Stevie G: Fontaines for Slane – we’re in a great era for Irish music
Grian Chatten of Fontaines DC performs at Electric Picnic 2026. They play Slane next year.
Only two Irish bands had previously headlined Slane, and the Fontaines now join U2 and Thin Lizzy. I’ve never been to Slane myself but have seen Fontaines a number of times, and I think it’s great that a current Irish band are headlining the iconic venue while pretty much at their peak. Looking through the list of headliners, it’s generally been a list of rock ‘n’ roll legends, with bands such as Guns n’ Roses, Queen, R.E.M, Metallica and solo acts like Bowie, Madonna, Eminem, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and, of course, Bruce Springsteen taking to the stage there.
We should definitely be celebrating that an Irish band is doing two shows there next year, in this amazing time for music on this island. It’s very rare that such high-profile gigs are by bands at their peak. Huge gigs in Ireland are generally hosted by legacy acts and the promoters have been proven correct in backing a young current Irish band to do these shows. We are in a great era for music here, and there are many bands now making waves both here and internationally.
Young Cork and Irish bands may not grow up dreaming of playing Slane, but the pathways for our groups here are certainly better these days. Those complaining about the Fontaines should bear in mind that even in the 80s, 90s and 2000s, there were many other great bands here who never got near such an opportunity.
A friend recently remarked that the Fontaines reminded him of both the Fall and Irish legends Whipping Boy, and there is no doubt that circumstances back in the day would have made it much more difficult for capable bands such as Whipping Boy, and other great Irish bands, of their day. In 2026 bands such as the Fontaines are embraced in a much bigger way by music fans and the wider public in general. We now have Gurriers, Kneecap, Florence Road, Cardinals, The Mary Wallopers, Babyrat, The Cliffords and many more acts playing a wide variety of music and doing well. In truth, we always did have great bands, but there seems to be a better support infrastructure for them these days.
As the curtain came down on festival season there was a lot of discussion from older music fans about how great the festival line-ups of the older days were, but I would counter that there is a better Irish presence at such festivals right now. Older music fans are always gonna be nostalgic for the music of their youth, but the line-ups these days are far more varied and diverse than in the 90s and 2000s, when it was often just white rock bands who dominated. This may well have reflected the music tastes of the day, and the 90s were a particularly strong indie and alternative era. Ironically, that era is back in many ways now too.
But there are a lot more women fronting bands at festivals these days, and non rock genres such as hip-hop/r&b/metal/punk/trad and multiple electronic genres are much more represented now too. Ireland is obviously a lot more multicultural now too, and there are many new faces representing the music scene here. Lots of the negativity surrounding modern line-ups points to the blandless of certain acts high on the bill, but as a regular festival goer, I have to say, it’s really easy to avoid these stages. And if you are in your 40s and don’t recognise the names on a festival poster, it’s not necessarily the festival’s fault, especially if you are not the target audience.
The outdoor festival season is pretty much at its end now, and thoughts will soon turn to the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, headlined by the likes of Masters at Work, Berlioz and Yussef Dayes, which I’ll be previewing fully in the next few weeks.
