Aiken Promotions is a music promoter operating in Ireland. It is a former co-organiser of the annual Electric Picnic festival at Stradbally, County Laois, and also organises the Live at the Marquee event in Cork. Founded by Jim Aiken, the company has been seminal in bringing international acts to Ireland from the 1960s to the present day. Aiken was particularly successful in encouraging artists to perform in Ireland during The Troubles.
Jim Aiken invited numerous international artists to Ireland from the 1960s until his death, in the process of which he developed working relationships with musicians such as Johnny Cash, [1] Bob Dylan, [1] Elton John, [2] Tom Jones, [1] Cliff Richard, [2] Luciano Pavarotti, [2] Bruce Springsteen [1] and Simon and Garfunkel. [1] He vacated a teaching post in 1965 when he began to find success promoting music. [2]
Aiken was also innovative in persuading the Gaelic Athletic Association to open up Croke Park in Dublin as a music venue, with Aiken organising the first ever shows at the venue by U2 in 1985. [1] U2 still use the venue for performances in the city today, with the latest taking place in July 2009 as part of their U2 360° Tour. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
Aiken also promoted shows at Stormont Castle in Belfast, as well as the regular Slane Concert events in County Meath in the 1980s, featuring artists such as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Queen, before his death in February 2007. [1] Gilbert O'Sullivan performed under the company's banner in the 1970s. [1] When Westlife perform in Belfast they are advertised by Aiken Promotions. [1]
Aiken Promotions previously organised the Electric Picnic festival alongside Pod Concerts. The British promoter Festival Republic bought out the share of Aiken Promotions in Electric Picnic in March 2009, joining in a partnership with Pod Concerts to organise the 2009 event. [12] [13]
Aiken Promotions have been promoting their annual Live at the Marquee event in Cork since 2005. [14] The company has attracted artists such as Simple Minds, [14] Crosby, Stills & Nash, [14] Rod Stewart, [15] The Prodigy, [15] Kasabian [15] and Josh Ritter for the 2009 event, whilst Christy Moore performs there on a regular basis. [15] In addition, the company held similar tented shows in Phoenix Park, Dublin, in 2007, whilst the Point Theatre (now the O2) was unavailable due to renovations. [16] Shows were performed there by artists such as Kanye West and Cascada. [16]
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 near Slane, 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. However, the 2011, 2015 and 2017 concerts occurred on the last weekend in May, and the first concert of 2013 took place on 15 June. The 2019 concert took place on 8 June.
Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority shareholding in 2009. It was voted Best Medium-Sized European Festival at the 2010 European Festival Awards, and has been voted Best Big Festival at each of the last four Irish Festival Awards since they began in 2007.
MCD Productions is an Irish concert promotion company. Established in 1980, and headquartered in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin.
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.
This is an, as yet, incomplete summary of the year 2005 in the Irish music industry.
A summary of the year 2004 in the Irish music industry.
Live at the Marquee is a season of music concerts and other live performance events organised by Aiken Promotions in a large marquee in Cork, Ireland, every summer since 2005. For about a month in June and July, a concert is held most evenings; tickets for each night are sold separately, with varying lineups and pricing. Acts have represented many genres of popular music, including rock, folk, electronic, hip hop, rhythm and blues, and country; as well as stand-up comedy acts.
This is a summary of the year 2008 in the Irish music industry.
Jape are an Irish electronic–rock band from Dublin. Formed as a side project by Richie Egan whilst part of The Redneck Manifesto, they have released five albums to date; Cosmosphere (2003), The Monkeys in the Zoo Have More Fun Than Me (2004), Ritual (2008), Ocean of Frequency (2011), and This Chemical Sea (2015). Jape's wider discography includes the EP, Jape is Grape (2007), as well as a number of singles, including "Floating" and "Phil Lynott". The band have performed at festivals and events such as Glastonbury, Electric Picnic, Lovebox and Hard Working Class Heroes and provided support for The Flaming Lips at Belsonic in Belfast in August 2008.
This is a summary of the year 2009 in the Irish music industry.
Pod Concerts is a music promoter operating in Ireland. It co-operates with Festival Republic in organising Electric Picnic. It has been behind numerous events and festivals on the island, including Lovebox, Garden Party and Midlands Music Festival. In 2008, Pod have been behind the Soundtrack '08 event in their Pod Complex on Dublin's Harcourt Street, as well as promoting a number of concerts involving Leonard Cohen, Iggy & The Stooges and Morrissey at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham in June.
Fight Like Apes were an Irish alternative rock band formed in Dublin in 2006.
Electric Picnic 2008 was the fifth Electric Picnic festival to take place. The three-day event took place on the weekend of Friday–Sunday, 29–31 August at Stradbally in County Laois, Ireland. The festival was headlined by Sigur Rós on the Friday, George Clinton and Franz Ferdinand on the Saturday, and My Bloody Valentine and Sex Pistols on the Sunday.
Jim Aiken was a concert promoter responsible for bringing many international acts to perform concerts in Ireland through his company Aiken Promotions, he was responsible for many big gigs in Ireland such as U2 at Croke Park, and concerts at Slane Castle such as Bruce Springsteen and Queen.
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.
Electric Picnic 2009 was the sixth edition of the Electric Picnic festival to take place. The three-day event took place on the weekend of Friday 4 September, Saturday 5 September and Sunday 6 September at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. The festival was launched on 15 April 2009 and featured performances from artists such as Orbital, The Flaming Lips, Brian Wilson, Basement Jaxx, Madness, Klaxons, Bell X1, Fleet Foxes and MGMT.
A summary of the year 2010 in the Irish music industry.
This is a summary of the year 2012 in the Irish music industry.