Sam GreenwoodThis day 22 years ago a piece of dance music history in Ireland occurred. The legendary Homelands festival took place at the Mosney Holiday Centre in County Meath, which accommodated a whopping 25 thousand dance music enthusiasts.
Leftfield championed the festival holding the headline slot. They were in great company it seems as the legendary PRML SCRM (Primal Scream) and Ian Brown of the Stone Roses had accompanied them on the day too. The gig had multiple stages that were hosted by Shine, Sir Henry’s, The End, and Influx/Redbox. With tickets for the event costing 49 euro at the time it is a contender for the most value for money 1 day Irish festivals that Ireland has ever seen. Other acts on the bill consisted of Carl Cox, Paul Oakenfold, Darren Emerson, Richie Hawtin, Billy Nasty, Paul Hartnoll of Orbital, Mr Spring and many more.
Although such an iconic event had occurred well before I had any understanding of dance music or passion for club culture, I am very lucky that some parts of this day had been documented so well to indulge in all these years later. As I spend a lot of time digging for tunes that are in the older archive this set by Mr Spring was super pleasant to listen to. Hearing such notable tracks like Storm – Time to Burn and Tom Wax & Jan Jacarta – Wormhole being played and so well received is such a brilliant sight. Identifying and comparing the difference between styles and genres over the course of 22 year period really interests me with how dominant and frequently Trance and Hard House would be heard and utilised in sets compared to today is astounding.
Seeing the crowd, DJ and retro deck setup has made me feel super nostalgic about the festival seasons of the last few years that I had experienced before the pandemic, and it has peaked my excitement for what is to come over the next few months. You can listen to the full set on YouTube.
Cover image credit: 909 Originals.