PHOTOS: Misneach Festival (Day One) in Boston, MA (03.18.25)
When Irish singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy was planning where to hold Misneach Festival, Boston, MA, seemed like a no-brainer. The city’s connection to Ireland and Irish culture is known throughout the world. The festival took place over two nights across two venues, with the first night being an intimate showcase of pub-level Irish acts.
Kicking off night one of the festival was US-based singer-songwriter Hollan. A Huntsville, Alabama native, Hollan is a relatively unknown artist with just north of 7k monthly listeners on Spotify. She’s been releasing music since 2018, with her latest release, a single titled “Sweet Enough,” coming in December. Hollan played a 20-minute solo acoustic set in front of what she described as the biggest crowd she had ever performed in front of.
Second to the stage was Wicklow, Ireland natives Florence Road, a four-piece alternative rock band that evoked thoughts of Wolf Alice or The Cranberries. Despite having only released two songs, the group has amassed a large online following via TikTok, with over 800k followers on the app. Flo Ro, as they’re known to their fans, played 30 minutes of mostly unreleased music. It felt as if much of the sold-out Brighton crowd had turned out specifically to see them.
Dublin native Sorcha Richardson was next. Richardson began releasing music independently in 2012 and has two full-length albums, the latest, Smiling Like An Idiot, coming out in 2022. With a full band backing her, Richardson played through 40 minutes of material drawn mainly from her two studio albums and sprinkled in a pair of non-album singles.
Irish pub rock legend Mick Flannery closed out night one with a 75-minute set of mostly original material with a few covers mixed in. Dermot Kennedy joined Flannery for the final three songs of his set, drawing a massive reaction from the crowd who had been hoping Kennedy would make an appearance all night long. For the final song, “The Parting Glass,” Kennedy and Flannery were joined by all the other acts on stage for a group sing-a-long.
Check out photos from Misneach Festival Night One below.
Photos – Mick Flannery, Sorcha Richardson, Florence Road, Hollan at Brighton Music Hall in Boston, MA on March 18th:
