The Ultimate Irish Music Festival Is Coming to Australia

Your plans for next year’s St. Patrick’s Day week are already sorted thanks to the ultimate Irish music festival.

Misneach is a brand-new global music festival that’s bound to become an annual favourite on the festival calendar.

The creation of beloved Irish artist Dermot Kennedy, Misneach will celebrate Ireland’s rich musical heritage in March 2025.

Misneach (it means ‘Courage” in Gaelic – we know you were curious) is heading to two cities famous for being thriving centres of Irish culture: Sydney and Boston.

On March 16th, 2025, Sydney will be awash in green, white, and gold, as Misneach brings everyone together to celebrate Irish music and identity. Just don’t overdo the celebrations – St. Patrick’s Day is just round the corner, after all.

Kennedy himself will curate the festival lineup, aiming to create a strong mixture of contemporary and traditional Irish music and artists.

“For so many years now I have watched the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in so many different cities with a massive sense of pride,” the musician reveals. “I’ve always been so moved by the way Irish history and culture is celebrated all over the world. But I’ve also had the feeling that, for a country so rich in culture, I didn’t see it being represented fully in these events worldwide and I wondered, could we change that?”

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Kennedy continues: “With this inaugural year we hope to begin an annual tradition that will enrich the St. Patrick’s day celebrations around the world with music and the arts, by showcasing some of the best new and established Irish musical talent, as well as musical talent of the Irish diaspora.

“We will also be giving back to the communities in Ireland and the host cities. I’ve been lucky enough to feel the love that the world has for Ireland and its music, and I’m so excited to be starting something very special.”

Alongside Misneach, Kennedy will play headline shows to captivate his local fans, while there will also be key showcases for the best rising artists in Sydney and Boston.

In Sydney, a full outdoor festival will take over The Domain on March 16th, following the city’s official St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Keep your fingers crossed for some nice late-summer weather – although it might be more appropriate for a classically Irish drizzle.

The aim of Misneach couldn’t be clearer: to celebrate the thing that unites Irish people more than anything else, a love of music.

Tickets to the Sydney edition of Misneach are on sale now. Find out more information here.

Wishing to pay it forward, Kennedy has ensured that a portion of proceeds from the Sydney edition’s profit will benefit Barretstown, who provide vital services and camps to children with serious illness, and Ireland Funds Australia, who fund community level projects that support peace, culture, education, and community development.

Kennedy would be enough of a draw for most people. Amassing four billion streams across platforms, Kennedy has the best-selling debut album in Ireland this millennium thanks to his debut album, Without Fear.

He’s a Platinum-selling artist in over 12 countries, has headlined iconic venues such as New York City’s Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 Arena, and shared stages with Niall Horan, Noah Kahan, Zach Bryan, and many more.

Kennedy also counts a certain Taylor Swift as an admirer, with the pop superstar praising his BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge cover of “Anti-Hero” in 2022. “WOW – absolutely love this,” Swift wrote on Twitter when the cover went viral on social media.