Sounds Like Summer: Fingal Festival in a Van
Following on from a successful first year, Festival in a Van is back on the road this June with Fingal County Council and Creative Ireland for the 2025 iteration of Sounds Like Summer: Fingal Festival in a Van, a six-day tour which celebrates the communities and artists who make the county thrive, while making accessible to all the magic of live music, dance, and spoken word.
Taking place over six days the last two weekends of June, this year’s tour is made even more exciting as we are encouraging locations to energise their neighbourhood the day of their FIAV visit through a bonus programme of activities designed by and for the people who live there. A true celebration of community spirit, Sounds Like Summer invites all those who call Fingal home to play an active role in making their own corner of the county a place of belonging, creativity, connection, and fun.
With Festival in a Van dropping down and lifting off like a spaceship everywhere from Ballyboughal to Balseskin, audiences are encouraged to grab their sunhat and a picnic blanket, and step out their front door into a summer wonderland of live performance, with this year’s artists including Pastiche (Malahide), D.McCabe (Rush), TemperMental Miscelayneous (Finglas), plus many more.
Tour stop locations include Skerries, Balbriggan, Mulhuddart, Howth, Baldoyle, Meakstown, and other towns, villages, and neighbourhoods across the county.
From housing estates to Howth Castle, from youth groups to refugee accommodation, all are welcome to jump into the festivities. Get the summer going with the Fingal Festival in a Van!
Amongst the performers for the second year of this tour is Pastiche, who burst onto the Irish scene mid-pandemic, bringing with her a fresh delivery of pop music. Brazen, fiery and memorable, she is a pop artist to sit up and take notice of. BBC’s Gemma Bradley described her as having ‘a promising future ahead’, and she has also been called, ‘Ireland’s fastest rising pop star’ (Hot Press).
Rush musician D. McCabe writes deeply personal songs warped by the sounds of seaside psychedelia, and featuring such unusual instruments as a broken mandolin, an old music box, and a synth made out of the audio tracks from some old home movies.
Elayne Adamczyk Harrington, known artistically as Temper-Mental MissElayneous, is a multidisciplinary artist, rapper, and educator from Dublin whose work fuses institutional critique, hip-hop, punk, and socially engaged practice. Raised in the working-class community of Finglas, she channels her roots, values, and rebellious spirit into everything she creates—whether through visual art, education, or performance.
We’re delighted also to be joined by special guest acts from each local community. Join us to discover your new favourite artist!
This midsummer series takes place from Fri 20 June – Sun 22 June, and again from Fri 27 June – Sun 29 June.
Since 2020 Festival in a Van has democratised access to the arts by delivering high-quality inclusive performances around Ireland. A trad session in the town square, a classical concert on the green, Shakespeare at schools, craic at care homes, and poets proclaiming in parks ... Festival in a Van tours nationwide, bringing the magic of live performance to the parts and places other venues cannot reach. Festival in a Van is supported by Creative Ireland, the Arts Council of Ireland and Ireland’s Local Authority network.