The first day of the Dublin City Soul Festival in Merrion Square got off to a great start with the sun shining and the wind certainly didn’t stop any of the crowd having a great time. On Saturday, the stage saw ten fantastic acts pass through including rising stars, Wyvern Lingo and Rachel McCormack. It also featured surprise special guests like Ben Prevo and This Club.
Wyvern Lingo
Wyvern Lingo really attracted some attention. A three-piece band from Bray, they are a mixture of the Dixie Chicks and KT Tunstall; the girls seemed to be one of Saturday’s favourites. “I have itunes so I’m going to look for them when I get back to the States. They were really good, I loved them,” said a woman. She also said she was enjoying the whole festival and planned to come on Sunday as well. “I’m going to try to get my group to come here tomorrow. Our plane leaves at four so we might catch some of it.”
The festival was a huge success that everyone enjoyed. The crowd was mixed with chilled out listeners, foot tappers and soulful dancers. This was one of the elements that made the festival a unique experience. “This is the best way to enjoy music,” said Katherine, 19 on Sunday, as the festival drew to a close. “It was really good; I was here today and yesterday. My favourite acts were Mirenda Rosenberg, the one that came out to the audience. She was gas. Also the guy from America, Buck Taylor”
The dancing members of the crowd seemed to get the best effect of the soulful music. They had the rhythm of the acts running through them and they summed up the message of the festival: all things positive. One audience member just couldn’t stay away from an event like this. “I wasn‘t even aware of it until I picked up a leaflet and as soon as I knew something was going on I had to be there ‘cause that‘s my addiction,” he said. “I‘ve only seen a couple of [the acts] now and I think they‘re all really lovely, there‘s no one I could really find fault with.”
The final act on Sunday evening and the closing act for the year, The Riptide Movement also got a lot of the audience talking. Finn, 23 said they “appeared to be the best I’ve heard all day.” He also said the music overall was really brilliant and he was definitely thinking about going to the Mercantile to see more rising stars.
Last year’s winners of the Rising Stars competition, The Barley Mob, generated a great atmosphere in the crowd at the Soul Picnic on Sunday afternoon; that is, more so than there was already. Somehow, through constant interaction with the crowd and slating them for subtly tapping their legs with their hands, lead singer, Adam, managed to coax the front rows to their feet. Before long, half of Merrion Square were up dancing and singing along to “Stand Up, Rise Up, Big Up.” A group of girls all agreed that they were brilliant and they all enjoyed the festival.
Mirenda Rosenberg
Mirenda Rosenberg & Buck Taylor
Other acts that got the crowd up and buzzing were Mirenda Rosenberg as well as Buck Taylor all the way from Kentucky, USA. Mirenda left the stage almost as soon as she got up there. She interacted with the audience unlike any other act, serenading individuals and picking them up to dance with them. She was the only one to come out into the audience and every time she did, several people raced over to get a better look. She also did two duets with Buck Taylor, a long time idol of hers after he had already performed. Buck had already lifted the spirits of the audience even higher than they already were by singing well known classics, like “I Feel Good,” “This Is A Man‘s World,” and “Mustang Sally.” His voice was on par with the likes of Lionel Richie and James Brown and he gave the whole square a raw soulful feel.
The Dublin City Soul Festival was a huge success and while entertaining a massive audience down at Merrion Square for the weekend, it raised a lot of money for the Musical Youth Foundation.
On behalf of Buck Taylor, Danny Healy & myself, thanks to Chris Maher & all the people who helped in making the Soul Picnic at Merrion Square yesterday a very memorable experience.
Thanks a bunch.
Kind regards,
Liam.