OXEGEN 2006
THE ARTIST'S AND AUDIENCE'S ULTIMATE MUSIC FESTIVAL LAUNCHES TODAY!
MTV ANNOUNCE OXEGEN 2006 LINE-UP AND CONFIRM THEY WILL BE TV PARTNER
Never before has there been such huge anticipation about the launch of OXEGEN and it gives festival organisers great pleasure to announce the launch of 2006's fantastic festival.
Voted Ireland's number 1 festival by music fans, the artist's and audience's favourite festival returns boasting a truly spectacular line up for 2006. OXEGEN guarantees yet another completely unique experience for the festival fans at Punchestown on Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th July 2006 subject to licence.
Tickets go on sale Friday 24th February at 9pm, and for the first week will be exclusive only to www.mtv.co.uk/oxegen
MTV, who named OXEGEN 2005 "Festival of the Year" flew into Dublin today for this years launch. MTV's Tim Kash had this to say:
"I'm really excited to be involved with Oxegen for the second year running. Last year was MTV's first year at the festival, and in between being hungover and watching some of the biggest bands in the world we also filmed some fantastic live footage! With another stellar line up this year i can't wait to come back for more! Bring on Oxegen 2006."
MTV's coverage of the Oxegen festival will culminate in an Ultimate Festivals Weekend on the 29th and 30th of July with 150 hours of programming spanning 8 channels in the UK and Ireland, including MTV, VH1 & TMF and will also be shown across Europe. Oxegen will be MTV's biggest live music commitment in the UK and Ireland for 2006.
Seminal British legends The Who and American funk-rock heroes Red Hot Chili Peppers, who last played to 115,000 fans at Dublin's Phoenix Park, lead today's announcement as they will bring the curtain down on the event by headlining the Main Stage at Punchestown on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Sure to satisfy passionate fans and a new generation alike, The Who's OXEGEN debut is sure to be one nothing short of the band themselves- truly legendary. One of the key figures of the mod movement in the mid 60's, they produced anthems for a generation including 'My Generation', 'Substitute' and 'I Can't Explain'. Their OXEGEN debut takes place at the start of a worldwide tour celebrating the release of their first studio album 'It's Hard' over 24 years ago.
Red Hot Chili Peppers have been voted one of the worlds best live acts and won countless awards with MTV and Ireland's own Meteor Awards amongst others. Now the band are set to play their ONLY Irish date on their forthcoming tour at OXEGEN. As music fans worldwide wait in anticipation for the release of 'Stadium Arcadium', the bands 9th studio album, and first double offering, OXEGEN prepares for what will no doubt be one of the defining performances of the festival.
The Strokes, the coolest band on the planet, who are currently on a sold out European tour, make an exciting return to OXEGEN for the 2nd time following their blistering performance at the very first OXEGEN festival.
Kaiser Chiefs blitzed the Brit Awards last week by scooping 3 prestigious awards, British Rock Act, British Live Act and British Group! Earlier this month the band flew into Dublin to accept two Meteor Ireland music Awards for Best International Group and Album. The band have "planned a handful of festival appearances this year" including OXEGEN.
Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand make a welcome return as Richard Ashcroft, former front man of The Verve, makes a highly anticipated debut at OXEGEN this year following his last festival appearance at Slane Castle.
Ireland's Bellx1 have had an amazing 12 months with a number one album "Flock" and selling out a host of Irish shows including the RDS. This will be Bellx1's only Irish date this summer.
Record-smashing northern punk-pop buzz band the Arctic Monkeys make a welcome debut at OXEGEN. The band are fastly becoming as popular as Oasis as their debut album 'Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not' sold over 306,000 copies in the first week of its release.
World Music star, Manu Chao, will make his first ever Irish festival performance at OXEGEN this year. Describing himself as a "human sampler", Manu Chao, has had phenomenal commercial success wordwide and we are delighted he is taking part in our festival this year.
Also announced today are Legendary Scottish rockers Primal Scream and Iceland's Sigur Ros who bring their soaring, climactic melodies to OXEGEN for the very first time. And that's not all, Grammy Award winner Damian Marley brings his urban hip hop to the festival!
The Spirit Dance Arena sees Chicago house impresario Felix da Housecat and David Morales, Brooklyn DJ and producer extraordinaire, take to the decks at OXEGEN to show why they are the world's most respected DJs.
The outstanding line up announced today together with the amazing atmosphere at Punchestown will certify a unique festival experience for music fans from all over the globe.
Line-up announced as follows:
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Sun
The Who - Sat
The Strokes - Sat
Kaiser Chiefs - Sun
Franz Ferdinand - Sun
Bellx1 - Sat
Arctic Monkeys - Sat
Richard Ashcroft - Sat
Sigur Ros - Sun
Manu Chao - Sun
Primal Scream - Sat
Damian Marley - Sun
Felix Da Housecat
David Morales
As always, many more artists and attractions will be unveiled over the coming weeks and months that will continue to ensure that OXEGEN is one of the world's leading festival experiences.
Now in it's third year OXEGEN is consistently a sell out success. 2005's event sold out a record breaking eight weeks ahead of the festival.
Last year OXEGEN stormed the NME's Festival poll for 2005. OXEGEN was voted Top 5 Best Music Festival throughout the UK and Ireland by fans ahead of Live8, V Festival and Wireless. It's was the first time an Irish Music festival has ever featured in the poll.
Denis Desmond, Director of the OXEGEN festival had this to say:
"The line up that we have unveiled today is probably the strongest we have ever had at launch time. There was great anticipation at OXEGEN last year, both in the audience and backstage. I am extremely pleased that The Who are performing this year! It is also great to welcome Red Hot Chili Peppers who are one of the best live bands in the world. OXEGEN's sister festival, Scotland's T In The Park, sold out in under one hour last Friday so we are expecting a very quick sell out this year. It could be days rather than weeks."
"Now all we need is the fabulous weather we enjoyed last year - and of course the all important music fans. We look forward to seeing you all in July."
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
