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music · Friday 24 July 2026 · Various 
Forest Fest Music & Arts Festival 2026
At Bee's Wing Farm, Emo · Bee's Wing Farm, Emo, Co. Laois
At Bee's Wing Farm, Emo · Bee's Wing Farm, Emo, Co. Laois
Forest Fest has grown into one of the most anticipated summer festivals in the midlands, drawing crowds to Emo Village across the last weekend of July for three days of live music, arts, street food and camping. The 2026 edition runs from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 July at Bee’s Wing Farm - a working farm that borders Emo Court and takes its name from a legendary 19th-century racehorse bred by the Earls of Portarlington. With headliners Echo & the Bunnymen, James and Madness alongside 80-plus acts, this is a festival pitched squarely at people who grew up on late-80s and 90s guitar music, though the programme is broad enough to pull in younger attendees and families too.
The main stage carries the flagship indie and britpop names: The Charlatans, Deacon Blue, The Coronas, The Lemonheads, Feeder, The Wonderstuff, Black Grape, The Fratellis, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and Lloyd Cole are all confirmed, plus post-punk newcomers and tribute acts including Björn Again (ABBA) and The Classic Beatles. A dedicated Kickin’ Up Dust arena celebrates country, Americana, folk and roots music and is included with your general ticket - worth knowing if you want an afternoon switch of pace. Comedy, family entertainment and a food village round things out. The site was moved to Bee’s Wing Farm specifically to allow more space in the arena, camping and campervan areas and to improve the general flow of the weekend. Capacity sits at around 18,000 per day, so it has scale without becoming anonymous. Camping and glamping are available on-site, and the gates open at 2pm each day with music running to midnight.
Emo sits off the M7 motorway, about 5km from Exit 15, making it an easy drive from Dublin (roughly 80km), Kilkenny, or Tullamore. Portlaoise and Portarlington both have regular hourly rail connections and are the two most practical train options - buses and taxis run from both stations to the site during the festival. Marley’s Bus operates pay-as-you-go shuttle services from Dublin, Portlaoise, Portarlington, Tullamore, Mountmellick, Durrow and Kilkenny. Check transportforireland.ie for timetables and the TFI Journey Planner for door-to-door routing. If you are driving, follow festival signage from Exit 15; on-site parking details are published on forestfest.ie closer to the event.
The farm shares a boundary with Emo Court, the neo-classical mansion and woodland gardens managed by the OPW and open to the public - worth an hour on the Friday morning before the music starts. There is more to see in Emo and across Co. Laois.
Heading to Bee's Wing Farm, Emo in Emo? Laois has plenty more to see. Read the Emo area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.