All Together Now returns to the Curraghmore Estate in Waterford for its second installation this weekend. With well over 100 acts playing across the weekend, after much debate and fistycuffs in the GP office, we’ve narrowed our list of recommendations down to just ten.
Black Midi
We’ve been waffling on about Black Midi for some time now, but they really are that good. Their debut album ‘Schlagenheim’, released last month, has just been nominated for the Mercury Prize but if that isn’t enough to convince you, check out the incredible skills of drummer Morgan Simpson below. Now that’s something you need to see in the flesh. Expect the unexpected. (NS)
Black Midi play the Road To Nowhere stage on Sunday at 18.30.
Anna Calvi
Also nominated for a Mercury Prize (not for the first time either) is Anna Calvi (whose gorgeous collaboration with Talking Heads’ David Byrne features in the latest Peaky Blinders trailer). Hailed as the best thing since headliner Patti Smith by Brian Eno, Calvi blends smoke-filled blues with goth pop/rock. It’s a spellbinding combo. (NS)
Anna Calvi plays the Something Kind Of Wonderful stage on Sunday at 17.30.
Loyle Carner
Loyle Carner probably holds the Irish record for the quickest selling out of two separate shows in a single year. His Grand Social performance earlier this year and his Vicar Street show in October both sold out in minutes, leaving many with just this performance at All Together Now to have the chance to catch the languid London rapper do his thing. (NS)
Loyle Carner plays the Something Kind Of Wonderful stage on Saturday at 21.00.
Angie McMahon
Melbourne artist Angie McMahon has just released her debut album ‘Salt’, deftly pairing the simplicity of garage rock against the profound intricacies of sadness. The friction between these two elements creates a tense alignment of sparse guitar, which often acts as an anchor to McMahon’s chaotic and emotionally exhausted mind, which detrimentally overanalyses the past, present and future minutia of her existence in a scattergun fashion. (NS)
Angie McMahon plays the Road To Nowhere stage on Saturday at 17.00
Niwel Tsumbu
Hailing from the Congo, Niwel Tsumbu has been sharing his unique blend of new jazz, rhumba, world, flamenco, rock, soukous and classical music with us since 2004, Having collaborated with anyone and everyone in the Irish music scene, Tsumbu has garnered a reputation as a masterfully elegant and fluent guitarist, vocalist, musician, collaborator and composer. (NS)
Niwel Tsumbu plays the Global Roots stage on Saturday at 18.15.
Bedouine
Bedouine, AKA Azniv Korkejian, was born in Aleppo, moving from there to Saudi Arabia and on to the USA. It’s a wandering lifestyle that has no doubt fed into her musical output, as this nomadic soul blends folk pop and country soul to mesmerising effect. (JMcD)
Bedouine plays the Road To Nowhere stage on Saturday at 15.30.
Nite Fleit
Electro, acid, banging techno, and EBM converge through Australian-born, London-based DJ Nite Fleit’s distinct style. Her recent collaboration with Mall Grab (the 4-track ‘Moogie’ EP) has been gathering attention this year, so prepare for a head melter of a set. (JMcD)
Nite Fleit plays the Arcadia Spectacular Afterburner stage on Sunday at midnight.
Rimon
Now based in Amsterdam, Rimon and her mother fled their native Eritrea for Europe when Rimon was still a toddler, going on to live in several Dutch refugee camps. A formative experience, no doubt, as was that of the music she encountered along the way. She cites Erykah Badu, Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill as having had a big impact on her musical development, with a sound that could loosely be described as a fusion of neo soul and hip-hop. (JMcD)
Rimon plays the Road To Nowhere stage on Sunday at 15.30.
park hye jin
Hailing from Seoul, park hye jin is a singer, songwriter, rapper, house and techno DJ who mixes her own English and Korean vocals over synths & beats for a singular dancefloor experience. Get in for a lesson in bilingual beat manipulation. (JMcD)
park hye jin plays the Road To Nowhere stage on Saturday at midnight.
King Kong Company
We’ll be blowing this trumpet and banging this drum forevermore, because, when it comes to full-on live obliteration, these guys lead the charge. King Kong Company will simultaneously massage your pleasure centres while mashing you into the ground, all in the nicest possible way. Don’t miss them. (JMcD)
King Kong Company play the Something Kind Of Wonderful stage on Friday at 23.45.