All Together Now, the festival-shaped brainchild of the man who founded Electric Picnic in 2004 only to leave 10 years later, is back again this weekend. The late John Reynolds may have taken a risk setting up a new medium-sized endeavour in Co Waterford, but, now in its fourth year (there was a pandemic hiatus), the festival is once again set to bring thousands of eager revellers to Curraghmore Estate.
Across 3,000 acres of natural amphitheatres, gentle hills and hidden forests, All Together Now boasts 18 stages of music, spoken word, comedy, workshops, wellness activities and whatever New-Age artsy things are in vogue today.
In its artist selection, the organisers have certainly gone for a wide audience catchment. Very much all together now. Godfather of punk Iggy Pop is one of the big names on the bill, and is expected to bring the onstage energy of a 76-year-old star with little sign of fading away. Also set to play is New Zealand singer Lorde, English DJ Jamie xx, DJ Annie Mac, Sugababes, Loyle Carner, Caribou, Villagers, Pillow Queens and more.
With more than 25,000 expected to descend on the Co Waterford estate this weekend, a bit of forward planning can do no harm. So what do you need to know?
When and where is it on?
The festival is on from Friday August 4th to Sunday August 6th at Curraghmore Estate in Co Waterford.
Are there any tickets left?
At the time of writing, there are still some weekend camping tickets available for a whopping €235 each. You can purchase them at ticketmaster.ie. Buy tickets from accredited sources only, and add yours to your phone’s wallet, too, to keep it handy.
Who is performing and when?
This is only a selection of what’s on at the festival; there are also acts performing across the weekend on the Global Roots stage, the Cambium Club, The Circle by Jameson, The Last City, Ping Pong Disco, Éalú Le Grá, Born Social by Schweppes, Live on the Lawns and Theatre of Food: Grub Circus. All times are subject to change and a full list of stage times can be found on the festival app.
Friday August 4th
ATN Stage
10.45pm-12am Loyne Carner
9-10pm Jessie Ware
7.15-8.15pm Sorcha Richardson
5.30-6.30pm Trinity Orchestra
Something Kind Of Wonderful
1-3am Todd Terje
11.30pm-12.45am Overmono
9.45-10.45pm Lankum
8-9pm David Kitt
6.15-7.15pm Ailbhe Reddy
Saturday August 5th
ATN Stage
12-1.30am Jamie xx
10-11.15pm Caribou
8-9:15pm Villagers
6-7pm Sugababes
4-5.15pm Lisa O’Neill
Something Kind Of Wonderful
1-3am Daphni
11pm-12am Daniel Avery (Live)
8.45-10pm Billy Bragg
7-8pm The Scratch
5-6.15pm Black Country, New Road
3.30-4.30pm Really Good Time
Sunday August 6th
ATN Stage
10.30-11.30pm Iggy Pop
8.45-9.45pm Lorde
7-8pm Biig Piig
5-6pm Saint Sister
4-4.45pm Jealous Of The Birds
Something Kind Of Wonderful
1-3am James Murphy
11.15pm-12.15am Kelly Lee Owens (Live)
9.30-10.30pm TV Girl
8.15-9.15pm Junior Brother
6-7pm Max Richter and RTÉ Concert Orchestra
The Circle by Jameson
12-2am Emmy Shigeta b2b Alba
10.45pm-12am Volleyball b2b Cbakl
10-10.45pm SELLÓ
9.15-10pm KhakiKid
8.15-9pm Travis & Elzzz
7-8pm Mo Cultivation & Friends
6-6.45pm Negro Impacto
4.45-5.30pm Leo Miyagee
3.30-4.30pm Fakoli
2.40-3.30pm Collaboration & Community with Gemma Bradley
2-2.30pm KhakiKid in conversation with Gemma Bradley
What else is there to see and do?
Like most music festivals, All Together Now’s website has a section advertising the various “experiences” on offer. Good music isn’t enough these days and festivalgoers will have access not only to the artists on stage, but spoken word, comedy, theatre, debate, wood-fired saunas and hot tubs, live cooking shows, arcade games, circus shows, craft workshops, sensory play areas for kids, football competitions, face painting and music bingo. The Greencrafts Village, an “eco-conscious crafting hub”, will offer workshops in woodworking, blacksmithing, thatching, jewellery making, fabric, fibre and fresh flower weaving and more.
What time should I arrive?
Festival gates are open from 9am until 10pm each day. However, delays in previous years...
How do I get there?
As with many festivals held in remote rural locations, it takes some planning to get there.
By Car: First and foremost, the festival organisers have advised not to follow directions on a sat nav or Google Maps as it will not get you all the way to the festival site. The following advice has been issued:
- Do not travel to the festival via Carrick-on-Suir; presumably the town would become a traffic choke point if thousands of cars piled through in short succession.
- The car park and campsite will open on Thursday August 3rd at 4pm, and on Friday August 4th at 9am. Travelling by road between 9am and 1pm is one of the quietest times to travel to the festival. As you get closer to the festival there will be signs guiding traffic. The festival app will have traffic updates.
- The festival website has a detailed breakdown of the driving routes from all directions. Check out the instructions here.
- Drop-off at the event site is prohibited on Friday and Monday. There is a designated drop-off zone at Highfield Business Park, Portlaw, which is serviced by a free shuttle bus to the festival grounds. To avoid festival traffic, the organisers also suggest dropping fans off at Waterford City bus terminus where Bus Éireann festival shuttle will operate a regular service to the festival site. You can book this here.
By Bus:
- Bus Éireann will run a festival shuttle service from Waterford City bus terminus where it will operate a regular service to the festival site. You can book this here.
- All private buses will be directed to Gate 3 regardless of their route origin and no private buses may stay on site.
In case you’re local and hoping to stroll over, the festival organisers have advised there are no designated pedestrian routes to the festival and suggest using the shuttle bus service.
What if I’m camping?
Many people will choose bring their own gear and camp at the festival. You can also hire basic camping equipment from Camplight for the weekend from €120. When it comes to camping at All Together Now, there’s no shortage of boutique options for those looking for more than a flimsy tent among the chaotic masses. Fancy paying more than €1,000 for accommodation? There are Podpads, Yippee tents and Silk Road tents, all at varying levels of modest luxury, and you can find out more here.
Toilets are dotted around the festival grounds and showers will be located in the campsites and available for use at specific times throughout the weekend. Camp fires and disposable BBQs are not permitted on site, and campers have been asked not to smoke in their tents for safety reasons.
What’s the security?
You must be aged 21 or over to gain access to All Together Now, with the exception of children aged 12 or below, who must be accompanied by a paying adult. There is a maximum limit of two children aged 12 and under per adult. People aged between 13 and 20 will not be allowed entry.
Festival organisers have suggested if you don’t need an item, don’t bring it. It’s a cashless festival so no need to bring any cash.
Stringent searches will be conducted upon entry to the festival grounds. Items not allowed include: fireworks, illicit drugs, glass, animals (except guide dogs), weapons, petrol generators, BBQs, gazebos, flag poles, garden furniture, laser pens, professional photographic equipment, selfie sticks, drones, umbrellas, megaphones and air horns, high-vis clothing, bicycles and sound systems.
Each person with a weekend camping ticket can bring alcohol at their first time of entry. They can bring either: 24 cans or 1 litre of spirits or 1.5 litre of wine for personal consumption. No glass bottles are allowed. Pre-packaged and cooked food is allowed to be brought to the campsite and no cooking is allowed. There will be food stalls and a supermarket at the festival.
There will be lockers available to book before the festival to keep your valuables in. Giglocker is charging €33.20 per locker for the weekend, which can be reserved here.
Fans have been asked to report any crimes to on-site gardaí as soon as possible and anybody participating in antisocial behaviour will be liable for eviction from the festival without re-entry. The Garda station at Portlaw can be contacted on 051-387105.
Anything else?
There will be phone charging facilities on site, but no harm ensuring your phone is fully charged when you’re leaving the house. The festival bars are cashless and accept card and contactless payments – that means if your phone is your card, best make sure it’s charged. At music festivals, power banks are your friends. There will be an ATM on site.
For all things All Together Now, fans can download the festival app and keep up to date with things throughout the weekend.
What’s the weather going to be like?
For the moment, it looks like Friday will be the best day. At the time of writing, Met Éireann is forecasting a dry first day for the festival with scattered clouds and temperatures of up to 18 degrees. On Saturday, some light showers are forecast in the evening, but for the most part things should stay dry and mild at Curraghmore Estate. Sunday will be a different kettle of fish altogether. It is forecast to rain heavily for most of the day and for temperatures to peak at about 15 degrees. So don’t leave the house without a rain jacket and some wellies this weekend – it wouldn’t be an Irish festival without them anyway.
