Possibly our favorite Irish festival is back, and as usual, their line up is just about the best I’ve seen so far. It lacks the big names, but to be honest, I rarely get excited about seeing the bigger ones. It’s the likes of Dan Deacon, Matthew E White and Nightmares on Wax that catch my imagination. You can see the full line up (so far) below and see what you make of it all.

First Installment of The Beautiful, Blissful & Bizarre : Body&Soul 2015

The line up so far: Flight Facilities, Savages, Ásgeir, Austra, Goat, Nightmares on Wax, Rhye, Lamb, Matthew E White, Dan Deacon, Talaboman, James Holden, Clark, SOHN, Mmoths, Brandt Brauer Frick, Songhoy Blues, Natalie Prass, Shit Robot, Alo Wala, Oy, New Jackson, Jonathan Toubin, Meltybrains? King Kong Company and Grounds For Invasion.

Summer Solstice, June 19 – 21

Fine-tuning its sails towards its sixth instalment this year, Body&Soul continues to redefine the Irish festival experience. Complete with new stages, fresh creative collaborations and pioneering acts of inspiration, 2015 embellishes the Body&Soul magical recipe of the Beautiful, Blissful & Bizarre.

Sloping down from the woodlands into a natural vale is the beating heartbeat of the festival , the open air yet intimate Body&Soul Main Stage arena where London-based Savages, the all-girl four piece, post punk revival rock band will roar their battle cry screams, tight percussion and strong bass lines. Flight Facilities whose song ‘Crave You’ featuring Giselle Rosselli was covered by none other than Kylie, will make their Body&Soul stage debut. Icelandic singer-songwriter and musician, Ásgeir’s debut album In The Silence is Iceland’s bestselling album ever –one of many good reasons to have him as our guest.

Performing in Ireland for the first time and bedecked in ancestral costumes and masks, Swedish based band Goat will add their alternative psychedelic stew to the mix – think ‘afro psych funk with killer fuzz-wah guitars’. Canadian electro outfit Austra bring their neon electro pop tunes to the natural amphitheatre. Accompanied by Robin Taylor-Firth, Nightmares on Wax aka George Evelyn, will bring his iconic sounds of Acid-House and late 80’s Balearic. Get lost in the deeply intimate and ethereal R&B tones of Rhye’s sound reverberating across the B&S Stage. LAMB’s 20 year collaboration still brings an inspiring innovative sound, a distinctive mix of trip-hop, jazz, dub, breaks and drum and bass with haunting vocals.

Known as much for his high-octane live performances as his classical and electronic compositions, American composer and multi-instrumentalist Dan Deacon is a welcome addition to the bill, as is songwriter, producer and founder of Spacebomb Records Matthew E. White. Listed as one of the ‘New artists you need to know’ in February 2015 by Rolling Stone, Natalie Prass will also play the Body&Soul Stage. Desert blues band from Mali, Songhoy Blues whose music is said to be rawest, spikiest and most electrifying dollop of desert R&B, will make their Irish debut performance and the tropical rhythms of Alo Wala laced with heavy bass lines and rhythmic percussions will simply lift the party lid of Body&Soul.

The darker, wilder little sister of the Body&Soul Stage, home to the decadent Saturday night Masquerade Ball, Midnight Circus is where you’ll find dancing top hats and twirling feathers, amidst a jam-packed programme of new and established electronic acts including Talaboman, the collaboration of John Talabot and Axel Boman who will make their maiden voyage to Ballinlough.

Zeitgeist-defining label boss and trend-setting producer James Holden will join us along with Clark who is widely respected for his experimentation in electronic music and fellow Englishman Christopher Taylor aka SOHN whose crisp, emotional electronica has drawn collaborations with artists including Lana Del Rey. Kildare-based Mmoths returns with his dreamy ambient sounds. Berlin trio Brandt Brauer Frick, will ring out their contemporary classical music melting into house and techno and Berlin brothers OY’s music is described as futuristic pop, playful electro, storytelling and afro. Dublin favourite New Jackson aka David Kitt will bring his nocturnal house jams with a ghostly disco tint and Jonathan Toubin the US DJ, record producer, musician and writer is an energetic dance party to himself. Taking inspiration from hip-hop, rock and contemporary classical music we are delighted to welcome Meltybrains? , a five piece experimental electronic band based in Dublin. Other Irish additions to the line up are Shit Robot and electro pop duo Grounds for Invasion and making a welcome return King Kong Company.

Its loyal following of likeminded people return year on year for the delectable discovery and exploration of the hand-crafted stages and small venues of the woodlands, lakes and walled gardens of this stunning 15th Century Ballinlough Estate, Clonmellon. Left-of-centre with its music and artistic choices the intimate festival has set a precedent for shining a spotlight on new, exciting and up-and-coming acts before they explode on the scene. Body&Soul is about the “little things” that make a festival great with an extraordinary selection of art installations, pop-up performances and hidden parties. From 11 year old DJs to cameo performances from cult heroes, piano-side singsongs to late-night disco alcoves, there is always something for everyone and a line-up that never fails to pleasantly surprise at Body&Soul Festival.

The site will be a broad-spanning, colourful map with hundreds of hidden, curated corners including cafe stages, prosecco tents, a dedicated Soul Kids garden, awe-inspiring installations, raw food yurts, tipi saunas, tea houses, party alcoves and hot tub havens dotted across the many pathways in the walled gardens, the woodlands and a carefully considered zen oasis lakeside.

Body&Soul is this year offering a 5 Tier Ticket system for Three Day Camping tickets. Tier 1, 2, 3 have now sold out.  A limited number Tier 4 tickets are currently available and Tier 5 will come on sale when they have sold out;

Full Tiered Pricing Details: General and Family Weekend Tickets:

Tier 4 EU139.50 incl booking fee

Tier 5 EU149.50 incl booking fee

Combined Weekend & Bus (return from Dublin) tickets available also:

Tier 4 EU167.50 incl booking fee

Tier 5 EU177.50 incl booking fee