Castlepalooza

infobox music festival
music_festival_name = Castle Palooza


caption = Castle Palooza logo
location = Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland
years_active= 2006 - present
dates = August 2 - 3
genre = Indie-Rock
website = [http://www.castlepalooza.com/ WWW.CASTLEPALOOZA.COM]

Castle Palooza [ [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=87138760 MySpace.com - Castle Palooza - 31 - Fille - IE - www.myspace.com/castlepalooza ] ] (sometimes spelt Castlepalooza) is an annual Irish independent music festival, the latest of which took place at Charleville Castle (described as being situated in Ireland's most ancient primordial oak woods) in Tullamore, County Offaly over the 2007 August Bank Holiday weekend (4 and 5). The 2006 festival was described by "Hot Press" as a "bite-sized Electric Picnic, held in the grounds of a 17th-century castle, with the added bonus of indoor toilets and showers". Ticket holders (of which there are 1500) have exclusive access to the castle all day over the weekend with art exhibitions, a fortune teller, masseuse, games, a cocktail bar, comedy club and burlesque shows on view alongside the music. Some of the proceeds from each ticket go towards the ongoing Charleville Castle Restoration Project.

According to "Hot Press", the 2008 edition will be held from August 2-3.

2006 festival

The 2006 festival was held on the weekend of July 30 and was headlined by The Chapters, Saucy Monky, 8 Ball and [The Blizzards] , with penfold dm on the Saturday, whilst Republic of Loose and Delorentos 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, Noise Control, Mainline, The Chapters and Neosupervital. It took place alongside the free Indie-pendence festival which is set to occur in Mitchelstown, County Cork on the same weekend. Castle Palooza, however, had full camping facilities and tickets were priced at €125, as well as the handsomest "cocktail" barmen in the occidental hemisphere. [cite web|url=http://www.muse.ie/music-ireland-music_news-festivals/castlepalooza-line-up-announced/spId/713228E9-E252-C8DC-987448C7324F34E9.html|title="Castlepalooza line-up announced"|date=2007-05-09|accessdate=2008-05-19|publisher=muse.ie] 40 bands took to two stages located in the castle grounds.

2008 festival

The 2008 festival took place over the August 2-3 Bank Holiday weekend. A number of international bands were booked, including South African band The Parlotones and the UK's Mystery Jets. They played the tiny event alongside Irish acts such as Republic of Loose, Fight Like Apes and The Flaws. The Castle Palooza capacity remained at 2000 and the flushing toilets and hot showers returned. The festival also added a charitable aspect with profits going towards the ongoing restoration project at Charleville Castle, which has been in progress for 12 years. [cite web|url=http://www.phantom.ie/content/view/1504/104/|title="Mystery Jets, Republic of Loose for Castlepalooza"|date=2008-04-22|accessdate=2008-04-25|publisher=Phantom FM]

Grand Pocket Orchestra and Joe Echo won slots at the 2008 event by triumphing in the "Hot Press" "Your Band At Castlepalooza" competition. [cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/4684436.html|title="Your Band At Castlepalooza winners announced!"|date=2008-07-24|accessdate=2008-07-26|publisher="Hot Press"] Dublin quartet Grand Pocket Orchestra trade in a distinctive "Pavement meets Liza Minnelli" brand of indie, whilst singer-songwriter Joe Echo, aka Ciaran Gribbin, has won massive acclaim left, right, centre – and Gary Lightbody.

Dublin-based band The Radio launched a request for help after they lost a bass guitar at Castlepalooza. The band were forced to borrow an instrument after theirs went missing on the Sunday. They had to appeal to fellow musicians Grand Pocket Orchestra after bass player Jason Carthy realised his instrument was missing just before their set at the Tullamore festival. The misplaced guitar is a brown sunburst coloured Fender Precision Bass in a black case, which is missing knobs on the volume and tone controls. Carthy told Phantom News that it almost ruined his weekend:

".....we're playing two more festivals this summer and I can't afford to go and buy a new one. It was actually a really cool festival, but the whole losing the bass thing kind of put a dampner on it..."

He was inspired to appeal to radio listeners after Ham Sandwich were successfully reunited with their gear after an appeal on Phantom 105.2. Anyone with information can contact the band via their MySpace page. [cite web|url=http://www.phantom.ie/content/view/1727/104/|title="Can anybody help The Radio?"|date=2008-08-06|accessdate=2008-08-06|publisher=Phantom FM]

References

External links

* [http://www.castlepalooza.com/ Official website]
* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=87138760 Castle Palooza MySpace]