The Forest Is Calling
Forget corporate sponsors. Forget VIP enclosures. Forget blockbuster headliners. The most intriguing music festival to emerge in Cavan this summer is arriving instead with birdsong, towering pines and a sense of mystery.
On Bank Holiday Monday, August 3, singer-songwriter and promoter Gráinne Conaty will transform a secret location deep within Killykeen Forest Park into an immersive woodland concert experience, bringing together eight emerging Irish artists for six hours of live music beneath the trees.
For Gráinne, the festival is less a leap than the natural next chapter in a story that began almost two years ago upstairs in the 7 Oaks café in Cavan Town.
“It started almost two years ago,” she says. “We've had four fantastic shows in Seven Oaks and each of those shows sold out. It has fostered this beautiful intimate showcase of original music from people from Cavan and some people who've travelled from Dublin and different parts of the country, just wanting a platform to play music on.”
The success of those evenings revealed something often overlooked: audiences are hungry for original work when it is presented with care and authenticity.
Gráinne's response was to think bigger. Or perhaps broader.
Instead of expanding into a larger indoor venue, she began imagining a festival where music and landscape would become inseparable.
“'Ambient in the Forest' was always the next dream,” she tells the Celt - a vision rooted as much in a philosophy as an event plan.
“My aim is to try and marry original music, grassroots original music, and our beautiful nature in Cavan together,” Gráinne explains. “To encourage people to get out into nature and to identify that with live music that is potentially inspired by nature.”
At first glance, the concept sounds appears almost self-evident. Yet in a cultural landscape increasingly dominated by arena tours, algorithms and endless digital distractions, the idea carries a certain degree of radicalism. The forest becomes not merely a venue, but part of the statement.
WELLNESS
Gráinne worries people have become disconnected from outdoor experiences despite living in a county and country whose landscape remains one of its greatest assets.
“Being in a forest has a great benefit from a wellness perspective,” she says. “And then it's lovely to bring live music outdoors!”
She laughs when discussing Ireland's complicated relationship with its own weather.
“Even though we live in Ireland, I sometimes think people are afraid of the elements.”
The festival, she hopes, offers a reason to embrace both.
For years, Killykeen Forest Park has occupied a special place in the Gowna native's imagination. Long before grant applications and event logistics entered the picture, she saw untapped potential in its winding trails, hidden clearings and lakeside views.
She recalls countless visits during winter mornings, autumn afternoons and spring evenings, often finding herself almost entirely alone.
“I've been out there sometimes in winter, sometimes in spring, in autumn, and you wouldn't have a sinner around.”
With the arrival of a popular coffee dock bringing new life to the park, Conaty remains convinced that Killykeen could become something more- a cultural destination as well as a natural one.
“I explored about 10 different areas, spaces, all outdoor places,” she says. “But it kept coming back to Killykeen.”
FAITH
Turning that dream into reality required faith as much as planning.
Earlier this year she applied for a Communities Grant through Cavan Arts Office and Cavan County Council.
“I just sent it in on a wing and a prayer. If it came through, grace. If not, what about it?”
The application was successful, providing support not only for the forest festival but also for future showcase events.
The grant represents another milestone in a creative journey shaped by local arts investment.
Back in 2016, Conaty was selected for the Cois Tine Soundscapes Residency on the former Farnham Estate, an experience that helped launch her musical career.
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