Cork: A destination for dance music
Bicep will be at Live at the Marquee in Cork on Sunday, June 2; Joy Orbison, Sally C, and Shee are also on the bill.
Nearly 30 years ago Cork hosted its version of one of the country's first big huge music festivals, in Feile, which welcomed the likes of The Prodigy, Underworld, Massive Attack, Chemical Brothers, Carl Cox, Laurent Garnier, Moby, The Orb, and Orbital to what is still considered to be one of the best festival line-ups this country ever had. Lots of these acts were big at the time, but some went on to become much bigger over time, and many returned to Cork in much bigger venues too (many of the dance acts played in a tent next to Páirc Uí Chaoimh).
It was a line-up that was years ahead of its time and dance music in Cork was in rude health in that era. The bar and club scene was vibrant and the Feile after-parties in Sir Henrys and other venues were packed.
In 1995 we didn’t really have much of a festival culture in Ireland and this was still a few years before Homelands and Creamfields helped bring a dance festival culture which really exploded in the 2000s.
Dance music has been mainstream for many years now and it is now dominating the pop charts and commercial radio. This is reflected in the announcements that are already in place for the big shows this summer in Cork and elsewhere.
Last June both the Chemicals and Prodigy returned to Independent Park (now Virgin Media Park), and this summer the Turners Cross venue welcomes Becky Hill, Belters Only, and Jazzy. We’ve intermittently had the likes of Justice, Sonny Fodera, Orbital, and Faithless at the Marquee, but apart from this, and the odd big show at Indiependence Festival, Cork has been relatively starved of huge dance shows in recent years.
There have been some big acts in the clubs (Kerri Chandler returns to Cyprus Avenue soon) but ultimately, the kind of acts that attract 5,000-plus can’t play here outside the short window of the Marquee and Virgin Media Park.
The Bicep news is therefore really welcome and they have programmed a one-day party that also features the legendary Joy Orbison. The Belfast duo are also welcoming Sally C and Shee to the bill which is part DJ set part live show with lights and visuals designed by David Rudnick.
Added to those previously announced Belters Only, Becky Hill, and Jazzy shows over in Virgin Media Park, it really does elevate the status of Cork as a dance music destination this summer.
The club scene isn’t amazing at the moment but there’s a lot of promoters and DJs doing their thing in bars and other venues, and there’s a good buzz amongst the young people regarding dance music at the moment here. Let’s hope we get even more big shows soon.
We’ve recently had a number of dance music events in Cork City Hall, which hosted techno and house on Culture Night and at the jazz weekend. It was also used by the Good Room over Christmas.
Cork Opera House has a lot of other commitments, but it was at least open to us for the Cork Jazz Festival, and there were some great nights there during the October Bank holiday weekend.
I wrote recently about how we can utilise other venues a bit better, and I’m sure our dance community would support this too.
Many of the big live music promoters have been a little more cagey since covid and this is reflected in the way that some festivals are running less regularly and with smaller line-ups.
Indie at Mitchelstown takes a well-earned break this summer while Longitude, another huge rite of passage festival for the post-Leaving Cert crowd, has a more stripped-back line-up these days. It’s now a two-day event rather than a three-day one and its line-up is full of big hitters.
Doja Cat, Central Cee, 21 Savage, D-Block Europe, Joel Corry and Becky Hill are on the bill, as are Dubliners Belters Only and Jazzy. It’s great to see Irish acts playing the big stages of such festivals.
