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music · Friday 21 August 2026 · 1:00pm 
Audio Garden Festival 2026
At Burtown House & Gardens and The Green Barn · Burtown House & Gardens, Athy, Co. Kildare
At Burtown House & Gardens and The Green Barn · Burtown House & Gardens, Athy, Co. Kildare
Audio Garden is a three-day camping festival of underground and electronic music held at one of Kildare’s most atmospheric outdoor settings: the parkland and gardens of Burtown House, just outside Athy. The festival describes itself as “a small festival with a big soul,” and that phrase captures its appeal - rather than chasing scale, it leans into community, open-air space, and an honest love of underground sounds. If you follow techno, trance, drum and bass, psytrance or hard house, and you want to spend a weekend with people who genuinely care about the music rather than the social-media angle, this is a strong pick for late August.
The festival runs across multiple stages set within the tree-lined grounds of Burtown House, a Georgian estate built in the 1720s with ten acres of gardens and two hundred acres of surrounding parkland. The outdoor setting gives the event room to breathe, with sound spilling between woodland and open lawns rather than being boxed into an arena. The music covers a wide sweep of the electronic spectrum - techno, trance, drum and bass, psy, acid, old school and reggae influences all feature - so the crowd tends to be mixed in the best sense: veterans alongside younger festivalgoers, all arriving for the same reason. Camping is on site, food vendors are on the grounds, and the organisers run a leave-no-trace policy throughout. The event is strictly over 18s. At time of writing, the full lineup for 2026 is to be announced - check the festival website and Eventbrite listing for updates as the date approaches.
Athy sits in the south of County Kildare, roughly an hour from Dublin and about 25 minutes from Carlow town. By road from Dublin, take the M9 motorway south and exit at junction 4 for Athy; the drive is straightforward. From Carlow, the R417 connects directly north to Athy. Irish Rail runs a commuter service from Heuston Station in Dublin to Athy on the Waterford line, which makes car-free travel genuinely practical for a day visit, though campers will generally find a car easier for gear. Burtown House is a few kilometres outside the town itself; allow time to walk or arrange a lift from the centre. Parking is available on site for the festival weekend.
Athy is a market town on the River Barrow with a handsome Dominican church, the heritage-rich Athy Museum inside the town hall, and easy access to the Barrow Way walking and cycling trail. Outside the festival, Burtown House runs a well-regarded restaurant in The Green Barn, known for produce from its kitchen garden. There is more to see in Athy and across Co. Kildare.
Heading to Burtown House & Gardens and The Green Barn in Athy? Kildare has plenty more to see. Read the Athy area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.