Popical Island's big bands bash

To coincide with the release of their new compilation on July 7th, independent indiepop label and collective Popical Island will stage a free all-day gig at Whelan’s on the same day. Some of Ireland’s finest independent bands and artists will play both Upstairs at Whelan’s and in the main venue from 2pm until late.

The line-up includes Patrick Kelleher, Squarehead, Tieranniesaur, Grand Pocket Orchestra, Ginnels, Groom, Mumblin’ Deaf Ro, little xs for eyes, Land Lovers and more, all of whom feature on the album.

The double album is the third and final annual Popical Island compilation, although Mike Stevens from the label was keen to stress that the conclusion of the series doesn’t signal anything ominous. “We figured there’s no point in bringing these out every year or people might get sick of them,” he said. “Putting a cap on the Popical compilation frees us up to make plans for other awesome stuff. We can say: ‘Okay, we’ve done that, we’re proud of it – what’s next?’. We already have lots of deadly plans in the pipeline for next year.” popicalisland.tumblr.com