Revels and rituals underway at 10th Body & Soul
Body & Soul’s 10th joyous sonic journey through the solstice-kissed fields and forest dancefloors of Ballinlough Castle has just got underway.
The visionary behind Ireland’s often-imitated but never-equalled independent festival, director Avril Stanley, says: “Body & Soul's 10th Anniversary line-up will lift your heart and send your hands into the solstice night sky. As well as presenting some of the most interesting, critically acclaimed and progressive Irish and international acts working today, Body & Soul will once again unite our guests for three days and nights to share the solstice and revel in ritual. There's a rich offering of arts, comedy, wellbeing, gastronomy and performance to expand horizons and satiate the soul."
Acts include:
Born of a nocturnal encounter, Mashrou’ Leila fuses the craftiness of a music workshop with the punch of stadium rock. With their distinctive approach to storytelling, they have crafted some of the most melancholic ballads and raucous anthems in contemporary alternative Arabic music. The Black Lips have come in many guises, from insolent garage-rockers to innocent pop balladeers to good-ol’-boy country crooners. Undoubtedly, pioneers of the new garage-rock revival of recent years and infamous for their onstage antics, they know exactly how to work a crowd.
‘Festival legends in the making’, King Kong Company played an explosive Body & Soul set in 2017 and their eagerly-awaited return comes as they’ve established themselves as one of the most entertaining and unpredictable live acts around. Camp, cool and uplifting, Confidence Man bring their sensationally wacky electro-pop from down-under. Engagingly quirky indie outfit FEET have shown serious promise as one of the most exciting guitar bands coming up in the UK.
Further highlights include Molly Sterling, a Dublin-based singer-songwriter, whose music takes on a dark and deep direction while her sonorous vocals are raw and overflowing with exposed emotion, but delivered with incredible precision; Junior Brother, an idiosyncratic, challenging and richly lyrical singer-songwriter from Kerry, fuses elements of Irish and English folk with a deeply unique sensibility; and Proper Micro NV, pseudonym of Limerick electro producer/singer-songwriter Rory Hall, showcasing the further evolution of his terrific electronic, dance-driven and theatrical act.
Explore….. the sounds of the fusion of electronic beats with soulful vocals from Dublin collective PrYmary Colours; the compelling mixture of classical training and urbanity in the songs of Kitt Philippa; finding your own voice at zero-commitment-maximum-craic choir Sing Along Social; energy inspiring primitive vocal rhythms and off-the-cuff melodic hooks and lyrical content from Æ Mak; Dundalk band Just Mustard’s unique blend of noise, trip-hop and electronic influenced music; blissful sonic textures and spine-tingling, knee-buckling rhythms from happyalone and pioneering emotional dance music from EMBRZ.
Friday on the Reckless in Love Stage will see a Homebeat takeover featuring DJs like Sevensol (Kann) coming from playing some of the best clubs in Europe with deep, smooth, house music; the effortlessly genre-spanning Cáit; dynamic and expressive sounds from Neil Flynn; and Wicklow-based machine-fetishist house and techno enthusiast Automatic Tasty. Chymera joins the Maeve lineup on Sunday, the Berlin-based Irish DJ’s tracks range from deeper house to tougher techno, usually with a distinct focus on melody. Mother will rule the roost at the Reckless in Love Stage on Saturday, with feet stomping electro/disco bangers from the Mother DJs, DISCONAUTS, Claire Beck, Kelly-Anne Byrne and Kate Brennan Harding; aligning big soulful vocals with nu-disco stomp are Faune (live); the Drag Ball features Victoria Secret, Pixie Woo, Regina George and Drag Aerobics from Bunny.
Bringing a blast of raw Irish talent to the Orchard Lounge by Bulmers are ‘anarchic’ performers TPM, Limerick genre-fusion meets crash humour band Post Punk Podge & The Technohippies; garage pop band Fonda (also from Limerick); high tension wire Phibsboro post-punk trio Extravision; Lowlek drawing on elements of psych, rockabilly & crooner ballads; Ghostking is Dead ‘a musical prodigy, with a bone-dry sense of humour to boot’; guitar driven blends of soul from Eve Clague; old school lo-fi space pop act Nudy Boy Nature; the charms of ‘alt-wonky pop’ act Myles Manley; and Fixity a fascinating mix of krautrock and jazz, providing a hypnotic sound - both arresting and emotionally rewarding.
Situated in a forest glade deep in the woods, Arbutus Yarns Theatre in collaboration with TG4 is a place to recharge at a gentler pace while still enjoying some of the finest musicians from around Ireland and beyond. Let yourself be immersed in an easy going line-up of live music including trad from genre-defying and boundary-busting Moxie; trad from John Francis; Cork singer-songwriter Marlene Enright; Sligo Trad-Hop collective JP Trio; tunes from the legendary DJ Donal Dineen; singer and button-accordionist Conor Connolly; experiments in music and physical theatre from Anna Mullarkey; spoken word poetry from Lewis Kenny; Peter Pamf with his trademark backing of heavy kick drums and strange noises; echoes of 60’s boss nova and 70’s folk from Sam Clague; new songs as Gaeilge from Róisín Seoighe; the intersection of folk and jazz from Hatchlings; songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sive; Dutch folk from Jane Willow, the music and song stylings of West Kerry from Meabh Begley, songs and fiddle from Helen Diamond; Cian Finn inspired by the sounds of world music, dub and soul; songs from Riona Madigan steeped in the trad of Dingle, intricate guitar stylings and mellifluous vocals from Dubliner Niall Thomas and beautifully dark pop from Cat Dowling.
In the 10 years since a wave of creative energy formed Body & Soul as a stand-alone event, the team have pioneered the holistic and sensory stimulation benchmarks festival goers have come to expect from Irish festivals today…. Lose yourself in a magical immersive escape through walled gardens, natural amphitheatre and the tangle of ancient woodlands; revel in the moonlight with new music pioneers meeting legends and cult favourites; discover hidden art installations, immersive theatre experiences and impromptu spoken word performances under a canopy of centuries-old trees; speak your truth at incisive political discussions and insightful workshops; let young imaginations run riot at Soul Kids; indulge yourself at the sustainability-driven and ever-popular Food on Board, where gastronomic indulgence is catered for by some of Ireland’s most celebrated artisan gourmet producers, complemented by the clink of champagne flutes.
With wellbeing at its essence since inception, Body & Soul’s The Sanctuary offers an extensive indulgence, performance and talks programme finessed over a decade, attracting top practitioners and speakers from all over the country. The extended programme will include world music, performance, spiritual reflections, activists and discussions. Massage therapists, leading yogis, sound healers, classical overtures await, with the Spa available to soothe the senses in seaweed baths, wood-fired hot tubs, Balinese steam treatments and transformative tonics.
Truly independent (an increasing rarity on the festival scene), Body & Soul has a deeply-integrated commitment to sustainability and in 2018 became the first ever Irish festival to receive a Highly Commended from the Greener Festival Awards. Its dedicated eco-campsite option called Us&You, where campers commit to ‘leave no trace’ doubles in size year-on-year.
‘A Cutting Edge Soul and a Heart Shaped Mind’ - The Soul of Body & Soul Festival
In the 10 years since a wave of creative energy formed Body & Soul as a stand-alone music and arts festival, it has pioneered the holistic and wellness festival space. Using it as a platform for positive personal change, festival visionary Avril Stanley, whose background is in psychotherapy and Chinese medicine, wants to provoke conversation and practice around spirituality and mindfulness in 2019.
‘Body & Soulers’ are invited to lose themselves in the magical immersive escape of the walled gardens and tangle of ancient woodlands; speak their truth at the incisive discussions and insightful workshops and recuperate and rejuvenate in the quiet woodland corner - The Sanctuary.
According to Avril ,The Sanctuary space is just that, a sanctuary away from the hum-drum routine of work life and the ever increasing challenges of the world we live in today. “We want to create a nurturing restorative environment to promote and support well-being. We aspire to facilitate people exploring different versions of themselves and how they live their lives. Helping us to create that space, and responding to this year’s festival theme of ritual, are some of Ireland’s biggest thinkers and dreamers who will inspire and impel conversations, big and small, on spirituality today throughout the festival weekend.”
Join Michael Harding, bestselling writer and singular observer of Irish life as he discusses ritual, religion, love and sex, and his ongoing search for meaning. Mixing stories from the road with his book ‘On Tuesdays I’m a Buddhist’, he will inspire with his insights about the human condition, the narratives we weave around the self, and the ultimate bliss of living in the present. As Chief Psychiatrist for the Eastern Health Board (EHB), Ivor Browne tried to reform the Irish mental health system but faced enormous opposition from those who couldn’t accept his unorthodox methods. He suggests that the heart, rather than the brain, is the centre of our being. Known for his opposition to traditional psychiatry, he will be interviewed by Donal Dineen and talk about his autobiography ‘Music & Madness’.
In a time of fractured relationships, the search for love is increasingly urgent. Most of us are or have been broken-hearted, and most of us, in one way or another, are seeking healing. Join Benig Mauger as she explores Love in a Modern Age.
One of our last remaining traditional seanchaithe Eddie Lenihan has been called a ‘national treasure’. Enjoy his wisdom as he shares how storytelling, given its true space, still has the power to mystify, to connect us to places we never realised existed, or had forgotten about, especially in our own land. Learn how to identify, use and appreciate how the natural bounty of the land can bring mindfulness and appreciation to the food we consume through Angie Kinsella’s Foraging & Forest School Workshop.
From a long line of folk healers, Martin Duffy from the Irish Centre for Shamanic Studies Ireland has done fieldwork with indigenous Shamans from Mongolia, the Amazon, Andes, and Africa. He will explore how Shamanism plays a major part in Jungian and Transpersonal Psychology, and share insights around using imagery for healing, and working with death and dying.
Dil Wickremasinghe has one vision and that is to create an inclusive and equal Ireland where all residents can live a fuller and more authentic life. Dil is a social entrepreneur and, in 2013, co-founded the mental health support service Insight Matters with her wife Anne Marie Toole. Together they hope to “inspire change in self and society.”
Have you ever wanted to stand up against injustice, but weren’t sure where to start? Led by campaigner Emily Duffy, Uplift – People Powered Change will present a play aimed at the concept of Theatre of the Oppressed. As an active participant, the audience leaves with powerful skills, more equipped to stand up against oppression in their own lives and in wider society.
Deafness in childhood catalysed founder of the Naked Voice, Chloë Goodchild’s deep lifetime’s experiential research into the voice as a catalyst for personal evolution and transformation. Through wild stories and songs, Chloe empowers her audiences to discover their own voices. Physical, mental and emotional wellbeing is inspired by the restorative and transporting music and performance from Slí na Croí’s Malinké Music, Felicity Byrne’s Kirtan Chanting and Caitríona Nic Ghiollaphádraig’s 5 Rhythms among others.
Marking the summer solstice Body & Soul will host the largest outdoor meditation the country has ever seen with over 3,000 people expected to attend a special 'Solstice Assembly & Meditation'. Hosted by psychotherapist Ger Murphy, it will take place between 12-1pm on Saturday at the Body & Soul main stage.
John Cantwell and Karen Ward of Slí An Chroí School of Celtic Shamanism will also invite Body & Soul revelers to partake in a Summer Solstice Ceremony, a highpoint of their work with the festival throughout the Celtic calendar.
The expanded programme doesn’t mean there’s any less for those seeking to rejuvenate their tired festival bodies and soothe their souls. Finessed over a decade, The Sanctuary attracts 50 top holistic practitioners from all over the country; alongside the Spa featuring seaweed baths, wood-fired hot tubs, Balinese steam treatments and transformative tonics. The Sanctuary Stage hums with the sound of sound healers, yoga teachers, and more in this therapeutic refuge where the vast range of treatments include Nada Yoga, Headcleaner Meditation, Yoga and Earthing, Soma Breathwork, Hatha Yoga, Cacau Dance, Yoga Beats, Awakening the Heart, Sound Baths, Lets Get It Om, Mindful Macramé, Yoga Ritual, Drumming and Laughter Yoga.