Beyond the Pale Festival in Ireland: live review and photo galleries

Arguably one of Ireland’s most scenic music festivals, Beyond the Pale took place from June 13th to 15th on the Glendalough Estate in Co. Wicklow, however, it came very close to not happening at all. The festival hit the headlines of major Irish media outlets on June 7th, less than a week out from opening, when rumours circulated online that the festival would be cancelled due to insufficient funds. Social media flared with punters desperately trying to find answers and clarity on the situation. The festival team released a statement on Sunday the 8th to say the festival would go ahead and that a “very highly-regarded operator” had stepped in and saved the festival from liquidation.

Five days later, approximately 10,000 festival-goers clad in Lidl ponchos, wellington boots and bucket hats descended on the estate determined not to let the scheduled poor weather dampen their spirits. Two major stars on the lineup include Wicklow native Róisín Murphy and 2025 Irish Eurosong entrant Samantha Mumba who had primetime slots on the festival’s main stage on the Saturday and Sunday respectively. Murphy’s flair for the dramatic is renowned, and based off of the seemingly rehearsed “Ro!Ro!Ro” chant erupting from the audience upon her arrival to the stage, it would be safe to say she was a must-see act of the weekend and by golly did she deliver. Murphy commands a stage in a way that few can do and is truly mesmerizing to watch. Hailing from Arklow, Co. Wicklow [which happens to also be my hometown], Beyond the Pale marked her first appearance in her home county, since her return to shoot the music video for her song ‘Fader’ in 2023. So safe to say, it was pretty cool to finally see her live so close to home.

Samantha Mumba was billed as one of the major acts on the final day of the festival, but her set was cut short unfortunately, as she was almost twenty-five minutes late to the stage. Despite her inclusion of some of her most popular tracks, including a remixed version of her 2025 Eurosong entry and a special appearance by her daughter to perform with her onstage, it all felt a bit rushed and didn’t quite deliver the performance I had been looking forward to.

Early afternoon slots across the weekend on the mainstage gave me an introduction to the Dublin band Soda Blonde, fronted by Faye O’Rourke (vocals/songwriter) with Adam O’Regan on guitar/keys, Donagh Seaver O’Leary on bass and Dylan Lynch on drums, as well as the Berlin-based, Peruvian electronic performer Sofia Kourtesis. Two completely different styles, but both fun acts to watch.

The Bulmers and Selective Memory tents also provided great opportunities to discover some artists I hadn’t encountered before with personal favourites including Hot Girl, Olive Jones and Yunè Pinku. I also had the opportunity to jam out to some of the new acts quickly becoming Irish festival staples like Pastiche, Essiray and Negro Impacto. This was my first time photographing Essiray and having heard only good things from fellow photographers, she did not disappoint. Pastiche and Negro Impacto, always deliver solid performances and should be on your list of acts to watch.

Overall, this was a weekend where the rain kept coming down, the muck was up to the elbows but the craic was mighty and many great memories were made both onstage and off. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to capture some of the great female acts and hope that this is a festival that stands the test of time, and hopefully doubles down on supporting more diverse talent into the future.

All photos captured by Lisa Hamilton