Bray Wanderers Music Festival Gets Red Card

Craig David’s day in Bray may never come…

nnounced in early March, a four-day music festival at the Bray Wanderers’ Carlisle Grounds may now not go ahead.

And that’s because independent promoters Bad Apple seemingly forgot to sign, seal and deliver all the music festival permission slips and licences needed for a four-day music festival at the Bray Wanderers’ Carlisle Grounds.

Entitled Under The Giant Festival, and listed as running from Thursday, August 20th to Sunday 23rd, Craig David was the first act to be confirmed. Bad Apple’s Zack Dutton has said the aim of the festival was to bring international headline artists to “what is one of the most beautiful coastal settings in the country“.

He’s talking about Bray Wanderers’ Carlisle Grounds, by the way, the football club going into partnership with Bad Apple, thanks to a capacity of 4,999 people per night. That one of Dutton’s grandfathers, Joe, was a founder of Bray Wanderers was a big part of the inspiration, the Under The Giant title also coming from the old man‘s description of a rock formation on Bray Head as a sleeping giant.

None of which came up at the April meeting of the Bray district meeting, Councillor Joe Behan instead expressing his frustration at the lack of communication from Bad Apple, as well as the premature promotion of the event and the absence of legally required licences.

According to today’s soaraway Indo, the announcement of Under The Giant last month came as a surprise not only to council staff but local residents too, with district manager Jackie Carroll also confirming that she had not heard about the festival until the advertisements appeared.

Upon meeting Bray Wanderers management, Carroll was assured that they were “very apologetic” for what had happened, with the promoter now instructed to cease all advertising and promotional activity.

“Residents will need to be consulted with,” Carroll went on to explain, the first in a list of requirements the promoters must now undertake if they have any hope of the August festival going ahead.

Meanwhile, the promoter says he has met with the council on April 15th, and is working through the planning process now. Dutton also stated that major international artists are already lined up for the festival, due to be announced shortly.

Well, as soon as all those pesky legal requirements are actually met, of course…