Oxegen was a music festival in Ireland, first held from 2004–2011 as a rock and pop festival and again in 2013 with dance and chart acts only. The event was regularly cited as Ireland's biggest music festival, and, by 2009, it was being cited as the greenest festival, being a 100% carbon neutral event in Ireland, although this claim is highly disputed as green-washing. It was previously called Witnness, which ran from 2000 and was sponsored by Guinness. The event is promoted by MCD and is sponsored by Heineken. Oxegen was originally a three-day festival, but from 2008 onwards, it was expanded to four days.
The Slane Festival is a recurring concert held most years since 1981 on the grounds of Slane Castle on the outskirts of Slane in County Meath, Ireland. The castle is owned by The 8th Marquess Conyngham, who was known by the courtesy title the Earl of Mount Charles from 1974 until 2009. Slane lies between Navan and Drogheda, about 45 km northwest of Dublin. Concerts typically occur on a Saturday in August, from 12:00 to 22:00. The sloping grounds of Slane Castle form a natural amphitheatre which is ideal for concerts. As many as 70,000–110,000 people usually attend. One of the venue boundaries is the River Boyne. Two people died while trying to swim the river to gain free access to R.E.M.'s concert in 1995. The minimum age of admission to the Slane Festival was reduced in 2006 from 18 to 16 because of complaints.
The Blizzards are an Irish band from Mullingar in County Westmeath. They were formed by Niall Breslin in late 2004, and also feature Dec Murphy (drums), Justin Ryan, Anthony Doran, Louize Carroll (bass) and Aidan Lynch (keyboards). They have achieved multiple platinum record sales and have won numerous awards.
This is a summary of the year 2007 in the Irish music industry. 2007 was described as "an annus horribilis for Irish music" by the Irish Independent's rock critic, Eamon Sweeney.
This is a summary of the year 2006 in the Irish music industry.
A summary of the year 2004 in the Irish music industry.
Delorentos are a Dublin-based Irish alternative rock band, formed in 2005. They consist of Rónan Yourell, Kieran McGuinness, Níal Conlan and Ross McCormick. The band's debut album In Love with Detail was critically acclaimed in Ireland, being nominated for the Choice Music Prize and in the Best Irish Album category at the 2007 Meteor Awards, at which Delorentos were also nominated for Best New Irish Band. Two extended plays have also been released; their debut release, titled Leave It On, in October 2005, and the follow-up EP, titled Do You Realise, came out in November 2007. The Delorentos discography consists of a selection of singles which impacted on the Irish Singles Chart, such as "The Rules" in May 2006 and "Stop" in July 2007.
Oxegen '07 was the fourth Oxegen festival to take place, following the dissolution of its predecessor Witnness in 2004. It took place on the weekend of Saturday, 7 July and Sunday, 8 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in County Kildare, Ireland. The festival was headlined by Muse and Snow Patrol on the Saturday and The Killers on the Sunday. The Live Earth concerts occurred around the world on the same day as the Saturday of Oxegen '07.
This is a summary of the year 2008 in the Irish music industry.
A summary of the year 2003 in the Irish music industry.
Oxegen '08 was the fifth Oxegen festival to take place, following the dissolution of its predecessor Witnness in 2004. It took place on the weekend of Friday 11 July, Saturday 12 July and Sunday 13 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in County Kildare, Ireland. For the first time the festival was a three-day event. The festival was headlined by Kings of Leon on the Friday, The Verve and R.E.M. on the Saturday and Rage Against the Machine on the Sunday.
This is a summary of the year 2009 in the Irish music industry.
Oxegen 2009 was the sixth Oxegen festival to take place since 2004. It took place on the weekend of Friday 10 July, Saturday, 11 July and Sunday, 12 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in County Kildare, Ireland. Kings of Leon, Snow Patrol, Blur and The Killers headlined.
The Kinetiks were a Meteor Award-nominated Irish rock, pop and indie musical ensemble from Dublin. They were vocalist and guitarist Gaz Harding, guitarist Sean Brennan, bassist Jim McGuire, and drummer Paul Donohoe. On 11 July 2008, they performed their biggest show thus far at Oxegen 2008 where they appeared second on the Green Room stage following Dirty Epics and prior to The Saw Doctors. They have also performed at the inaugural annual surf festival Cois Fharraige on 8 September 2007, Indie-pendence in August 2008 and Hard Working Class Heroes in September 2008.
The 2006 Meteor Music Awards took place in the Point Theatre, Dublin on 2 February 2006. It was the sixth edition of Ireland's national music awards. The event was later aired on RTÉ Two on at 21:00 on Sunday 5 February. The awards show was hosted by the comedian Patrick Kielty. A total of seventeen awards were presented at the ceremony. U2 were the largest winners at the 2006 awards, receiving three gongs, Best Irish Band, Best Irish Album for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and Best Live Performance for their 2005 Croke Park shows. The band's bassist Adam Clayton attended the show and picked up the awards. The four international awards were divided between Kanye West, Gwen Stefani and Kaiser Chiefs. The Pogues were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award, whilst Today FM presenter Ray D'Arcy was named Best Irish DJ for a second consecutive year. After the awards Louis Walsh was caught red-handed in an embarrassing situation with Kerry Katona when he gripped her from behind and did something naughty and rude.
The 2008 Meteor Music Awards ceremony was held in the RDS, Dublin, on Friday, 15 February 2008. Nineteen awards were presented. It was the eighth edition of the Republic of Ireland's national music awards. The event was later broadcast on RTÉ Two on Saturday, 16 February at 21:00. The comedian Dara Ó Briain hosted the awards for the first time since 2004 Duke Special and Cathy Davey won the Best Irish Male and Best Irish Female Awards respectively, whilst veteran rockers Aslan won the Best Irish Band Award and Paddy Casey's Addicted to Company won Best Irish Album. For the eighth consecutive year Westlife won the Best Irish Pop Act accolade. Ham Sandwich were presented with the Hope for 2008 Meteor Award by RTÉ 2fm DJ Rick O'Shea. The Blizzards won Best Irish Live Performance for their Main Stage appearance at Oxegen 2007, whilst Muse picked up the award for Best International Live Performance, which also occurred at Oxegen the previous year. The award for the Most Downloaded Song was given to Mundy and Sharon Shannon's chart hit "Galway Girl". The Saw Doctors were presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award and were also amongst the performers at the event.
A summary of the year 2010 in the Irish music industry.
The 2010 Meteor Music Awards ceremony took place on Friday 19 February 2010 in Dublin. They were presented by Amanda Byram. The launch took place in La Stampa on 7 January 2010, and was attended by The Coronas and Danny O'Donoghue from The Script.
This is a summary of the year 2011 in the Irish music industry.
