Fest Friends Forever...

Legends line up for bash

- Mark Kavanagh

FESTIVAL season is almost upon us, with the likes of Forbidden Fruit, Beyond The Pale and Longitude just weeks away from lift-off.

For older readers, the Forest Fest at Emo in Co Laois offers an impressive line-up, with Billy Bragg, Manic Street Preachers, Franz Ferdiand and Orbital among the headliners. New Order legend Peter Hook is also on the bill.

It's a three-day camping affair and it runs from July 25 to July 27.

If you can't wait that long and prefer the idea of a camping-free one-day event, then it's hard to beat the stellar line-up on offer at the Forever Now festival in England.

Armies of Irish music fans travelling to festivals in the UK and Europe has become commonplace in recent years. Return flights from Dublin to airports near Forever Now, for example, are currently less expensive than a cab home to some parts of the county from the city centre.