Body & Soul adds The Blessed Madonna, Denise Chaila, The Murder Capital and more

Body & Soul festival have added 31 new acts to the line-up, following the already announced Moderat, Gilles Peterson, Shanti Celeste, BCUC, Sorcha Richardson and Aoife Nessa Frances for the Summer Solstice.

Ireland's longest running independent festival will welcome the electric energy of The Blessed Madonna, the first woman to be named Mixmag’s DJ of the year. She’s joined by leaders of a new era of Irish music, Choice Music Prize winner Denise Chaila, co-founder of independent record label Soft Boy Records Kojaque and The Murder Capital. The Dublin rockers will be performing material from their brand new critically acclaimed album, Gigi's Recovery, while and Kneecap will tear up the stage with their bombastic merge of Irish and English, satirical rap, laden with unapologetic societal commentary.

LIVE AT ALOFT... Hot Press presents The Murder Capital Live at Aloft Dublin City.

Elsewhere, the former lead guitarist of The War On Drugs, Kurt Vile & The Violators brings his solo works to Body & Soul and one of the most legendary partnerships in music, Fabio & Grooverider and The Outlook Orchestra (A/V Show) come to throw down the history of jungle and drum and bass. The legendary duo join Denise Chaila and Kojaque in celebrating 50 Years of Hip Hop at Body & Soul along the Hennessy Music Trail.

11-piece techno marching band, MEUTE, are included - and the mesmerising Beth Orton will bring her signature folktronica to the star-filled night skies of Body & Soul. Public Service Broadcasting will douse Westmeath in infectious energy with their combination of electronics and surging guitar rock.

Hailing from the Sahara Desert region of Northern Mali, global world music superstars Tinariwen promise to whip up a Body & Soul storm with their unique guitar-driven meld of traditional Tuareg sounds, African music and Western rock.

Carlow folk-duo and brothers, Ye Vagabonds join the lineup with their timeless storytelling and ethereal harmonies. Eight-piece group, Kokoroko will play their unique fusion of jazz and Afrobeat, while Welsh chanteuse and electronic producer Gwenno will gift her unique musical stylings to the Body & Soul tribe. Amsterdam based duo WEVAL bring their dance floor focused live experience straight off the back of an extensive EU, UK and North American tour.

Ye Vagabonds. Credit Rich Gilligan.

More homegrown talent comes from Ailbhe Reddy, who recently announced her new album Endless Affair will drop on St. Patrick’s Day, March 2023 and London electronic duo REAL LIES are lining up to deliver a relentlessly propulsive club-ready set.

Anna Mieke’s lyrically ornate and instrumental delicacies will lull listeners to a dreamlike space, Neo-soul trailblazer, RUTI continues to radiate those lakeside summer vibes, while Choice Music Prize 2022 Best Album nominees Thumper, arrive with one of the sharpest, tightest noise-rock feasts on the festival circuit.

Creating more communal dancefloor magic will be South London duo, Joy Anonymous, and run away pop sensations Sing Along Social, while Junior Brother delivers an alt folk set that bears out his Irish Times ‘Best Irish Act of 2019’ accolade. The wonderfully unique Kormac's Equivalent Exchange offers an all-senses dance-floor experience, blending electronica with orchestra, an array of vocalists, rappers and left-field musicians creating a joyous cacophony of music.

Junior Brother supporting CMAT at 3Olympia Theatre, December 2022. Copyright Laura Klepeisz/hotpress.com

Emerging after a two-year hiatus in 2022, Body & Soul reimagined its roots as a smaller, boutique festival with a carefully curated atmosphere.

Heading into 2023, it continues to evolve this intimate experience with just 5,000 weekend tickets being made available. Body & Soul remains strictly over 21s but welcomes families back to Ballinlough for this edition, with children aged 13 and below. Body & Soul is aiming to become Ireland's first circular festival by 2027.

Community takes centre stage this year with a three day celebration of the diverse creative landscape of Ireland. A theme that will be woven into the very fabric of the festival to celebrate the boundary breaking makers, creators, artists, performers and free-thinking festival-goers that have journeyed with Body & Soul year-on-year.

Body & Soul Festival 2022 at Ballinlough Castle, Co. Westmeath, 17th– 19th June. Copyright Ruth Medjber.

At the very centre of the programme is the incredible 35 foot tall, totem-like wooden performance space - The Beacon Soundsystem, a bespoke creation from master craftsman Toby Hatchett. Returning after a wildly successful debut at Body & Soul 2022, revellers will party late into the night beneath its sentinel 100 ft laser and state of the art 360 degree Function One sound system.

Moving into its own unique arena this year, it will host an array of world class international and local DJs, and hypnotic live performers, including a landmark All Female Friday line up led by Avalon Emerson (AD 93) - a DJ renowned for her dynamic approach that reaches into all eras and genres of dance music and joined under the Ballinlough skies by the already announced Bristol powerhouse Shanti Celeste, the massively in-demand Australian electronic producer and DJ, HAAi alongside homegrown heroes, Kerry-native, Efa O’Neill and Berlin based Sara Miller.

Keeping the body moving and the heart pulsing all weekend long will be the aforementioned The Blessed Madonna, and new to the line-up, the extraordinary Gerd Janson, one of the world’s most respected proponents of house and techno, a performer who continues to defy genre, retaining a residency at Frankfurt’s Robert-Johnson club since 2000. Body & Soul are delighted to add Coco Maria, a selector, curator and radio host with original style and impeccable taste, who joins the festival alongside previously announced BBC star and Brownswood Recordings label boss Gilles Peterson.

The Beacon Soundsystem further cements its status as a sacred dance floor, as Body & Soul once again celebrate the coming of the Summer Solstice with The Pagan Rave - a ceremonial salute to the festival’s Solstice roots, featuring over 20 performers in breathtaking handmade costumes and masks.

Head down to Ballinlough Castle this June 16th-18th for a weekend of connection and escape.

Early Bird Tickets: SOLD OUT
Tier 1 Tickets: SOLD OUT
Tier 2 Weekend Camping from €239.00 now available here