Mixtapes From The Underground
This was an event completely unlike anything that has been seen at the festival before. Despite the truly horrendous weather, a large audience turned up in our new festival venue the marquee in Billy Byrne’s Bar to witness the Kilkenny debut of the highly acclaimed (and very recommended) Mixtapes From The Underground. It wasn’t quite underground but the intimate marquee vibe was absolutely perfect for this gig.
The Dublin based collective are a cohesive machine of various musicians, emcees and DJ’s who perform freestyle, underground and hip hop with a selection of various guest emcees. Another coup for the eagle eyes of curator Gerry Godley.
Their main emcee was MC Ophelia who took care of proceedings all night and rallied the crowd into dancing, foot stomping, neck jerking shape. The frankly phenomenal powerhouse that is Lady Grew whipped the crowd into a frenzy, and in process got a damn good ‘Free Pussy Riot!’ chant going. She deserves to be a massive star and with this much talent to burn, she surely will be.
As far as local hip hop stars go, there is no one better than Captain Moonlight, the acclaimed Kilkenny artist who doesn’t so much court controversy as he does embrace it. His searing songs call the political establishment as he sees it, usually with a bucket load of swearing. It was brilliant to see such a well-regarded and hugely talented Kilkenny artist make his Arts Festival debut. Lovely hurling indeed.
Again, Kilkenny audiences take a bit of time to warm up, but when they do, they go all out and the audience here certainly did so. Dancing, jumping, shouting and hollering. This is was an amazing experience hosted by a collective who know how to give people their money’s worth. A fantastic night of music and one that showcases the variety of work that is being presented at this years festival.
Here's the video from Mixtapes From The Underground last night in the marquee at Billy Byrne's on John Street, one of our new festival venues this year and home also to Josh T. Pearson tomorrow evening (Saturday). With the smell of pulled pork sandwiches wafting in from the garden, free flowing rhythm and rhyme was on the agena with a number of MCs involved including Lady Grew and Kilkenny's own Captain Moonlight. Here's a quick look back at what went on. Note that the clip may contain strong language.
