INDIE22 strictly over-18s, with Irish bands added to line-up

INDIE22 has joined in a partnership with IMRO which will see a whole stage of Irish artists entertain the crowds outside Mitchelstown this summer. Over the July bank holiday weekend, Coulibaly, Ailsha, Efé, James Or, Jerry Fish, Kehli, Lavengo, Lorraine Nash, Moncrieff, Pastiche, Shiv, Sophie Doyle Ryder, The Blizzards and Tolu Makay will take to the stage at Deer Farm to join headliners Fat Boy Slim, Rudimental and Bastille.

Festival director and Mitchelstown man, John Finn said that the presence of such a wealth of Irish acts go to the heart of the aims of INDIE.

“We were really happy to be able to announce an entire stage of brilliant Irish artists in conjunction with IMRO, it’s been a core element of what we’ve wanted to do since we started in 2006; to support Irish acts and give them a platform to perform.”

Day tickets and camping tickets are still available online, with the option of luxury camping for those who can’t face the portaloos! However, this year there is no family camping as the festival is strictly over-18s, and due to space constraints campervan parking is also not possible.

The decision to limit the festival to adults-only, according to their website, was taken after a period in which advantageous parents left children aged 10 or 11 unaccompanied in the festival, or declared teenagers as ‘under 12s’, and failed to supervise them on-site.

“Unfortunately in recent years this ethos (of welcoming families) has been taken advantage of by a small few parents who have now ruined it for everyone. This decision was not taken lightly and all avenues were explored but the system could only work where all parents took responsibility for their children, with a small number repeatedly ignoring this, INDIE had no choice but to make this difficult decision.”

CHALLENGES

Mr Finn said the festival this year, like everything else, is being hit by increased prices.

“Sales are steady but there’s no doubt it’s going to be a very difficult summer for everyone in the events industry. Costs are up an average of 30% across the board and after two years shut and huge brain drain from the sector as a whole, we, like every other event, have massive challenges to overcome to deliver the quality of event that we want.”

INDIE began life in 2006 around Mitchelstown’s venues and Market Square, and its move to a new site on the outskirts of town in 2010 put INDIE on the international festival map. Over the years the festival has attracted artists such as Manic Street Preachers, Lewis Capaldi, and Basement Jaxx, to play alongside some of Ireland’s finest live acts including The Coronas, Hozier, Kodaline and Lyra.