Laois festival BARE in the Woods was crowned Best Festival in Ireland at the Irish Hospitality Awards 2017 in the Crowne Plaza last night (Sunday).
“This is our second national award this year and our third since inception. We cannot wait to kick off in three weeks time In The Woods for our biggest and best year yet!” said organiser Barry Kelly.
Building on its success, the festival is developing into a three-day event, taking place this year on Friday, June 9th to Sunday, June 11th at Garryhinch Woods in Portarlington.
The Laois festival is no stranger to awards and was crowned the best one day festival in the country at the Irish Festival Awards in recent months.
Joining headliners House of Pain and Helmet in June is Canadian electro-pop sensation Kiesza.
Kiesza’s hit ‘Hideaway’ has clocked up an impressive 350 million views on YouTube, while the Dance Arena line up has also been revealed with acts of the calibre of Dan Shake, Cinema, Damiano Von Eckert, Phare, Mr Beatnik and Josh McGowan leading the way.
Irish indie stalwarts HamsandwicH join a sensational and diverse bill at BARE 17, that already features Mike Skinner & Murkage present Tonga, UK hip hop/grime artist Akala, Danish experimental pop trio WhoMadeWho, Rubberbandits, Right Said Fred, Alvarez Kings, Jon Stevens (INXS), The Frank & Walters and RSAG.
BARE in the Woods’ bespoke woodland site features a party island on a lake, chill out spots hidden amongst the trees and a full sized Crannog hosting the Spoken Word Stage.
Laois has developed a reputation as an ideal county to stage large scale events, most notably Electric Picnic which has been the premier event on the Irish music and entertainment scene for over a decade.
The county also hosted the hugely successful National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people.
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