HIGHS
CMAT’s headline set
CMAT solidified her place at the forefront of Irish music with her All Together Now headline set. Alongside her powerhouse performance, the Irish country-pop singer also got the crowd to do what she called the “Dunboyne County Meath Two-Step”, in which thousands of fans swayed from side to side, in a trance to her lyrics. They then applauded thunderously for a sign in the crowd that was shown on the main stage’s screen: “CMAT mar uachtarán” – “CMAT for president”. After the performance she gave at Curraghmore Estate on Saturday night, they might just be right.
[ CMAT’s powerhouse set could be the best performance at All Together Now 2025Opens in new window ]
Irish artists ruling the weekend
The other big stand-out performance was from Fontaines DC, who, like CMAT, drew one of the largest main-stage audiences of this year’s festival. How thrilling to see Irish musicians at the very top – and perfectly comfortable there, to boot.
Relocated Arcadia stage
The steam-punk goth arena’s new location made it easier to access and increased its capacity – a great innovation if you wanted to rave until 4am to hardcore techno accompanied by theatrical flames spewing from the baroque stage.
Campsites’ closeness
The campsites’ proximity to the main arena was an absolute win. It meant that, during the day, people could gather in the communal areas, get lunch and listen to the daytime acts – something that doesn’t feel as viable at bigger festivals, such as Electric Picnic. The Bandstand area, in particular, had crowds sitting on the grass, catching up, having food and listening to acts throughout the day.
RM Block
Chilling in the Curraghmore gardens
One of the other ways that some of the weekend’s 30,000 festivalgoers chilled out was by heading for the gardens of the Curraghmore Estate. Sitting back as a seanchoíche storytelling session unfolded in the background was the perfect way to get a quick respite. Getting a wave from the lucky few staying in the big house was a bonus.
Festival look
If you were to bottle up the vibes of Drury Street in Dublin and send them on the train down to Waterford, that would be All Together Now 2025. This year’s festival look included jerseys, Fontaines DC and CMAT merch, short shorts and ruffled mini skirts, not to mention Pellador jumpers, Bohs jerseys – see Lows, below – and mullets. Also, solidarity to the girls wearing cowboy boots: the blisters can’t be forgiving.
Ecofriendly audience
The arena felt very clean – much cleaner than at other festivals. This was presumably in part down to the staff who were constantly cleaning up rubbish, but also down to ecofriendly festivalgoers who made sure to take their waste away with them.
LOWS
Preposterous cost of food
The lowest price for a meal at an Irish festival is now €15 – assuming you don’t want to a drink to go with it. Festivals are supposed to be where we go to escape the pressures of every day life, but the cost-of-living crisis was making its presence felt at All Together Now. At Glastonbury three-quarters of the food trucks have a £6 offering, according to the huge British festival. That sounds like an idea well worth emulating.
Prices at the 24-hour Londis
In what economy is it acceptable for two cans of Sprite to cost €8? In the economy of the All Together Now’s campgrounds, it seems. But the flagship shop on what quickly became known as the strip – a string of shops that attracted behaviour similar to what you might see in Albufeira or Zante – was nevertheless a lifeline for many. It sold essentials like a pint of milk and meal-deal sandwiches, possibly sustaining thousands over the weekend.
Water waits
On the ecofriendly front, many people brought their own water bottles. This is great in theory, but the campsites could have had a few more taps to facilitate refilling them as the queues got pretty long at times.
Bohs’ Fontaines DC overload
Bohemian FC’s Fontaines DC shirts are eye-catching – and how great to see an Irish soccer team in the spotlight – but it would have been nice to see some variety around the site. Also, have the hipsters moved on and embraced GAA jerseys as “League of Ireland is cool” fatigue sets in? The prominence of GAA club tops suggests that may be the case.
Sunday-night rain
You always want to go out on top, so it was slightly disappointing when it began to drizzle on Sunday night, especially after a particularly dry and sunny weekend. It didn’t stop the crowds from flocking to Nelly Furtado to round out the weekend, although it did mean the predrinks were rather wet if your group didn’t think ahead of time and bring a marquee.
