Out in the west where the bass never sleeps, Ireland will host a unique musical gathering. The Irish SoundSystem Gathering 2017 will be taking place in Galway this weekend on the 20 and 21 of October, as a celebration of bass culture and the soundsystem traditions that originated in Jamaica and have since spread to dance floors in towns and cities all over the world. First of its kind in Ireland, the two-day event will be hosted in Leisureland, Salthill, and will see eight of the country’s most seasoned sound systems and operators stand side by side.

The sound systems featured over the weekend are Revelation Soundsystem (Cork), Rootical Soundsystem (Galway), Firehouse Skank (Dublin), Rub a Dub Hi-Fi (Dublin), Subversion Soundsystem (Galway), Riseup Soundsystem (Cork), World Bass Culture (Cork/Waterford), and Mindscape (Clare).

The event is free/by donation from 4pm until 8pm, where visitors can attend an interactive History of Soundsystem Culture Exhibition which will trace the roots of bass culture to its origins and follow its worldwide impact and influence; a Q and A with sound engineers; live system demos; live dubbing and speaker building workshops; a record fair; and a clothing fair. Tasty cuisine will also be provided for the weekend.

From 9pm until 2am on both nights there will be a live sound clash, in traditional, old school soundsystem style. Friday night will see four electronic music soundsystems face each other in a battle of the bass. Saturday night will see four roots and reggae soundsystems face off in another sound clash, and on both nights winners will be chosen in true soundsystem tradition by the raucous yells and whistles of the crowd. This is the first event of its kind in Ireland – this is a piece of musical history not to be missed.

Tickets cost €15 for each night, or €25 for both nights.

Updates and more information about the sound systems can be found on the Irish SoundSystem Gathering 2017 Facebook page.