Festival Connections @ Electric Picnic

by Conor on September 8th, 2009

At about 10.30 on Friday morning I arrived down @ the Electric Picnic and started bumping into friends as early as the car park.  This year which was my second visit having my debut last summer & I could find my way around much better even though there were no maps to be found any where.  And timetables were fairly thin on the ground too making meeting people the usual nightmare !  It is only a matter of time when a ‘Friend Finder’ app is available from the likes of Locle and promoted on Ovi.com by my kind hosts Nokia (Thanks Aoife !!)  .. fingers crossed !

I got to see parts of a good few shows and particularly liked Orbital, Florence & the machine, 2 many DJs, RSAG & the Donal Dineen Band @ Body & Soul.  As usual the Arcadia dance factory was an awesome feast for the eyes & ears.

Greetings to fellow festival friends Mouna (thanks for the lift!), Alvin, Lisa, Leonard, Marius, Aiden, Eighty Twenty’s Dave, Cara, &,  Michelle & Graham; Brian & Conor from Krystle, Nokia’s Aoife, Sian, Ailbhe & Niamh … RaboDirect’s Aoife, Aisling, Mark, Martin & Caoimhe, Johnny, Victor, Anne, Yvonne, Paddy, Jimmy, Stephen, Celia & Charlie’s sista Carrie !  Hope to see you all next year & maybe may even organise a Connector meetup down there … the most famous person I ‘spoke to’ was Louis Walsh& rumour has it he is coming to Connector Music event next week @ The Pod (Wed 16th Sept) !

Overall it was a great weekend & a nice break from the city & a comfortable bed … but I suppose I am at the stage of 2009 where I need some sun this year, not more mud ! Although the weather overall was cloudy, windy & very showery on Sunday @ lunchtime, it could have been a lot worse !!

Below are a couple of night shots of two sponsored tents with Nokia in Blue and Bacardi in red with their people partying below the full moon !

Guinness 250 Arthur's Day connections

by Conor on September 8th, 2009

With just seventeen days to go until the Arthur’s Day celebrations begin in Dublin on the 24th of September, GUINNESS is today revealing the latest impressive line-up of artists, A-list presenters and international broadcast partners taking part, as the countdown begins to the global festivities.

This is a truly historic party in Dublin and one our intrepid Connector will be checking out & blogging from so please watch this space & check out www.guinness.com

Joining previously announced artists Sir Tom Jones, Estelle, Sugababes and Kasabian at the Dublin Arthur’s Day celebrations are Roots Manuva, Paolo Nutini, The Magic Numbers, OK Go and White Belt Yellow Tag, along with some of the best live acts in Ireland today including The High Kings, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, General Fiasco, Spring Break, David Kitt, and Oppenheimer.

Around the world amazing talent will perform at Arthur’s Day events including Sean Paul as headlining act at the live show in Lagos, Nigeria and The Black Eyed Peas performing at celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These remarkable global events will see over 60 artists performing more than 60 hours of live music in just one day at events in cities around the world

Hosting the event in Dublin will be Cat Deeley and Ronan Keating who will take to the stage in the St. James’s Gate Brewery, and will be joined by Colin Murray, Michelle De Swarte and Michelle Doherty who will be presenting live from the four studio venues. The Arthur’s Day celebrations will be beamed across the globe from Ireland, UK, US and Africa via broadcast partners TV3, SKY, ITV2 and DirecTV

Publicans and their customers all across the country will be joining in the Arthur’s Day celebrations by raising a GUINNESS to Arthur and witnessing the live music events which will be broadcast live into pubs and bars on the night via an exclusive channel on the Sky TV platform.

The Arthur’s Day celebrations, to mark 250 years since Arthur Guinness signed the 9,000 year lease on the St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin, will begin in the Irish capital at 17:59 local time with a toast to Arthur and carry on around the world in Lagos, Kuala Lumpur and New York.

In Dublin, 33 events will take place simultaneously, including a major performance at the St James’s Gate Brewery and four studio venues as well as 28 intimate gigs at pubs around Dublin hosting local acts and surprise guest artists from the A-list line-up. The full line-up for Dublin studio venues and local acts for pub venues has also been announced today.*

New artists announced today are: Born Blonde, Concerto for Constantine, David Kitt, Fiona Melady, Fionn Regan, General Fiasco, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, Leopold, Lumiere, OK Go, Oppenheimer, Paolo Nutini, Roots Manuva, Sean Paul, Sharon Shannon, Spring Break, The Coronas, The High Kings, The Infomatics, The Magic Numbers and White Belt Yellow Tag.

As part of the Arthur’s Day celebrations The Guinness & Co. has pledged to donate €6 million to the Arthur Guinness Fund which will be active from September 2009. Arthur Guinness and his family were responsible for some of the most well known acts of philanthropy in Ireland and to honour and continue this legacy we are establishing this fund with the goal of enabling and empowering individuals with skills and opportunities to deliver a measured benefit to their communities.

For more information on the GUINNESS 250 celebrations please visit www.guinness.com

Nokia – Re-Connecting Electric Picnic People

by Conor on September 1st, 2009

Nokia – ‘Connecting People’ has been slightly amended in the blog post today as we have some good news for all Nokia mobile phone users @ Electric Picnic this weekend.  Nokia are providing a great green solution for the dreaded problem of a dying or dead mobile phone battery at a music festival !  Now you can potentially save your festival, save on electricity & also get the latest information about the festival @ the Nokia Recharge Pod !

And don’t forget to go to Nokia’s ovi.com where you can register for ‘Ovi Synch’ & back up all your phone numbers & more for free – this is a smart move in case of a festival mishap where you lose your phone & all your numbers !

Here is the message from Nokia about the Recharge Pods -

“Nokia are delighted to announce that they are contributing to the Carbon Responsibility Policy of the Electric Picnic by bringing for the 2nd year, the “Recharge Pod”. This is an eco-friendly, freestanding wind and solar power mobile phone charging station, capable of charging up to 120 Nokia handsets an hour for free!

The Nokia Recharge and Information area will keep you constantly updated with up to the minute festival news, updates, and information on all the services on offer at the Electric Picnic, and all while charging your Nokia handset in the Recharge Pod.

The Recharge Pod has been specifically designed for use at outdoor events and festivals, as it doesn’t require a power supply; the entire system is self sufficient and runs from its own renewable solar and wind power sources.  The Recharge Pod also powers its own lighting; utilizing low power LED’s to illuminate the inside, the turbine and the branding.”

Sian Gray, Head of Marketing for Nokia Ireland comments, “We are committed to doing things differently and reducing our own energy consumption.  We are delighted to be bringing back the “Recharge Pod” to Electric Picnic 2009.

Connect with Nokia Electric Picnic tickets !

by Conor on September 1st, 2009

As you may know I am connected to the fine people @ Nokia and like to pass on details about cool stuff they are up to … so do you fancy a chance to win two great packages to the fabulous Electric Picnic festival ?!  If you still have not got a ticket, this could be your last chance for fantastic free festival fun with your friends !!

1st Super Prize – 2 x Electric Picnic Weekend Passes & Camping & Electric Picnic pack

2nd Super Prize – 2 x Electric Picnic Weekend Passes & Camping & Electric Picnic pack

An Electric Picnic pack includes a 4 man tent, 1 Nokia speaker set, 1 Nokia travel charger & 2 ponchos. For more festival details go to www.electricpicnic.ie

How to Enter
1 – Simply go to Nokia’s web site www.ovi.com
2 – Register for a free Ovi email account
3 – Email your name & phone number to nokiaelectricpicnic@ovi.com from your Ovi email

On Thursday afternoon we will check the email accounts and phone the winners so best of luck !!

Terms & Conditions
Closing date is Thurs 3rd Sept @ 12pm. You must be over 18 & an Irish resident. The prize is non-transferrable. Winners may be asked to pose for promotional photos. Only Ovi mail account holders are eligible.

Connector Music Event

by Conor on August 28th, 2009

Connector Intern Andrew's Farewell

by Jamie Richardson on August 19th, 2009

Summer is nearly over, and that could only mean that Andrew and I will part ways with Connector …at least in the geographical sense.

In fact, Andrew has already departed! Last week was the end of his internship program, so we celebrated his farewell last Thursday evening. We started the night out at O’Donoghues and later met up with BalconyTV’s Tom, Stephen & their intern Jess for a wonderful farewell meal at Hugo’s.

The night was great fun, and we got to enjoy live music from Tom who was performing at Hugo’s. Incredible music Tom, great job!

There was definitely a “Connector” theme to the night, with Andrew’s gift of Connector-colored cufflinks from Conor, as well as a wine bottle that looks oddly familiar …

What a great summer it’s been and we’re undoubtedly sad to see Andrew go! I’ve got a couple days left before I’m heading back across the Atlantic as well . . .

Connect @ the Speed Connector Event !

by Jamie Richardson on August 18th, 2009

What’s one way to guarantee at least 20 connections in one night? Speed Connector, of course!

This Friday is August’s Connector Event, Speed Connector. Inspired by the concept of Speed Dating, Speed Connector is a fast and easy way to make a multitude of connections!

Connector No.13 – August 21 @ 7pm – late, Krystle, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.

This event is being held at Krystle nightclub and includes free sponsored drinks from Jameson.

To RSVP to the event on Facebook, go >here>>

Come join us for Speed Connector, and we hope to see you there!

Connections @ Bulmers Live at Leopardstown

by Jamie Richardson on August 10th, 2009

Last Thursday evening the Connector team was off to the races at Bulmers Live at Leopardstown! Thanks to some free tickets from Bulmers, we got to enjoy the horse races and a great outdoor concert from The Coronas!

The night was spent watching the horses, eating some food from the Bulmers feast, making some connections with the jockeys, and moving to the beat of The Coronas’ great performance!

For more on the summer concerts for Bulmers Live at Leopardstown, check out their site >here>>

Connect w Bulmers Leopardstown Live feat. The Coronas

by connector on July 29th, 2009

Connector has a great opportunity available for you! 10 free tickets to Bulmers Leopardstown Live to give away for friends of Connector courtesy of our pals at Bulmers. The show is on Thursday August 6th and features great music from The Coronas!

For more information about Bulmers Leopardstown Live go >here>>

If you are interested in getting one of these 10 free tickets to Bulmers Leopardstown Live, contact Connector asap on  conor@connector.ie

Connecting with U2 in Croke Park

by Andrew Sigle on July 28th, 2009

Last night I was privileged enough to join Conor for the U2 concert located at Croke Park. It was a great evening filled with many connections. The whole atmosphere of the concert really made for an excellent night. Of course we started out at Quinns for a pint before the show. Quinns was crowded with people waiting for the concert, so we chose to make our way towards Croke Park along with the rest of the restless mob.

Our tickets were scanned and we were in the concert!!! One last trip to the beer garden to get in the mood for the concert, and we were ready to enter the stadium. When I first saw the stage my mouth dropped and I could not believe my eyes. In front of me stood the largest stage that I have ever seen. It is hard to even describe the shape of it, so you will just have to look at pictures to determine for yourself.

A mobile movie from Conor before the gig got HOT …

Here are some pictures of the night …

Finally it was time for U2 to enter the stage. It was amazing the energy that went through that stadium when they entered onto the stage and began playing for the crowd. It is safe to say that we connected with all of Dublin in just one moment at the concert. Like I said the energy that passed through the stadium was a connection in itself, we were all united as one during that concert. I personally was a huge fan of the wave that took place before the concert even started. It continued for about 7 passes around the stadium, which was amazing.

U2 really rocked the stage and took the night away. The best part of the concert was the gigantic screen that they used. It eventually unfolded like an accordion for one of their songs. It was something that I will always remember, and that words can’t even describe. I am happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at U2 and will remember that show for a lifetime.

Check out the mobile phonelight milkyway !