The fastest-growing festival in Ireland returns with a bang for its third year. 2023’s Forever Young Festival, where the 80s come alive, will take place on July 14-16 at Kildare’s beautiful Palmerstown House Estate and showcases some of the greatest artists of the 1980s. Take a trip back in time for three days in style and relive your youth! Erasure’s Andy Bell alongside UK pop duo Bananarama and Squeeze are set to headline the festival (see below for the full mouth-watering line-up).
Each year, folks bring their camping chairs, reunite their old gangs, and feel forever young over the weekend, watching over 30 iconic original bands from the late ‘70s to the early ‘90s”. This year includes Billy Ocean, ABC, Tony Hadley, Go West, Soul II Soul, and many more. These artists are at their peak, with most celebrating 4 decades or more in the business, and sound better than ever.
“Bananarama put on a brilliant show last year, we wouldn’t normally have an artist from the previous year back this quickly, but it’s a special occasion, a worldwide 40th- anniversary tour!” says Festival Organiser Dr Sharon Alston smiles, speaking from her home in Co. Laois So many people wrote to us after 2022 and said, ‘We’ve got to have Bananarama back!’. And with Neville Staple from Fun Boy 3 joining us, it will be extra special.
Erasure’s Andy Bell | Bananarama | Squeeze | Billy Ocean | Tony Hadley | ABC | Soul II Soul | Tom Bailey | Midge Ure | Go West | Jason Donovan | Hot House Flowers | Cry Before Dawn | Cutting Crew | China Crisis | John Parr | Blancmange | From the Specials – Neville Staples | From The Jam | Jerry Fish | Stray Cats -Slim Jim Phantom | Modern Romance | Heaven 17’s Glen Gregory | Jaki Graham | Propaganda’s Claudia Brucken | Lotus Eaters Peter Coyle | The Farms Peter Hooton | M- Robin Scott | The Doctor | Qween + more
This is a high-end adult party weekend par excellence like no other… A truly unforgettable musical experience. A mixtape weekend where colleagues, friends, and family can reconnect with their youth, pull on their leg warmers and ra ra skirts, don the shoulder pads, roll up their suit sleeves along with mirrored aviator shades, and enjoy the 80’s all over again. This is a trip in a time machine, and true to their era, a classic DeLorean and Knight Rider ‘Kit’ car welcomes you at the main arena entrance. Guests also get to enjoy the vintage atmosphere and the nostalgic thrill of the 80s gaming world at the retro gaming tent with Space Invaders, Pac-man, and original arcade games that set the foundation of all gaming.
Forever Young has on-site camping, luxury glamping, campervan, and caravan pitches available. With high-end flushing toilets and hot showers, glamping with home comforts – including beds, duvets, power, pamper parlours, golf buggies that give lifts around the site, there is an experience to suit all requirements and budgets. For those who can’t or won’t camp, an array of hotel packages and transport options take all the hassle and confusion out of booking your weekend. This mixtape school disco weekend is not by any means only for the festival crowd. It’s all killer, no filler, with era-defining hits for all tastes, all day.
The Forever Young Festival exploded onto the scene in 2019, winning awards for ‘Best Medium-Sized Festival’ & ‘Best Line-up’ in its first year of operation. Post lockdown -July 22- attendees adored the opportunity to finally get out and party in the sun. It’s impossible to put into words, but something very special happens at Forever Young, the attendees described it as ‘a field in Kildare, that just overflows with thrills and love, the best weekend of my life’. As we return in 2023, we hope to see you there!
Festival founder and organiser Dr Sharon Alston recounts:
“I wanted to launch a new animal welfare charity; Ireland didn’t have any ‘80s festivals. I’ve been to loads – they’re brilliant fun, I thought it would make the perfect fundraiser. It gives people an absolute shot of something money can’t buy: to lift you up and make you feel young again’.
Forever Young 2023 will have a bigger stage, VIP, Gold and late-night areas, and more entertainment than you can shake a shamrock at. We’ll be showing the All-Ireland semi-final matches in the Big Top tent, so you won’t miss a single thing.”
The Forever Young team is always on hand to help with any queries, adding a nice personal
touch to the fun.
LINK TO TICKETS:https://foreveryoungfestival.ie/tickets/
Official Website https://foreveryoungfestival.ie/