If you were lucky enough to snag a ticket for Trinity Ball 2024, you are in for a night filled with outstanding musical performances. With a total of 15 acts from indie rock, folk, techno, R&B, grunge, and traditional Irish, to classical.
While there is a wide range of musical styles, many of the performers are Irish. Kingfisher from Limerick, Blacktraffic from Cavan, and Bricknasty, Bruising shins, and The Cope all from the Dublin area. Others travelled from further afield such as Horsegirl, originally from Chicago USA, but with a strong Irish and European fanbase.
Headliner Abubakar Bakar Shariff-Farr, better known as Bakar, will take the main stage with his experimental indie rock. Originally from Camden in North London and with schooling in Surrey, Bakar’s songs tell a multitude of stories ranging from his relationships, challenges with drugs, and overall life’s ups and downs. Bakar started his music career in 2015 cutting up samples of Bombay Bicycle Club and King Krule songs on an anonymous soundcloud account. Later in 2017 he released his first original single, “Big Dreams,” and continued to release multiple singles until his first album Badkid in 2018. But it was not until 2023 with the release of his third studio album Halo where he received more recognition.
Bakar’s presence in the music world is only increasing. He has had appearances on the Jimmy Fallon Show, performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and received praise from musicians such as Skepta and Elton John. Bakar will without a doubt produce an entertaining, compelling, and unique show.
For some more hardcore rock, Horsegirl will provide a moody alternative performance to headbang to. Composed of friends Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein, and Gigi Reece ,the band originated in 2019 with their first release “Forecast.” Later in 2021, the group released “Billy” which was named one of Rolling Stone’s “Songs You Need to Know.” In June 2022 the band released their first studio album Versions of Modern Performance full of cool girl rock songs with full sounds of bass, guitar, and drums that will leave your ears ringing.
To give your ears a break: Irish folk band Kingfishr. Their Spotify bio “wanna be songbirds” perfectly describes their chill but complex melodies. Kingfishr produce a sound similar to Noah Khan and Mumford and Sons with their acoustic style with a big build up. The band has yet to release an album but they have multiple singles and EPs that gained high praise.
These acts are only a few of the amazing performances that will be on the night of Friday April 12th. Maybe the most important performances are Trinity’s own Trad Soc, DUDJ, and Trinity Orchestra showcasing great talent and musicianship that we are lucky to have at our own school.
No matter your preferred musical taste, you will be able to find a performance that will slightly help justify spending the 100 euro ticket.
WORDS: Aoife Bane
