RAMP Music Festival Returns to Rathmullan for its Third Year
Thursday 8 July 2025 – The RAMP Music Festival returns to Rathmullan, Donegal for the third consecutive year, from July 18-20, 2025. This weekend-long celebration of experimental music and sound showcases innovative artists from Ireland’s Northwest and beyond, all set against the breathtaking backdrop of Lough Swilly.
RAMP aims to make audible the often-overlooked sounds of the world around us through its diverse programme of performances, installations, and community activities.
“We are so pleased to bring artists of international renown to beautiful coastal Rathmullan. This year’s line-up features an exciting and diverse range of artists, including Tim Cape & Maya Kadish, Kate Carr, Juno 3 (comprising Han-earl Park, Lara Jones, and Pat Thomas), Judith Hamann, Ryoko Akama, Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh, and Electric Circus with David McCann. These artists represent the best of experimental music and sound, promising another year of memorable performances throughout the festival weekend. We’re grateful to our principal funders, the Arts Council, for supporting us again this year,” said festival organisers, Peter O’Doherty of Northern Lights Project and Composer, Rob Casey of Ulster University.
Donegal in Sound
Beyond the main concerts, festival-goers will have the opportunity to participate in interesting workshops and creative projects. One notable collaboration feature is Aengus Kennedy of Nature Northwest, sound recordist, designer and composer, Guillaume Beauron (Game of Thrones), and the London-based field recordist and sound artist Kate Carr, who will work with composers on a new field recording project designed to capture the distinct sonic landscape of Donegal.
A Totally Made Up Orchestra
The Totally Made Up Orchestra is led by Belfast-born Brian Irvine. This inclusive morning workshop (which starts at 10 am) takes place at the St Vincent de Paul Centre in Rathmullan. The award-winning composer, Brian Irvine, invites musicians of all ages and abilities to collaboratively create a new work in just a few hours. The resulting piece will be performed in front of an audience at 2pm on Saturday, 19 July.
No prior music reading skills are required—just a desire to participate. Participants will experience a blend of composition, improvisation, and creativity that promises to result in a fun, spirited and adventurous performance. Suitable for ages 8 to 80. This proved to be a popular offering at last year’s festival, with participants stating they were amazed at what they achieved in such a short time.
Arts Council Funding
RAMP has taken place in July for the past three years and features in the Earagail Arts Festival. The RAMP Festival is made possible through the generous support of key organisations, including Arts Council Ireland, Earagail Arts Festival, Contemporary Music Centre, Creative Ireland, and Rathmullan the Way Forward. The Dublin-based national Contemporary Music Centre (CMC) has expressed its delight in continuing its partnership with the Northern Lights Project in support of RAMP, recognising it as a “dynamic and engaging addition to the New Music annual events calendar in the North and North-West”.
More information can be found at https://www.northernlightsproject.org/RAMP