Forbidden Fruit Festival – day one live gallery & review from Kilmainham Dublin 31.05.2025

The rumblings of bass were audible in the distance as I pulled the car into Heuston station on May 31^st, the noise increasing considerably as I made my way towards Kilmainham. The festival grounds were quiet when I entered, as the bigger crowds hadn’t really started to arrive yet, not a surprise as Forbidden Fruit was always more of an evening-crowd festival. No sooner had my feet reached the grass when a rain shower of biblical proportions erupted that sent festival goers fleeing to seek refuge under every awning, tent and vegetated structure in sight. An adrenaline fuelled sprint from the stage with little options available, saw me crouching in a portaloo clutching my camera gear and repenting my inexcusable dismissal of Ireland’s changeable weather patterns and my decision to leave rain gear in the car.

Once the freak weather event had passed, and the sun appeared again, I had little time to consider either my wet feet or damp jumper, as I had a list of acts I was determined to shoot. I feel like I need to start off here with a confessional of sorts, electronic music is not something that would be on my radar, I had name recognition for certain acts, but by all accounts I was walking into this festival blind, which made me determined to see as many acts as physically possible. My first stop was the main stage for the Trinity Orchestra. This is a student run group that certainly needs no introduction, notably regarded from their performances at some of Ireland’s biggest festivals and boasts the title of Ireland’s only fully student-run orchestra. The 50+ strong group of musicians were accompanied onstage by fellow Trinity performing arts students performing well known tracks spanning popular genres. The crowd was sparse at the main stage at this time of the day, but an enthusiastic group of what I can only assume were fellow “Trinners” were front and centre at the barricade and were showing their support in full, bellowing rounds of applause and hoots of excitment that evoked some great reactions from the performers onstage and created a great sense of atmosphere in the place.

Crowds started to file in as the evening drew in, and I began rotating between the different stages. Some of the most memorable performances of the day for me came from the Undergrowth stage and 2FM’s rising star stages in particular. Sam Austins, a UK based performer whose popularity was evident by the masses he drew into the Undergrowth on the day, probably put on the performance of the day, from a photographer’s point of view. No sooner had he stepped on stage, when he launched himself down into the pit below, running along and climbing the barrier and getting up close with his fanbase. This sent security into a state of panic and the fans into a frenzy, with phones being viciously pulled from fanny packs and pockets desperate to capture this artist up close. Austins performance was adrenaline filled and he oozed charisma and a stage presence of epic proportions. He garnered an admiration in everyone during this performance and as media were escorted from the pit, every person was in agreement on one thing, this kid was going places. 2FM’s rising stage was a great stop throughout the day, boasting a diverse range of Ireland’s newest talent, with the performances by Bold Love and Celaviedmai standing out particularly to me. I was eagerly anticipating the main stage headliners, Caribou and Jamie XX, as I had heard a lot about them in the lead up to the festival. Caribou was hypnotic in his movements onstage, spending the first three songs, making use of the massive platform to a dizzing effect, Jamie XX was more subtle in his approach but the use of visual effects enhanced every part of his performance on the night. Overall, the first day of Forbidden Fruit delivered on the desired energy I’d of expected coming into it, I got a few names of artists I wanted to check out further and I left chuffed with the work done and looking forward to capturing more on the final day.