- Witnness
infobox music festival
music_festival_name =
location =County Meath ,Ireland (2000 - 2002)
County Kildare ,Ireland (2003)
years_active = 2000 - 2003
founded_by =
dates = First weekend of August (2000 - 2001)
Second weekend of July (2002 - 2003)
genre =Alternative rock ; rockWitnness was an Irish
music festival , sponsored byGuinness , which ran for four consecutive summers from 2000 to 2003. Originally it was held atFairyhouse Racecourse inCounty Meath , but it was moved toPunchestown Racecourse inCounty Kildare for its final year. In 2004, Guinness were replaced byHeineken as sponsors, and the festival continued as before at Punchestown, changing its name toOxegen .2000 Festival
The 2000 festival was the first Witnness festival to be held. It took place on the
August 5 and 6 2000 in Fairyhouse Racecourse inCounty Meath ,Ireland .The main event was supported by several smaller local gigs in and around Dublin featuring artists playing smaller venues than they would normally play. A promotional
Enhanced CD containing music, videos and interactive toys was distributed free of charge in participating clubs and pubs.The line-up included Travis,
Beck ,David Gray , Bell X1, Marbles, Paul Weller,Asian Dub Foundation ,Johnny Moy ,Badly Drawn Boy ,The Undertones ,Paddy Casey ,Happy Mondays ,Death in Vegas ,Hothouse Flowers ,Watercress ,Leftfield ,Toploader , Wilt, All Saints, andTherapy? .2001 Festival
The 2001 festival again took place in Fairyhouse on
August 4 and 5 2001. Amongst the bands playing were Muse,Fun Lovin' Criminals ,Faithless andThe Avalanches .Also on the line-up were Ash, Placebo, Shack, The Charlatans, Stereophonics,
Neil Finn ,The Waterboys ,Evan Dando , Texas,Frank Black ,Snow Patrol ,Alabama 3 , Turn,The Frames , Relish,The White Stripes , James, andDavid Kitt .2002 Festival
:"For further information and photos, see [http://www.showbizireland.com/news/july02/15-witnness02.shtml here] ."The 2002 festival was moved from August to
July 13 and 14 at Fairyhouse Racecourse. The lineup includedThe Chemical Brothers ,2 Many DJ's ,Basement Jaxx ,The Dandy Warhols ,Badly Drawn Boy ,Green Day ,The Foo Fighters ,Sonic Youth ,Mercury Rev ,No Doubt ,The Prodigy ,Damien Rice , Mogwai, The Redneck Manifesto,The Frames , Oasis,Lemon Jelly ,Massive Attack ,The Polyphonic Spree ,The Coral ,Primal Scream ,Nina Hynes ,Jimmy Eat World ,The Hives ,The Devlins ,Turn ,The Libertines ,Hoobastank ,Spiritualized ,The Jimmy Cake ,Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ,Gemma Hayes , Idlewild,The Complete Stone Roses , Rival Schools,Cooper Temple Clause ,Dogs Die In Hot Cars ,The Beta Band , Leaves, Starsailor andDavid Kitt .2003 Festival
The last ever Witnness festival took place across five stages in a new venue,
Punchestown Racecourse inCounty Kildare , onJuly 12 and 13, 2003. Tickets went on-sale FridayApril 11 at 8 a.m. and cost €59.50 (for one day), €109.50 (for both days) and €130.50 (for both days plus camping).Saturday was headlined by
Coldplay and also featuredSugababes ,Badly Drawn Boy ,Supergrass , Underworld,The Streets ,The Coral ,The Roots ,Death in Vegas ,The Complete Stone Roses ,Röyksopp ,Gemma Hayes , Mogwai,The Thrills , Appleton,Mull Historical Society ,Ed Harcourt ,The Rapture and many more. Sunday was headlined by David Gray andManic Street Preachers [cite web|url=http://www.virtualfestivals.com/festivals/reviews/521|title="Witnness 2003: Manic Street Preachers to headline!"|date=2003-04-13|accessdate=2008-03-03|publisher=virtualfestivals.com ] and also featuredThe Cardigans ,The Polyphonic Spree ,Super Furry Animals ,Beth Orton ,The Music ,The Flaming Lips ,Tricky ,The Datsuns ,Keith Flint ,Calexico ,The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster ,Kings of Leon andHar Mar Superstar . [cite web|url=http://www.virtualfestivals.com/festivals/reviews/636|title="Witnness 2003: Full Line-up Revealed!"|date=2003-06-02|accessdate=2008-03-03|publisher=virtualfestivals.com ] Others to feature includedDoves ,The Thrills ,Turin Brakes ,Nightmares on Wax andDamien Rice . [cite web|url=http://www.virtualfestivals.com/festivals/reviews/507|title="Doves, Turin Brakes, Keith Flint & more for Witnness!"|date=2003-04-07|accessdate=2008-03-03|publisher=virtualfestivals.com ]The Flaming Lips were stepped up the bill on the Sunday to replaceThe White Stripes (cancelled due to frontmanJack White suffering a broken hand) and by all accounts delivered a well-received set which included a version of The White Stripes's hit "Seven Nation Army ".References
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