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2022 is looking to be an exciting year for music festivals here in Ireland, with many favorites returning after hiatus and a few debuts as well. One of those exciting new announcements is Euphonics Festival, a Psytrance and techno festival that is debuting this year on September 23-25.
Euphonics is hosting some of the most influential underground DJs in Ireland, and here at Tune Hoppers, we wanted to know more. That's why I reached out to Nigel Quinn, manager and performer at this year's Euphonics, and asked more.
"Euphonics festival is an independent underground electronic music and arts festival, with its main focus on psychedelic trance and techno" says Nigel. It's an exciting and complicated process, setting up a festival for the first time. Finding the funds, reaching out to artists, and then finding an audience who will show up.
A lot of responsibility rests on Nigel's shoulders, but he's up to the task, having been active in Ireland's psychedelic trance and techno scene for some time. He tells me that it's not easy juggling a full-time job, managing his record labels, and planning for this festival, but that it is all worth it in the end. I ask about the inspiration behind Euphonics Festival; what exactly is the driving force behind this exciting new event?
Above all, Nigel wants to promote and support the music scenes that are so important to him. The underground electronic scene has been kept alive here in Ireland, and it is events like Euphonics that are its lifeblood. Euphonics also represents a great opportunity to promote Nigel's record label Galactic Groove and also his techno promotion brand Metronome.
In terms of talent, the set-list at Euphonics Festival is abundant with it. Almost 50 DJs and producers are attending the event, with many flying in from all over the world to perform. The major headliners include DJs Eternity and Chypno, flying in from Greece, and Nammah Ohm arriving from Portugal. Regardless of origin, the musicians at play are guaranteed to make it a festival to remember.
Euphonics kicks off on a Friday and stretches on through the weekend of September 23-25. The festival starts at 6 PM that Friday, and ending on that Sunday at 3 PM. In recent news, Nigel tells me that a location has been set for the event; Sallyfort Mini Farm in Stradbally ,County Waterford. It's a wonderful open space, and both stages and the cafe area will be covered in the event of less favorable weather. Excitement is clearly building, now that dates and locations have been blocked in, Euphonics is starting to clearly take form.
I asked Nigel how fans can plan on traveling to Euphonics itself. He tells me that several forms of transport are available to the town of Dungarvan, with the event grounds being only 10 minutes outside of town. Euphonics Festival also offers a carpark, and tickets for parking are available online as well. There will also be a bus organized from Dublin by one of the stage managers Julio Bezerra (Psychedelic Gaff) and those interested can get more info from him on how to book a place for the event.
A major practical aspect of festivals are the amenities and security services provided. Nigel was more than happy to give me more detail on this. "Amenities available on site include, proper toilets and hot showering facilities, hot food stalls catering for all dietary requirements, covered chillout / cafe area, arts and craft stalls, recycling and rubbish bins also provided (we urge everyone attending to please do their bit and try bring some home with them if possible so we can keep the beautiful location as clean as we got it)" he tells me. An experienced team of gate staff, security, and first aid workers will also be present throughout the weekend.
Nigel's hard work in planning Euphonics goes a long way for not just this year's outing, but for the hopeful future as well. The idea is that Euphonics will become an annual event, an anchor for Ireland's psytrance and techno communities.
I wanted to know more about the experience itself. What will Euphonics look, sound, and feel like? "The venue is very picturesque, with lush green fields and mountains in the background and a beach just a short distance walk from the venue.....we dont want to give too much away as we want punters to be excited to see what we have in store for them when they arrive, but the stages will feature top quality lighting and soundsystems, visuals and beautiful psychedelic decor on the Galactic Groove stage."
Nigel tells me that the group Urban Tribe will manage decor for the event while MarQu Vr (Qpop) will manage video mapping. A dedicated team will also work to maintain quality on both stages, helping everything at Euphonics run smoothly.
From what I'd heard at this point, I was absolutely ready to attend Euphonics myself, so I asked Nigel about tickets. All tickets for all aspects of the festival are available solely online. "Early Bird tickets are sold out, Phase 2 tickets are currently on sale and cost €65 + €5.25 booking fee. Phase 3 tickets will be €75 + €5.93 booking fee, Car park tickets are €10 + €1.53 booking fee, and Camper/caravan tickets are €20 + €2.20 booking fee." As you can imagine, IDs and corresponding names will be checked for at entry.
Tickets are available at Eventbrite and can be purchased using this link - https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/euphonics-festival-2022-tickets-224581779147
Thanks to Nigel, there is an abundance of new and exciting information available about Euphonics Festival. It means that now is the perfect time to join in on the fun and get a ticket while you can. With the work that has gone into the festival along with the talented set-list, it's not hard to see this event going down in history, with many such outings in years to come.
I had one final question for Nigel: why should readers decide to attend Euphonics? "I would urge readers to come to Euphonics Festival because we are putting in a lot of hard work to insure a very unique experience, in a beautiful location with an amazing line up, amazing sound systems , lighting and visual experience for a reasonable price....we are sure they wont be disappointed."
If you would like to stay up to date with local music new and events such as Euphonics, make sure to follow Tune Hoppers on our social media pages and follow our blog!
Photo credit to Euphonics Festival
Thank`s Shaun and all the Tune Hoppers team for featuring the Euphonics Festival article. We greatly appreciate all the promotion for our first edition and all the hard work you guys are putting in to promote the Irish music scene.
You're welcome Nigel. Wishing you and your team all the best for the launch!