Festival Voices – Kean Kavanagh: "You can see international artists are blown away by the energy of the crowds in Ireland"

Kean Kavanagh

The nature of Irish festivals is a scene of like-minded people coming together to celebrate. You’re going to bump into so many people you’re either good friends with already, or whose music you admire.

When you go to gigs by international artists, you can see they’re blown away by the energy of the crowds in Ireland. That’s the great thing about an outdoor Irish festival as opposed to a gig: you’re literally out living in the party.

I love playing All Together Now  – I love where it fits in the summer. It feels like I go there and see the friends I might not see the rest of the year.  It’s a really good meeting place to celebrate Irish music. In the last few years, most of the really high quality I’ve seen there has actually been Irish, as opposed to even some of the headliners who might be from abroad. There’s something really exciting about that; it’s like we’re holding our own against anyone.

My top festival tip: bring a really good reusable water bottle with you – I recommend the Nalgene one litre bottles, with a small screw-top.

• Kean Kavanagh plays All Together Now, Co. Waterford (July 30 – August 2).

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