Heineken Green Energy will kick off on Saturday May 5, with headliners Kasabian aiming to blow the audience away with their blistering, infectious electro-rock. The group have an irresistible swagger and sense of self-confidence, which has been cemented by their now-enormous popularity, and a Best Live Act gong at the most recent BRIT awards.
If that isn’t enough to convince you, the terrific Irish support acts should seal the deal. The Blizzards are undoubtedly one of the more exciting home-grown acts of recent times, and their debut album A Public Display of Affection showcased a sense of pop fun and abandon that is sometimes missing from local bands.
Add Dublin rockers the Future Kings Of Spain to the bill – with their sweet Pixies thrash and a string of catchy singles – and it becomes hard to resist.
And there’s still plenty more to follow. Sunday May 6 sees the arrival of one Sinéad O’Connor at the Castle. O’Connor is one of the true legends of contemporary Irish music. She has a songbook that others would kill for, stretching from her classic debut The Lion And The Cobra up to this year’s Theology, which is scheduled for release in June. It’s a catalogue brimming over with classics, and the Castle should prove to be the perfect backdrop for O'Connor's performance.
The support ain’t half bad either. Kila will bring their deliriously enjoyable trad-fusion to the party, while precocious newcomers Delorentos should provide more indie-rockin’ appeal. Their fantastic new album In Love With Detail will still be hot off the shelves, so it should be the ideal time to see them in action.