Live at Castle Mills celebrates its first year as Kilkenny festival

Live at Castle Mills had its inaugural live concert series as a festival along the River Nore in Kilkenny last weekend.

It was launched in partnership with the Kilkenny Nighttime Economy, which aims to host a vibrant and safe nightlife and arts scene in Kilkenny.

The festival took place on Friday July 17 and Saturday July 18 and had over 2,000 attendees. The lineup included English punk band Public Image Ltd., Northern Irish trio Ash, alternative metal band Kerbdog, folk singer Lisa O'Neill and Engine Alley.

Matt Berninger from The National performed on Saturday and it was his only Irish solo show this year.

The festival was organised over the course of two years by Kilkenny natives Willie Byrne and Darragh Butler.

"To have artists of the international standing of Public Image Ltd., Matt Berninger, Ash and Lisa O’Neill sharing a stage with our very own Kilkenny success stories Kerbdog and Engine Alley felt incredibly special," they said in a joint statement following the event. "We're very proud of what Live at Castle Mills became, and even prouder that we got to share this special place and an incredible line-up over two nights with so many people."

Butler told KCLR 96FM that a collective of music fans used to go to the venue during Covid-19, where they drew inspiration to start a festival there.

"During the COVID area, we used to kind of sneak down here for a few refreshments," he said. Every time we came down to the venue, we just thought this place is stunning. And, what a place for a gig. We want to have a gig here. So, yeah, we’ve been tipping away for two years, building it behind the scenes."

 

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