Hothouse Flowers to headline Achill’s Battle of the Lake festival

THE Hothouse Flowers will be among the headline acts who will join over 30 other musicians who will be playing over two nights in Achill as part of the Battle of the Lake water sport and music festival.

Close to 5,000 people are expected to descend on Achill Island this weekend for the annual Battle of the Lake festival which will take place from Friday, September 29 to Sunday, October 1.

The festival, which has been running for the past 13 years, attracts some of the world's best kitesurfers to the island where they will take part in competitions and demos on Keel Lake while live music across four stages will take place on Friday night and Saturday night in The Valley House.

Dublin rock band The Hothouse Flowers along with traditional Irish musician Cormac Begley will be the headline acts for the Friday concert while urban brass band TBL8 Brass and Irish band Jiggy along with Achill singer songwriter Graham Sweeney will be amongst the headline acts on Saturday night.

Francois Colussi of Pure Magic, who are the organisers of the festival, told The Mayo News that for a number of musicians, The Battle of the Lake is the last festival of the summer and he is excited about this year’s line-up.

“The expectation is high and for many people this is an annual pilgrimage to Achill Island. From the music side this is the best line up we ever had with the superstar band The Hothouse Flowers coming to play in Achill for the first time. It is quite exciting. It is not only them however and we love mixing the traditional music with the electronic and all other types of music. We have more than 30 acts coming playing over four stages and in terms of music it is very exciting. We feel very lucky to get such a line-up,” he explained.

Achill has become known as one of the best destinations for kitesurfing in Europe and this weekend some of the world's best kitesurfers will wow the crowd with their tricks on the board. While Achill may not have the warm climate other destinations have, its rugged landscape has made it a favourite destination for many companies to showcase their brands.

“This year has been incredible and Achill has become a place where people are coming to shoot for their brands. People don't necessarily go to South Africa or Brazil to do their shooting because they want to represent their brand with something special. This year Achill has been the location for three brands for their shootings. The pro-riders are starting to really enjoy not only the scenery and the landscape which is important but also for the welcome. Sometimes we forget how special this island is.”

This is the second year that the music side of the festival will be held in the intimate and historical surroundings of The Valley House which Francois said provides a unique experience for the concert goers.

The festival in the past has been described as Achill's version of Electric Picnic given the wide range of events on offer over the weekend. All the activities around Keel lake during the day are free to the public and as well as the kitesurfing and other watersports, there is also live music, a programme of events for children and giant kite flying.

Francois said that while the festival has grown over the years, it still enjoys an atmosphere that is welcoming and enjoyable for all age groups.

“It started 13 years ago as just a kitesurfing weekend and then from one thing or another it started to grow bigger and bigger. But it also stays quite small where it is manageable for everyone to mix and humanly it is the right size for us.. What we want to do is bring a nice show not only for the guests but also for the local people.

“We are very proud to bring people into the area and have these superstars but it is also a showcase of the music from Achill Island. Graham Sweeney has been around a while but we also have Achill 400, The Achill Sound and other local artists. There are a lot of things from Achill which we are proud of,” he said.

For more information on the schedule for Battle of the Lake and ticket information for the two concerts visit the website, www.battleofthelake.com.