May festival fun in Greenfields of Laois

Block Rockin Beats, Noel Fitzpatrick Band, Jesse Sluds set for Greenfields in Stradbally

placeholder image — Block Rockin Beats, Noel Fitzpatrick Band, Jesse Sluds set for Greenfields in Stradbally

Ballykilcavan Estate in Stradbally to host the Greenfields Festival over the May holiday weekend

Excitement is building as yet another festival puts down roots with Stradbally playing host to the relocated Greenfields Festival over the May Bank Holiday Weekend.

First established on a site near Athy as a two-day camping music festival in 2022, the event has rapidly grown in size since, with the organisers deciding last summer to relocate across the River Barrow from Kildare to Laois for the 2026 edition.

Already home to the Electric Picnic, Stradbally is the host town, with the Ballykilcavan Farm and Brewery estate off the Athy Road the event venue.

The 2026 festival features 90 acts over five stages, with the lineup including a genuine cornucopia of styles from pop to rock and country.

Headlining on Friday night is Block Rockin’ Beats, which is the live incarnation of Dec Pierce’s hugely popular Today FM radio show of the same name.

“The show is all about energy, nostalgia, fun - we want you to completely lose yourself for a few hours. It’s more than a gig; it’s a trip back through the anthems that shaped us, powered by a full live band and incredible guest vocalists. When the crowd meets the band at full tilt, it’s pure magic,” says Dec.

Also featuring on Friday are two Navan brothers who perform as Le Boom. Their set promises high-energy dance music whose sound has been described as “4 am chats with your mates”.

More high-energy dance tunes are promised by Vengaboys. The Dutch Europop outfit is best known for their hit singles "We Like to Party", "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!", and "We're Going to Ibiza",

Ballyfin native and star of The Supervet, Noel Fitzpatrick, returns home to Laois to perform with his rock band on Friday night.

The Noel Fitzpatrick Band have performed in the UK over the past year and is now in huge demand to perform at various festivals in Ireland.

Noel and his she seven piece outfit are looking forward to performing on both May 2 and 3 in Stradbally.

Noel said of the show: “ I am very excited about bringing my band to perform at The Greenfield’s Festival in my native county of Laois, and I am looking forward to playing a selection of well-known songs combined with some of our originals. It’s going to be great,” he said in a statement to the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

Noel’s band are also very well known individual musicians who tour extensively with artists like Deep Purple, Take That, ELO, Robbie Williams, and Gary Barlow, to name just a few. MORE BELOW PHOTO.

The band’s first single, ‘Love is Forever,’ was a hit on its release earlier this year, and the group is working on their debut album with none other than the legend Peter Gabriel.

Catch Noel and his incredible band when they play Greenfields Festival main stage on Saturday 2nd May from 7.30 - 8.30 pm and on the Heineken Stage on Sunday night.

There’ll be a distinct 80s New Romantic pop synth sound in Stradbally on Sunday night with the headline act, The Human League, taking to the stage.

They achieved worldwide success after their third album, Dare, produced several hit singles, including the UK and US number one "Don't You Want Me". The band are still fronted by lead singer Philip Oakey.

The Human League have had six top 20 albums and 13 top 20 singles in the UK and has sold more than 20 million records worldwide.

Another 1980s group is also headlining on Sunday. Level 42 had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s with their music, which blended jazz, funk and pop. Their highest-charting single was "Lessons in Love".

Another pop classic is sure to have the festival crowd bopping during Whigfield’s set on Sunday night.

Sannie Charlotte Carlson, also known as Whigfield, is an Italian-Danish singer who is best known for her 1993 single "Saturday Night", which became an international hit that more recently featured in Derry Girls.

Fans of country music can also look forward to some of the best of Irish talent entertaining across the two days.

Among those taking to the Country Stage will be Michael English and band, Jimmy Buckley and band, Clion Hagan, Jack Keogh, Alistair Fingleton and others.

A special attraction to fans of country will be Wexford teenager Jesse Sludds, who was recently added to the bill as a support act for Shania Twain's Limerick concert this July after he was crowned the inaugural winner of the search for Ireland's newest country music star.

He will also open The Late Late Show Country Special in October.