Forbidden Fruit Festival Day 1 – live gallery and review from Royal Hospital, Kilmainham Dublin 30.05.2026

Day one of the Forbidden Fruit Festival was a huge success, setting a great tone for the rest of the weekend. Capturing the day through my lens, I could really feel how buzzing the atmosphere was across the packed festival grounds. The crowd was full of genuinely cool people who brought so much life to the event. Going into Saturday, there was some real worry about the bleak weather forecast. Dark clouds initially threatened to ruin things, but the skies eventually cleared up. Shortly after I got there, the heavy clouds broke apart to let the sun shine through.

What started out looking like a gloomy afternoon quickly turned into a wonderfully sunny festival experience. That bright, natural light was the perfect backdrop for photographing the crowd and their incredible outfits. Everywhere you looked, people were enjoying the unexpected warmth while catching the live sets across the five distinct stages. The layout gave each area a slightly different musical vibe.

The RTÉ 2FM Rising stage championed exciting emerging talent such as Mischa and the bear, while the Happy Days stage offered a vibrant space for artists like Valerie Rose and Yinyang to shine. Over at the Lighthouse, the energy was driven by immersive dance sets from DJs like Delilah, Zulan and Calibre.

As the evening rolled in, the headline acts kept that momentum going. Kettama closed out the East stage (the main focal point of the festival) with a massive set, while Ben Böhmer had the Undergrowth crowd totally locked in. Calibre wrapped things up at the Lighthouse, keeping everyone dancing right up until the music finally stopped.

It was only at the very end of the night that a light drizzle started to fall. Instead of ruining the vibe, the sudden rain was actually refreshing after such a long, warm day, serving as the perfect way to cool down after a great start to the festival.

Photo of acts and festival goers from throughout the day:

Sona Blue:

Trinity Orchestra:

Sister Nancy:

Valerie Rose:

Shauna Dee:

Runthered:

Delilah:

Zulan:

Yinyang:

Bricknasty:

Travy & Elzzz:

Mischa and the bear:

Calibre:

Nia Archives:

Ben Böhmer:

Kettama:

Photos & words – Zoltán Szabó @mrzoltanphoto