A lot of these artists you’re going to see, like Fat Dog or Lambrini Girls for example, are going to be two of the biggest acts to come out of The Great Escape and SXSW this year.”
The festival next week is the first iteration, but Simon is aiming to grow Borderline like similar showcase festivals, shining a light on emerging artists.
“My approach with this is I really want to build the brand,” Simon revealed. “When I say brand, I want it to be something like Left of the Dial in Rotterdam, or Simple Things in Bristol.
“Before we put out a lineup, we have an audience, they trust what we’re going to do with the festival.
“Long term, that’s what I’d love to do with the festival, really get it up and running in that sense, but for the first year, it’s been great. I’m really happy with it, it just puts more eyes on us.”
He added: “We have a lot of industry from the UK coming in, we have a lot of the big indies coming in because either a lot of the acts there are looking to sign or have just signed. So it is really good to be in the room, in that sense, for a lot of the Irish acts who are unsigned.
Promising to be a sonically engaging experience for revellers, the intimate two-day showcase will span two stages and features a carefully curated lineup of 15 exceptional artists, up to eight per day.
Borderline will host Antony Szmierek, Cardinals, EFÉ, Enola Gay, Fat Dog, Kai Bosch, Lambrini Girls, Maruja, Miso Extra, Mount Palomar, Nxdia, Sam Akpro, Sans Soucis, Spider and University.
“We’re looking at two rooms over two days, it’s 15 artists, and we’ve programmed it so that there will always be someone on,” Simon explained.
“The audience will be able to roam between the two rooms, you have the entrance at the front of the Workmen’s main venue and then the cellar. You can go via two rooms inside the actual venue as well. So it’s free-roaming in that sense. Capacities based on first come first serve!”
The festival aims to push the boundaries of artistic expression, introducing audiences to the international and Irish scenes, with a focus on “forward-facing artists”.
“What I want to do is this, just book bands that I love, that I’m into. I do have a passion for kinda punky stuff, noisy stuff, and electronic stuff.
“And I do mean that. Looking at the lineup, I think everyone we have is essentially doing that, and they’re doing something different. I want the audience to come and be surprised, be challenged, be pushed in different directions.
“When I go to these festivals, like SXSW, The Great Escape or Eurosonic, I love walking into a room, and just being like, ‘What was that?’ I like being challenged as well, in that sense. That’s what I want to do with the audience.”
Borderline is presented by singular artists with partners Jameson, IMRO, Blackstar Amplification and MusicMaker, and will take place at The Workman’s Club in Dublin, on February 15 and 16.
A ticket for one day costs €20, a pass for two days costs €25. See Borderlinefestival. com.