CHAMOMILE GARDEN – THE DUBLIN FESTIVAL EMBODYING A CARE FREE WORLD

Ireland is changing. A severe housing crisis in the capital and rising rental prices across the country has led to it having one of the highest numbers of young people still living at home in the EU. Combined with an unreliable job market, this has meant that almost 1 in 10 young people in the country are actively planning to leave with destinations such as Australia receiving a significant number of Irish emigrants over the past few years.

However, in the midst of the exodus brought on by this uncertain climate, there is an effervescent creative ecosystem emerging with collaboration and playful experimentation at the heart of it. This energy is embodied by Chamomile Club – a multidisciplinary creative collective at the forefront of this renaissance.

Spearheaded by artists Monjola, Moio, Aby Coulibaly, Thomas Kettle and more, the group is dedicated to creating spaces to bring young people in Dublin together. Whether that is through intimate open mics or lively parties, the only condition with Chamomile Club is that you ‘Don’t spill it’. 

The Chamomile ethos is illustrated by their flagship event, ‘Chamomile Garden’, an immersive event that invites you into their carefree world of exuberance. Last year’s event in the city centre transported us into a world of their own with greenhouses and swings in the elaborately designed venue, but this year saw the team push the envelope even further.

The setting for this edition of Chamomile Garden was the grand Orlagh House in Rathfarnham. As the car meandered along the winding road through green pastures dotted with horses on either side, it was clear that once again we were entering a different world. As if we needed any further confirmation that we were in for a special day, the Irish sun made a welcome appearance beaming relentlessly on the venue which was elaborately decorated with Chamomile and Kopparberg motifs.

The expansive grounds of Orlagh house were split between a main stage which hosted the star studded line up of acts and a ‘secret Garden’ area in the woods which saw live performances and DJ sets turn the woods into a rave. Free Koppaberg tokens were available to be redeemed by the mansion house throughout the day while local hero Mama Shee provided jollof rice to keep us fuelled throughout the day, keeping energies high. 

The quality of the acts throughout the day was stellar, from the bands at the start of the day Projective and Negro Impacto, to acts like F3miii and Efe who had the crowd bouncing. Over at the secret garden Crutchin and Fortune Igiebor turned the woods into their stage with high octane performances that had the trees skanking. Aby Coulibaly’s feel good set on the main stage was another highlight, as well as Hull native Downtown Kayoto’s smooth dance break during his performance. Across the day, it felt as though Chamomile had really brought people together for the sole purpose of spreading good energy with compliments and well wishes being exchanged  frequently between strangers. The motto of Chamomile Club may be ‘don’t spill it’,  but the drip on display throughout was exceptional – with everyone putting their best foot forward when it came to expressing themselves sartorially. UK Rap acts Strandz and BXKS also put on performances to remember with the latter bringing out hometown heroes Travis & Elzzz for an iconic performance of their track ‘Blockbuster’. This balance of homegrown talent and acts from across the Irish sea was consistently maintained throughout and it was only right for the night to close with Belfast’s Jordan Adetunji who raised the energy of the crowd before ending with multiple wheels of his viral hit ‘Kehlani’.

Objectively, Chamomile Garden was a wonderful time, but the added context of it being a black-owned festival in Dublin executed to that level, with such a stellar lineup of talent cannot be overlooked. Chamomile are changing the game and putting Dublin on the map and as an invigorated partygoer aptly put it, “This is everything Dublin can be”.  

I’m looking forward to next year already and you should be too. Don’t Spill it.

Written by Ezra Olaoya

Image Credits : Alex

Discover more from our Music section here !