Castlepalooza was an annual Irish independent music & Arts Festival, held at

Charleville Castle Charleville Castle is a Gothic architecture, Gothic-style castle located in County Offaly, Ireland, bordering the town of Tullamore, near the River Clodiagh. It is considered one of the finest of its type in the country. History The first ma ...

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midlands Reg ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...

. The festival began in 2005 and was held annually until 2018. The 2006 festival was described by ''

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a monthly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who cont ...

'' as a "bite-sized

Electric Picnic Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. Overview It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority sh ...

, held in the grounds of a 17th-century castle, with the added bonus of indoor toilets and showers". The festival was described by

The Sunday Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...

as "The best little music festival in Ireland". In February 2019, the festival's promoters announced that Castlepalooza would be taking a break, would not be running that year and were looking to alter their format. This haitus was further extended due to the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

which ruled out a return in 2020 and 2021, leading to the festival's demise.

Background

Castlepalooza first took place in 2005 created by Katie Vance – this resulted in Castlepalooza 2006. It is promoted by Cherrycool Promotions.The festival tends to focus on newer and more established Irish acts. The first Castlepalooza had around 1,000 people in attendance but, whilst this has since increased to 4,999, Cherrycool Promotions intend to keep the capacity low. One of the unusual traits of the festival is that those who attend can walk around the castle on site and discover events hidden within.

2006 festival

The 2006 festival was held on the weekend of 30 July and was headlined by

The Chapters The Chapters are a six-nine piece band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The band are composed of Ross McNally, Michael Murphy, Ciaran Fortune, NC Lawlor, Aoife Ruth and Biggles Flys Again. Additional string, brass and guest players join ...

, Saucy Monky, 8 Ball and

The Blizzards 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 ...

, with penfold dm on the Saturday, whilst

Republic of Loose Republic of Loose were an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 2001, the band formerly consisted of lead vocalist Mick Pyro, bassist and vocalist Benjamin Loose, keyboardist Deco, guitarists and vocalists Dave Pyro and Brez, and drummer Coz ...

and

Delorentos Delorentos are a Dublin-based Irish alternative rock band, formed in 2005. They consist of Rónan Yourell (vocals, guitar, piano), Kieran McGuinness (vocals, guitar), Níal Conlan (bass, backing vocals) and Ross McCormick (drums, backing vocals) ...

took to the stage on Sunday with The Spikes beginning in an early morning slot. Also playing were The Gorgeous Colours, The Chakras and Neosupervital.

2007 festival

The 2007 festival was headlined by

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge was an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consists of sisters Joni, Kim, Debbie, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. I ...

, Noise Control, Mainline,

and Neosupervital. It took place alongside the free Indiependence festival which is set to occur in

Mitchelstown Mitchelstown () is a town in the north of County Cork, Ireland with a population of over 3,740. It is situated in the valley to the south of the Galtee Mountains. Mitchelstown is 13 km south-west of the Mitchelstown Cave, 53 km nor ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

on the same weekend. Castlepalooza, however, had full camping facilities and tickets were priced at €125. 40 bands took to two stages located in the castle grounds.

2008 festival

The 2008 festival took place over the August Bank Holiday weekend. A number of international bands were booked, including South African band

The Parlotones The Parlotones are a South African indie rock band hailing from Johannesburg, formed in 1998. The ensemble features Kahn Morbee on vocals and rhythm guitar, Paul Hodgson as lead guitarist, Glen Hodgson handling bass guitar, keyboards, and back ...

and the UK's

Mystery Jets Mystery Jets are an English indie rock band, formed on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The founding members still part of the band consist of Blaine Harrison (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Henry Harrison (lyrics), and Kapil Trivedi (dr ...

. They played the tiny event alongside Irish acts such as

Fight Like Apes Fight Like Apes (also referred to as FLApes or FLA) are an Irish alternative rock band formed in Dublin in 2006. Their final lineup consisted of Mary-Kate " MayKay" Geraghty (vocals and synth), Jamie "Pockets" Fox (keyboard and vocals), Conor G ...

and

The Flaws The Flaws were an Irish indie-rock quartet from Carrickmacross in County Monaghan. The band released their self entitled debut EP in mid-2005 which culminated in the signing of a five-album contract to Polydor UK/Universal Music in December 20 ...

. Profits from the festival went towards the ongoing restoration project at Charleville Castle, which has been in progress for 12 years. Grand Pocket Orchestra and Joe Echo won slots at the 2008 event by triumphing in the ''

'' "Your Band at Castlepalooza" competition. Dublin quartet Grand Pocket Orchestra trade in a distinctive " Pavement meets

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

" brand of indie, whilst singer-songwriter Joe Echo, aka Ciaran Gribbin, has won massive acclaim left, right, centre – and

Gary Lightbody Gareth John Lightbody (born 15 June 1976) is a Northern Irish musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has also founded the musical supergroups the Reindeer Section and T ...

2009 festival

The 2009 festival took place on 1 – 2 August. The line-up was announced on 22 April, including

David Kitt David Kitt (born 1975) is an Irish musician. He has released eight studio albums to date: ''Small Moments'', ''The Big Romance'', ''Square 1'', ''The Black and Red Notebook'', ''Not Fade Away (David Kitt album), Not Fade Away'', ''The Nightsaver ...

, Dark Room Notes, Project Jenny, Project Jan, R.S.A.G., Channel One, Robotnik,

The Lost Brothers The Lost Brothers are an Irish musical duo consisting of Mark McCausland and Oisin Leech, formerly of The Basement and The 747s. History In 2006, Leech appeared on Arctic Monkeys' cover of Barbara Lewis's '' Baby I'm Yours'', sharing lead voc ...

, Noise Control, 8 Ball, Glint and Le Galaxie. More acts were announced on 2 June 2009; these included The Followers of Otis, Super Extra Bonus Party, 202s, Skibunny, The Lowly Knights, Toy Horses, Scribble Sound System, The Hot Sprockets, So Cow, Yngve & the Innocent,

Hogan A hogan ( or ; from Navajo ' ) is the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house. A hogan can be round, cone-shaped, multi-sided, or squ ...

, Land Lovers, Lauren Guillery, The Spikes, Angel Pier and Not Squares. Other entertainments include live performances of the ''

Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent film, independent Musical film, musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White (producer), Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Stu ...

'', "crafternoon tea" and the Castle Palooza "party bus". Two bands were selected from twenty finalists chosen by the festival and ''

''. Killer Chloe were chosen to play the Saturday, whilst The Red Labels were chosen to play the Sunday.

2010 festival

31 July and 1 August 2010. The following line-up was announced on 7 April 2010:

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York,
with Fionn Regan Fionn Regan (born 1981) is an Irish folk musician and singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Bray, Regan came to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, '' The End of History'' in 2006. He had been releasing extended plays for si ...

Wave Machines Wave Machines was an English art pop band formed in Liverpool in 2007. The band released singles "The Greatest Escape We Ever Made" and "I Go I Go I Go" on Chess Club Records before signing with Neapolitan Music Limited in 2008. Three furthe ...

, Taylor McFerrin,

Codes In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ch ...

, Cashier No. 9, Lonelady, Adebisi Shank, Tu-Ki, James Vincent McMorrow, O Emperor, Robotnik, Alessis Ark, Colm Lynch, Funeral Suits, The Cast of Cheers, The Lowly Knights, Readers Wives, Samantha Marais, Attention Bebe, Funzo, The Blue Choir, Sarsparilla, Yes Cadets,

Daithí Ó Drónaí Daithí Ó Drónaí (born 16 March 1990) is an Irish musician and producer, best known for producing electronic music inspired by Irish culture under the artist name "Daithí". He debuted in 2009 as a participant on All Ireland Talent Show. Si ...

, Big Dish Go, Sounds of System Breakdown, Nakatomi Towers, Heroes in Hiding, Neptune City, Mercy The Sexton and DJs Steve Reddy and Scope.

2011 festival

29 to 31 July 2011. This year's festival had a maximum capacity of 3,000 attendees. The following line up was announced (in alphabetical order). Naughty by Nature, Clock Opera, Django Django,

Hudson Mohawke Ross Matthew Birchard (born 11 February 1986), better known by the stage name Hudson Mohawke, is a Scottish producer, composer, and DJ from Glasgow. He is known for his work in 21st century hip-hop and electronic music. A founding member of th ...

, Daithi O Dronai,

Admiral Fallow Admiral Fallow are a Scottish musical group formed in 2007 by singer-songwriter Louis Abbott and based in Glasgow. They were originally named Brother Louis Collective. The band's first album, ''Boots Met My Face'', was released worldwide in 201 ...

, Elaine Mai,

Adebisi Shank Adebisi Shank are a three-piece instrumental rock trio from County Wexford, Ireland consisting of guitarist Lar Kaye, bass guitarist Vincent McCreith and drummer Michael Roe. The band was signed to Richter Collective in Ireland, before the reco ...

, Bad to the Bone DJs, BigDishGo,

, Conall Bailey, Dazboy,

Dogs The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers ...

, El Hombre Jokes, Electric Penguins, Enemies, Go Panda Go,

Jape Jape is a synonym for a practical joke. Jape or JAPE may also refer to: * Jape (band), an Irish electronic/rock band * JAPE (linguistics), a transformation language widely used in natural language processing * JAPE, an automated pun generator * J ...

, Jogging, Kid Karate, Lasertom & the Blast Crew, Le Galaxie, Lost Chord, The Moths!, Onra, Papa Gee & The Colours Afrobeat Foundation, Planet Parade, Sacred Animals, Sleep Thieves, Squarehead, Steve Reddy, The Casanova Wave, The Danger Is, The Jimmy Cake, The Minutes, The Riptide Movement, The Young Folk, These Charming Men, Toby Karr, TransAutoRadio, Tu-Ki, Visionair, We Are Losers. Many more acts were announced closer to festival date. Including but not limited to. Attention Bebe, Doved DJs, Krystal Klear, The Kanyu Tree, Mercury Rev DJ's, We Cut Corners, Moths, Maud in Cahoots, Diamond Dagger, Dry the Rive, Evil C, The Pacifics, Somadrone, Bitches With Wolves, Ghost Estates.

2012 festival

3 to 5 August 2012. The first line of acts was announced on 26 April. including The Charlatans, Mercury Prize-nominated singer

Ghostpoet Ghostpoet (born Obaro Ejimiwe; 18 January 1983) is a British vocalist, songwriter and musician. He released five critically acclaimed albums with two being nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize. Based in Berlin, he has expanded his work t ...

, new British "glam-folk" artist

King Charles King Charles may refer to: Kings A number of kings of Albania, Alençon, Anjou, Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Ireland, Jerusalem, Naples, Navarre, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Scotland, Sicily, S ...

and UK beat producer Jon Phonics.Donal Dineen's Parish, Little Green Cars and recent Choice Music Prize winner

are among the Irish acts on the bill. The Festival also features dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip, Solar Bears, Mmoths, The Ambience Affair, Hush War Cry, Bouts, Le Galaxie, Katie Kim, Windings, Big dish go, Arman Giorgio, Cat Dowling, Cloud Castle lake, Diamond Dagger, DJ Baz, Double Agent 7, John Blek & the rats, Maria V, Melodica Deathship, Misselayneous, North Strand Kontra Band, REID, The Altered Hours, The Violet Roadkills, Toby Karr, Trumpets of Jericho, Tu-Ki, Young Wonder, and Many more.

References

External links

Official site

Charleville Castle Official Site
{{coord missing, County Offaly 2006 establishments in Ireland 2018 establishments in Ireland 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music Recurring events established in 2006 Rock festivals in Ireland Tourist attractions in County Offaly Indie rock festivals Summer in the Republic of Ireland Annual events in the Republic of Ireland