Hi, it’s youbloom from the future (one week into the future, to be precise)! On our mission of music-loving mischief, we managed to get our paws on an old Eircom phonebox, and with a little help from some bleach, and a wise-cracking, inter-dimensional chaperone, we’ve been downright zipping around through time, jamming to tunes and having the major lols.

That story may or may not be a total lie. It may or may not have also been 100% ripped off of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. But this I can tell you, dear readers: we really do love jamming to tunes; we really, really do wish we had a phonebox time machine; and on this day in one week’s time, you really are going to be feasting your eyes and ears on an absolute torrent of new, exciting, crazy talented bands and performers.

The youbloom Dublin 2015 Music Festival & Conference is a mere week away, coming to Dublin’s Dame district next Friday – Sunday, Jun 12/13/14, hosting over 60 mint condition acts – for free – over five stages. So with that in mind, it’s time to take that time-travel-inspired trip back to the roots of music for a fresh muckraking session with our latest crew. (Quadruple air guitar solos)

 

So, guys, tell us the story of the first experience you can remember having with music. Feel free to spill all the beans.

 

“I like to think that my first ever experience with music was in my mother’s belly a couple weeks before she was due to have me. She was at a Peter Gabriel concert. I was kicking and dancing like mad, and she almost fainted during it. I still love listening to Peter Gabriel.”    

– Christian Collins, singer/songwriter

With a voice that betrays a rich humility and fervent depth; reminiscent of Jeff Buckley’s greatest years, Christian Collins is not to be missed. This is triumphant poetry at its touchable best. He plays Sweeney’s Upstairs stage on Sunday, 14/6, at 10.05pm.

 

“It was summertime and me, my brother, and my cooler older cousin were staying at my aunt’s house in the country. There was an old caravan out the back so we snuck out there late one night with an old cassette player. (My cousin) put on The Doors and Led Zeppelin. I’d never heard music like that before! I was completely awestruck by Jim Morrison’s deep, wise voice, and found it so hard to comprehend (that) he had died really young. It was a magical music night!”    

– Miriam Donohue, singer/songwriter

Like something unearthed from a time capsule buried in the early 60’s by a still-green Bob Dylan, Miriam Donohue’s music feels like a gift from a time when pop music was still silly enough to be bypassed by those with more on their minds than twisting and shouting. A capable writer, with a sublime delivery that will leave you speechless. She’s on the Mercantile Gallery stage on Saturday, 13/6, at 8.30pm.

 

 

“Music was always part of my life. I don’t remember how it all started, but I do remember following my mum around the house and harmonizing with a vacuum cleaner, driving kids in school insane by tapping on every possible surface, and walking in beat with (every) song.”        

– Djollie, drums, WOB!

The latest in an esteemed line of technical wizards and engrossing Irish instrumental bands, WOB!’s spin on the genre is lighter, more ebullient; all the while respecting and commanding its complex formula and precision whomp. WOB! deliver a lively set from the Mercantile stage on Saturday, 13/6, at 8pm.

 

“When I was 3 years old, I was given a little violin. Apparently, I played with it by pretending it was a rocket ship and throwing it into the sky. Perhaps this was an early indicator that no, I would not enjoy attending classical lessons.”

– Amano Miura, singer/songwriter

Amano is such an enchanting musician, with a voice like an elegant ninja, and lyrics draped in a sweet, alarming know-how; fascination barely concealed. Great videos, too. She performs a beguiling set on Friday, 12/6 at the Mercantile Gallery stage, at 8pm.

 

 

 

Artists and band members from the upcoming youbloom Dublin 2015 Music Festival are sharing little bits of their formative  years with us as we prod away in search of the source of all that musicality. We are proud to have them on the bill with over 50 incredible, unsigned acts, playing over five stages this June 12/13/14, and even more proud to have the honor of divulging what makes them tick.

Today, a new batch of rockers and minstrels tell us the story of the first time they knew that music was for them. N’awww.

“When I was 16 and I first got paid to drink free beer, eat free food, watch burlesque girls and rock out in the band Jimmy Willing & The Real Gone Hickups; that’s what did it for me. Music is magical for those making it and those listening. There are plenty of ups and downs, but we stick with it for those magical moments.”

– Rohan Healy, Dublin City Rounders

“When I realized that latex and black makeup is more comfortable than a business suit.”

– Al, Dublin City Rounders

TG4 darlings The Dublin City Rounders are here to party, bringing their trademark rabble-rousing, boot-stomping, rubber-necking sound to the youbloom crowd. Why is it so infectious? How did they write these wicked ditties? And what the hell is that guy doing to the bass? (Jimi Hendrix challenge accepted!) Their energy will blow you away on Sunday, 14/6 at the Busking Stage, 6pm.

 

 “When I was very young, maybe around 5 or 6 years old, I wrote and recorded a song called “Mad Dog” in my father’s home studio. I played the drums on it, which I distinctly remember because my legs were too short to reach the kick pedal! The song was about a dog who chased the postman and wanted to eat him. I remember telling my father that when I grew up I was going to be the lead singer of a band who also played the drums. The drumming part didn’t pan out but one out of two isn’t bad.”

– Kim Monroe, Castle Creek

Everything is right with this band. They’re tight, bluesy, hooky, and inviting, and they’ve been winning over audiences everywhere they’ve performed since getting their rootsy rock sound together in the heart of New York state a few years ago. The soundtrack to your both your most nostalgic moments and all the beers with your best mates. Give ‘em a proper Irish welcome at Sweeney’s Upstairs stage on Saturday, 13/6, at 11pm.

 

“The first time a friend introduced me to her work pals as a musician. Before I had time to object and say, “Oh no, I’m not a real musician,” they were asking me loads of questions about music. By the end of the night, feeling so happy, I realised that I wanted to start doing more with my songs. I booked my first venue, charged a fiver at the door, and 70 friends and supporters filled the room that night. And that was me hooked on being a musician!”

– Miriam Donohue, singer/songwriter

Like something unearthed from a time capsule buried in the early 60’s by a still-green Bob Dylan, Miriam Donohue’s music feels like a gift from a time when pop music was still silly enough to be bypassed by those with more on their minds than twisting and shouting. A capable writer, with a sublime delivery that will leave you speechless. She’s on the Mercantile Gallery stage on Saturday, 13/6, at 8.30pm.

 

“Its difficult to pin point the one moment when I knew music was for me. It seems to have always been within me. Maybe when I discovered how cathartic writing songs was as a teenager, especially when I started getting my heart broken from pretty girls!”

– Christian Collins, singer/songwriter

With a voice that betrays a rich humility and fervent depth; reminiscent of Jeff Buckley’s greatest years, Christian Collins is not to be missed. This is triumphant poetry at its touchable best. He plays Sweeney’s Upstairs stage on Sunday, 14/6, at 10.05 pm.

 

“When I saw the first foot tapping to our music, followed by an outbreak of dancing, and then heard my first applause. Nothing beats playing live to an appreciative audience. Nothing!”

– Ronan Gallagher, vocals & guitar, The Ronan Gallagher Band

“Siderodromophilia – an obsession with or fixation on railroads, trains or train travel.” The music of the Ronan Gallagher Band seems to summon the wanderlust in us all, with wailing strings, blues cat vocals, chugging tempos, and a whole lot of things to reminisce about as the track goes by. As though the songs are merely turns of the radio dial, picking up on a permanent station, what they capture is raw; endlessly beautiful in its simplicity. They top off the night at Sweeney’s Upstairs stage on Saturday, 13/6, at 1.30 am.

 

Artists and band members from the upcoming youbloom Dublin 2015 Music Festival let us poke around inside the creaky corners of their musical minds and share a little of what makes them do what they do. We’re proud to have over 50 incredible, unsigned acts on this year’s bill, so it seems only proper to get to know as many as we can before getting our blessed cotton socks rocked off for three days. So I must probingly request:

“I remember hearing alternative rock bands like Nirvana , Smashing Pumpkins and the Pixies to name a few. I was hooked straight away.”                      
– Owen Geaney, Silent Noise Parade

“My first experience with music was going to see local bands in my hometown when I was very young. I remember being amazed at how good they were and that they could write their own material.”      

– Joe Geaney, synths, Silent Noise Parade

 

“The one that stands out for me is the time my neighbour showed me his drum kit at his house. I was 8 years old. He was probably 16, and it was clear from the posters in his room that grunge & metal was his thing. He sat into the kit and immediately started playing along to some Metallica song, stopping and explaining each part to me as he went. I didn’t understand any of it. But I understood that this instrument was definitely the coolest thing I had heard in my life. He handed the sticks to me after a while, and told me to try it out for a few minutes while he went downstairs. Roughly 4 hours later, he politely asked me to get out of his house as they couldn’t take the noise anymore. That was fine. I had my fun and that’s all that matters.”                                                

– Liam Hayes, drums, Silent Noise Parade

 

“My neighbour showed me Guns ’n’ Roses and (I was) completely blown away.”            

– Gary Sherlock, vocals, Silent Noise Parade

Calling forth the moodiest, most thought-provoking pop music concepts of the late 80’s and early 90’s, soaking them in enchanting new wave atmospheres (Depeche Mode would be proud), and bringing it all home with that undeniably fathomless Irish intonation, Silent Noise Parade’s unique formula blows the dust out of your cobwebbed corners. Be moved at Sweeney’s Basement stage on Friday, 12/6, at 11.45pm.

 

“When I was 16, I sneaked into Éamonn Doran’s bar (now the Crown Alley) in Temple Bar. Back in the 90s it was the hub for unsigned musicians. Going down to the basement to hear Irish bands was amazing – it just made me want it even more! The smell of sweat wasn’t that cool, but the vibe, the energy, the coolness of the bands… just amazed me .”                   – Rachael McCormac, singer/songwriter

The Dublin powerhouse that is Rachael McCormac wields her talent like a barely tamed wild beast, chomping at the bit to give you all of what she’s got. Every shred the entertainer, with serious guitar chops and a voice that, no, will not sit down or shut up, she’s a whirlwind. She’s first on the Busking stage on Saturday, 13/5, at 4pm.

 

“When I was a baby my mother had a little tape recorder that she had won in a competition, and when she wasn’t taping everything that moved, she’d be playing a variety of her music cassettes, like Gilbert O’Sullivan, Perry Como, and The Beatles. I think I’ve been listening to The Beatles as a fan ever since, but whenever I hear Perry Como it can be a real nostalgia trigger for me.”                                            

– Jerome McCormick, Imploded View

Imploded View is a one-man electronic alchemist and connoisseur of all things catchy. From the ethereal to the downright funky, his set’ll have your hips a-shakin’ before you can say “another mojito sounds great, there, mate.” His appropriately late-night set kicks off on Sweeney’s Basement stage on Friday, 12/6, at 12.30pm.