20 acts announced for the four-day event
The first line-up of acts has been announced for Galway’s newest indoor music festival, Rocktoberfest, which returns to Monroe’s Live for a four-day festival from Thursday 1 October to Sunday 4 October.
Rocktoberfest returns with a slew of the finest bands from Ireland, including new, up-and-coming Irish groups which have burst onto the music scene in the last few years.
Over four nights, acts will rock out the venue over two stages in Galway’s award-winning live music venue. Expect to hear everything from rock, electronica, pop, indie and folk from some of the country’s most talented emerging artists.
The line-up will include over 20 acts including The Hot Sprockets, Plutonic Dust, Wood Burning Savages, Tobi Kaye, Vann Music, My Violet, D-Day, Liam Geddes, Orchid Collectives, The Klares and Youth Mass. More acts will be announced over the coming weeks.
The Hot Sprockets are a phenomenal live band. The blues-rockers have played over 200 gigs and support slots with The Zutons, The View, Divine Comedy and festivals including Indiependence, Castlepalooza and Electric Picnic, along with a sold out show at The Roundhouse, London.
Alternative rock group, The Woodburning Savages burst onto the music scene in 2012 and have since performed at the Glastonbury BBC Introducing Stage in 2014 and have completed a UK wide tour promoting their current EP ‘Boom’. Their live sets are ablaze with fuzz guitar and infectious, pop/rock melodies: a must see.
Orchid Collective brings a cool, alternative indie/folk vibe to the festival. The Dublin-based group launched their debut single ‘Figure it out’ this Summer, which defines their unique pop, indie/folk, sound.
D-day is Galway’s own hot, up-and-coming rock band. Having opened for Thin Lizzy at the Volvo Ocean Race festival in 2012, they have continued to grow their fan base owing to their kick-ass rock and roll. This year alone has seen them feature in new rock documentary, Musical Exchange.
Plutonic Dust is Ireland’s coolest live electronic act. Their original upbeat disco sound has a punk/funk style, laced with sensual vocals from Veronica Moran.
Alternative Indie Rock group Youth Mass formed in 2010 and the same year released their debut EP ‘Misanthropy’ to critical acclaim. Their sonic guitar riffs are not to be missed.
Grounds for Invasion are one of Ireland’s most exciting electro pop groups to come on the scene in the last three years. The Galway duo have already been tipped as the band to watch for 2015 by both HotPress magazine and The Irish Times. They released their debut album, Dying Stars earlier this year, bringing their dark, disco pop sound to the masses.
Electric pop quartet, Vann Music reached number seven in the Irish Airplay charts with their synth-based hit ‘Tina’. They have just released their brand new EP ‘Running’ in March 2015, which was produced by Stephen Hague (New Order, The Pet Shop Boys). You may have been lucky to have caught them performing at Electric Picnic, 2014.
Young, emerging band The Klares, continue to develop their infectious, indie, punk sound. In May 2015, they released their second EP ‘Cookoo’ to critical acclaim, causing U&I Magazine to comment that they “could very well be the first Irish band in a generation to actually get excited about”: ones to watch!
New Irish Indie band My Violet is an electric pop group from Dublin. The trio’s current release ‘Disintegrate’ was produced by Philip Magee (Kodaline/Miles Kane) and was voted New Song of the Day with joe.ie. If you didn’t catch them at Indiependance, come see why they are billed to become a massive pop hit in Ireland.
Dublin-based pop/rock group The Geddes has been causing quite a stir on the Irish music scene since they released their debut single ‘Frontline’ in November of 2014, which was a massive success. Their debut EP, ‘Human’ – released in May 2015 – reached number one on the iTunes pop album chart and number two on the overall iTunes album chart.
RnB and soul comes to the festival in the guise of Tobi Kaye. Since playing bass for Tolu King at Volvo Ocean Race 2012, the up-and-coming artist has grown a steady following for his soft rock tones and soulful voice.
“We are extremely excited to be hosting Rocktoberfest again this year. I’m delighted to provide a festival and a stage for emerging Irish talent,” said Gary Monroe of the festival. The festival is in association with Bulmers and Becks and Galway Bay FM are media sponsors.
Weekend wristbands will be available for €15 or €12 online which will allow you unlimited entry to the festival over the 4 days. Day tickets can be purchased for €10 or €8 online. Weekend Early Bird tickets for €10 are on sale now for a limited time only at www.monroes.ie.
