Ireland isn’t California: we’re giving Coachella vibes a miss this summer

Say what you want about the Irish, but one thing’s certain; we know how to have a good time.

The Danes have their Hygge (cosiness) and we have our craic – making almost any situation fun is a national pastime. And while we love to travel and experience new things, we’ll always favour the Irish way of doing things when it comes to having the craic and festivals are no different. We’ve watched our Californian cousins live it up at Coachella but for our festival season, we’re saying thanks but no thanks to the Coachella vibes. Here’s exactly how an Irish festival is different to, and dare we say better than, an American one. 1.Weather Obviously. If the sun peeks through the clouds for a few hours, it’s pure fluke. These random bursts of sunshine make us way more appreciative of the good weather than if we were living in Cali, plus there’s something fun about sliding through the muck on the way to see your favourite act.   2.Clothing This is closely related to the weather. Sure, we’ll freeze our way through the first half of the day in booty shorts and bodysuits like a Kardashian, but come teatime you have to put a giant hoodie and a woolly hat to keep going. As for the lads? They’ll start out in tank tops and end up in their local club trackie by nightfall, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. 3.Accommodation Accommodation is a pretty swanky word for the ring of damp tents you’ll find at an Irish festival. No hotels rooms or fancy-pants yurts for us, we’ll stick to pitching up alongside a gang of twenty from Mayo that we’ve never met before. Sure how did anyone staying at the hotels at Coachella manage to get a sing-song going? It makes no sense.   4.Celeb spotting Sure, you could see someone world-famous at Coachella, but what’s the chances you’ll get past their wall of bodyguards to snap a selfie? Slim to none. Irish celebs (we use the term celebs loosely) are far more accessible. Sure you could well end up with someone from Fair City in your tent. Score. 5.The atmosphere Coachella looks, dare we say it, a bit stuffy. Walking around the desert in full makeup and perfectly pressed outfits posing for Instagrams? No ta. The relaxed way that the Irish gather to celebrate good music and good times can’t be beaten.   6.The price Tickets for Coachella start at $400, but stick on the cost of getting to California and staying there and you’re looking at quadruple that. Compare that to a weekend in Ireland and there’s really no contest.