Paul Weller to play Bundoran
Ronan McGrade • Published 13 May 2010 09:26
Woodstock, Monterey, Glastonbury, Isle Of Wight, Reading. What do these places have in common? The answer is that they have all been the setting for some of the most successful and unconventional music events over the past fifty years. Well you can add a newcomer to that distinguished list of rock school graduates - Bundoran!
At first Bundoran may not seem like your obvious choice of festival venue however delve a little deeper and you will find that this little gem has a sparkling array of music, activities and stunning views on offer. As festival organiser Daniel Browne enthused, "Seasessions is the best beach party in Ireland!". With a line-up that includes Paul Weller, Fun Lovin' Criminals and Tom Baxter, who am I to argue?
Okay, let's start at the beginning. Seasessions is a music and surf festival that began just three years ago and is the brainchild of three Bundoran surfers - Daniel Browne, Declan Madden and Pete Craig. Taking place beside the main beach in Bundoran it is ideally located to give festival goers a truly unique experience with a surf competition taking place in the sea while world class bands rock out on the shore.
In it's short history Seasessions has grown to almost 4,900 capacity and has achieved cult like status among music lovers, surfers and hippies alike. What is it about Seasessions that has struck a chord with people in this way? I caught up with Daniel Browne last weekend to find out.
"I think it's the beach lifestyle that it personifies." he explained. "Myself and the other people involved are all surfers. We love surfing, we love music and we love living by the beach. It's a lifestyle choice that we have made and that is why we live in Bundoran. I think that a lot of people are attracted by that lifestyle choice. They look and see what people here in Bundoran are enjoying and I think that Seasessions is an opportunity for them to get a taste of that lifestyle over a weekend."
Having a surf and music festival is a very new concept, especially in Ireland, so with this in mind I think it is acceptable to presume that not everyone is familiar with how a surfing competition works. The festival organisers have thought about this however and created the Expression Session surfing competition.
"Some surfing competitions can be quite boring", explained Daniel, "So to make it more spectator friendly and less technical we invite about a dozen of the best surfers from Ireland and England and give them twenty minutes on the water to try and pull off the best move that they can. The competitor from each heat who does the best move goes through to the next round. It's not really technical surfing, it's more ballsy surfing and is therefore much better for the spectator".
So what else is there on offer at Seasessions? There are holistic therapies on site, a tag rugby tournament, art exhibitions, a mountain bike assault course, BMX and skate ramps and power boat racing in Bundoran Bay just in front of the festival site. Oh yes, and music too!
The festival takes place over three nights from Friday, June 25 - Sunday, June 27 with the acts spread across three stages like a lip tingling dollop of musical mustard. You are seriously spoiled for choice at this festival.
On Seasessions opening night, Fun Lovin' Criminals are flying in from New York to headline the Main Beach Stage. The Saturday night headliner is none other than the music modfather, Paul Weller and on Sunday Tom Baxter winds down what is sure to have been a great weekend.
In between the bigger names you will find music ranging from emerging local talent to more established acts like Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Director and David Holmes.
With many people finding it hard to believe that Fun Lovin' Criminals and Paul Weller are making their way to play a festival on the North West coast of Ireland, I couldn't resist asking Daniel how he and the other organisers managed to pull off such a coup.
"In short, we don't do this to make money. We do it because we believe in what we're trying to do for our town and for the people in this area, which is to just enjoy it," Daniel explained.
Speaking of the success and growth of Seasessions' first two outings Daniel continued, "After this we could have played it safe and put on an average band and sold out our tickets, making a profit. However we decided to take a gamble and more than trebled our artist budget. That seen any potential profit that we stood to make go back into the act to raise the bar for the festival. So in answer to your question, how did we get them here? We offered them the money that it takes to get them here."
I, for one, am glad that they did. Not only because they are great artists but because the look of disbelief on people's faces when they hear that Paul Weller is coming to play in Bundoran is priceless. Lift your jaw of the floor, grab your bucket and spade and let's hit the beach on 25th June!
For further information log on to www.seasessions.com or for tickets log on to www.ticketgroup.ie.
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 13 May 10
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