Lawyer created the Music Festival of his dreams “no hassle” in central Ireland.

The Music and Arts Festival – Forest Fest is organized on July 21-23 in the village of Imo, County Lees, Ireland.

The bands Sister Sledge, Suede, James and The Proclaimers will perform concerts expected to collect 10,000 patrons every night.

Philip Maher, 54, told the Standard newspaper how he decided to organize Forest Fest.

“A few years ago, I was listening to my playlist on Spotify and it was The Stunning, Something Happens and Aslan, all these great Irish bands,” he said.

“I found I couldn’t connect to other Festivals for over 30 years – they seemed such a hassle, both getting in and out of them. We were abroad in 2019 and I started working with a laptop on my dream of an alternative Festival – having good contacts from other events – and within three to four hours, I was able to book 25% of the participating artists,” he explained.

Last winter, he said, he took advantage of the time difference to book bands touring cities in Australia, America and Canada – and convinced them to take the stage at Forest Fest, in Imo.

“I really wanted to create an alternative Festival with the highest quality bands and a really good experience for an older audience” write down.

“It is the Festival, in which you move very easily, the space is 6 hectares, but you can go from one stage to another in a few minutes” he added. He also emphasized that the population of the village on the days of the Festival increases by 40 times and hoteliers and shopkeepers benefit.

Suzanne Vega, Peter Hook and the Light, Gabrielle and Alabama 3 are included in the list of 100 artists participating in the Festival.