A Unique Festival Film Celebrating The Heart of Music And Arts In Ireland Today
Raising awareness and funds for Jigsaw youth mental health charity
Featuring Live Performances And Interviews With Over 20 Irish Artists
Aby Coulibaly * Adam Mohamed * Alex Gough * Blindboy * Felispeaks * GAFF * Gemma Dunleavy * Jafaris * James Vincent McMorrow * Jessie Thompson * Liam Ó Maonlaí * Mango X MathMan * Monjola * Nicole Flattery * Panti * Pillow Queens * R.Kitt * Saint Sister & Lisa Hannigan* shiv * Sorcha Richardson * + more to be announced
The Festival of Now is a brand new film, showcases a variety of Ireland’s best musicians, poets and performers, featuring performances plus interview pieces focused on the collective experience of the past year and delving into the importance of music and art for our mental health. To this end, we are also raising funds for Jigsaw, a youth and mental health charity (more details below).
Where? Since we can’t experience and celebrate music in the same way, we’ll bring you unique performances from some iconic venues. We’ll head right into the heart of the city to the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, the home of IMMA, the Irish Museum of Modern Art. As well being one of the most spectacular live concert venues - hosting the likes of Kraftwerk, Iggy Pop, Nick Cave & his Bad Seeds, Blur and more, it has also been home to our very own Forbidden Fruit Festival for over a decade. We’ll then take you to the halls of the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge, a venue steeped in history, where in recent years we have hosted our winter festival, Metropolis. We’ll head to the basement of Wigwam (previously known as The Twisted Pepper), and settle in for last orders in Grogan’s infamous lounge. There’s many an artist who has pulled up a stool to the castle’s round table and settled in for the evening - you can do the same!
What of the artists? We are so excited to be able to announce that we have over 20 different artists performing and being interviewed. Our line up includes both artists who are well known and artists who will be making debut performances. We can’t wait to reveal some thrilling performances and to dive into the topic of the value and benefit of the arts on mental health.
Now more than ever is the time to focus on that value and to nurture and encourage our amazing arts scene. We’ll hear from the likes of Blindboy. Gemma Dunleavy, James Vincent McMorrow, Panti and Pillow Queens. Catch some amazing new artists like Aby Coulibaly, Monjola, GAFF and Adam Mohamed who will be making their festival debuts in this very unique way.
Who’s behind it? The film has been curated and promoted by POD, Irish independent festival and concert curators, promoters and producers. POD have been promoting and running shows for over 25 years in Ireland, with seminal performances in historical and unique locations. We extend our very special thanks to the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht Sport and Media who part-funded this project as a part of the Live Performance Support Scheme. Tá an tionscadal seo páirt-mhaoinithe ag An Roinn Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Oidhreachta, Ealoíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus Meán ón Scéim Cúnta maidir le Taibhléiriú Beo. The making of this movie has provided crucial employment opportunities for Irish artists, crew, suppliers and our family of event specialists many of who have been without work since March.
The film is being co-produced by our good friends at Collective Films, who have worked closely with us on All Together Now and Forbidden Fruit over the last three years. They have also recently produced the likes of Fontaines Live from A Night at Montrose, ''Origins: The Story of Irish Hip-Hop', to name a few...
We’re raising money too! Jigsaw is the National Centre for youth mental health and they believe in an Ireland where every young person’s mental health is valued and supported. They offer a listening ear, and give advice and support to young people aged 12-25 years old. According to their recent research, the MyWorldSurvey, the top 2 coping strategies for adolescents are enjoying music (54%) and friends (56%). While you’re enjoying some live music from some of Ireland’s best artists, we encourage you to donate what you can to Jigsaw - from the price of a pint to the price of a concert ticket, all funds will be gratefully received
