Friday at All Together Now delivered the goods from start to finish!
There was clear skies, great vibes, and a schedule packed with great sets across the site. I kicked things off at The Well with Dream Boy, who we’ve featured many times before and continue to impress. Their dreamy sound felt right at home there, easing everyone into the day.
From there, I made my way to Flourish to catch Bold Love. The stage itself is something special, overgrown with greenery, it gave the whole set this enchanted kind of feel. Over at The Bandstand, Sexy Tadhg was already drawing a massive crowd. The whole set commanded attention and the crowd loved it! This was a glitter-soaked, high-energy set that had the whole place moving.
It was then time for Florence Road at Something Kind of Wonderful, who pulled a crowd just as big and delivered a brilliant. Then it was back to The Bandstand for Toucan, my second time seeing him this year, and once again, he was a complete breath of fresh air. His joyful, funk-laced performance felt tailor-made for the stage. Afterward, I wandered into Global Roots and caught Slí na Croí playing an array of instruments to a very chill crowd.
As the evening progressed, I finally made my way to the Main Stage to catch Lisa O’Neill, whose raw delivery and biting lyrics landed beautifully in that setting. Then came Geordie Greep at Something Kind of Wonderful before Darren Kiely took to the Lovely Days stage and even though it was my second time in as many weeks seeing him live, he always delivers and I would’ve loved to catch more of his set but I had to make it over to the main stage to see the unbelievable Wet Leg! What a performance they put on and the crowd were as lively as I’ve seen so far.
After that, it was back to Flourish for Skinner, who’s clearly in the middle of a huge summer. His set was sharp and he definitely pushed boundaries throughout. Then, over at Dingle Gin Hidden Sounds, David Geraghty (of Join Me in the Pines) offered a more mellow, layered set and a perfect lead-in to what came next.
Closing the night was The Wran, fresh off their Glastonbury appearance and heading into an Irish tour this November. Their midnight trad session turned Hidden Sounds into something magical, improvised, full of life, and deeply rooted in Irish tradition. It felt less like a set and more like a shared moment between everyone there. They played well into the early morning to the massive crowd.
With no rain and everything running smoothly, Friday set the bar high. On to Saturday.
Dream Boy photos:
Bold Love photos:
Sexy Tadhg photos:
Florence Road photos:
Toucan photos:
Slí na Croí photos:
Lisa O’Neill photos:
Geordie Greep photos:
Darren Kiely photos:
Wet Leg photos:
Skinner photos:
David Geraghty photos:
The Wran photos:
Photos & Words – Alan Robinson @alan_robinson_photography