“You’re an amazing audience and that’s a weird old castle over there”
This is the wisdom of Saturday night headliner Hercules and The Love Affair, unwittingly encapsulating the undisputed charm of Castlepalooza. Drawing in a relatively small crowd of 3,900, the archaic surrounds and assumed camaraderie at Charleville Castle create a uniquely quality festival.
Now in its tenth year, Castlepalooza was the byproduct of a 30th birthday party for head organiser Cillian Stewart in 2006.
To combat a “midlife moment”, he flung together enough friends and musicians to comprise a hooley, and the petite festival was born.
Fourth arena
A decade later, the Tullamore grounds feel more as if they are occupied by friends than by strangers. You would also be hard pressed to get lost on site, and it would even be an impressive feat if you managed it.
This year saw the addition of a fourth music arena to complement the traditional trio of the outdoor mainstage, dainty courtyard and electric tent. Unlike most Irish festivals, the stages and campsite are at the heart of the host grounds and engulf the architectural namesake itself.
In comparison, places such as Stradbally Hall, home of Electric Picnic, seem like fictionalised landmarks that are constantly out of sight. Being allowed to breeze into the 18th century castle during the day adds to the homeliness and comfort of the camping experience.
Spoken word
Inside the ballroom there were free morning yoga sessions to tease out the hangovers and headdress-making workshops for the family units present.
On Saturday, there was also the first spoken word addition to the lineup, enhancing the arts aspect of the weekend.
Friday started sleepily, a fitting end to the working week with more lively fare still ahead.
Saturday headliners included Jape and Hercules and The Love Affair, both of whom appeared mystified by their surroundings and their crowd. Meanwhile the audience are consistently impressed with the standard of the facilities (“They have toilet brushes and everything!”) and the ease of site navigation.
Intermittent rain didn’t stem the tide of revelry, but instead provided puddles that became the central aspect of puddle-hopping contests for toddlers and bemused mammies.
Familiar and fun
Dead phone batteries were actively welcomed by a lack of necessity for technology, while cunning groups of campers were overheard using “three cans ago” as a unit of time, for want of a watch.
The style of the 1990s was the arbitrary theme of the day on Sunday, and nighttime headliner Of Montreal played to a more spangly-clad crowd than usual.
An inordinate amount of fans were chewing on stinger bars and drumstick lollies (in strict keeping with the theme, of course). This summed up the ambience of the entire weekend: cosy, familiar and fun in childlike quantities.