Slane Concert (often referred to as Slane) is a concert held most years since 1981 in the grounds of Slane Castle near Slane, County Meath, in Ireland. The castle is owned by The 8th Marquess Conyngham, who was known as the Earl of Mount Charles from 1974 until 2009. Slane lies between Navan and Drogheda, about 45 km northwest of Dublin. Concerts typically occur on a Saturday in August, from 12:00 to 22:00. However, the 2011 concert occurred on 28 May and the 2013 concert is scheduled for 15 June.
The sloping grounds of Slane Castle form a natural amphitheatre which is ideal for concerts. As many as 80,000–100,000 people usually attend. One of the venue boundaries is the River Boyne. Two people have died while trying to swim the river to gain free access to R.E.M.'s concert in 1995. The minimum age of admission to the Slane Concert was reduced in 2006 from 18 to 16 because of complaints.
Aiken Promotions invited artists such as David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Queen, The Rolling Stones, and Bruce Springsteen to perform during the 1980s. 2001 was the only occasion in which the concert was held twice in one year, both concerts being headlined by U2. The 2005 concert was controversially cancelled after headliner Eminem withdrew after entering drug rehabilitation.
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Famous quotes containing the word concert:
“... in the cities there are thousands of rolling stones like me. We are all alike; we have no ties, we know nobody, we own nothing. When one of us dies, they scarcely know where to bury him.... We have no house, no place, no people of our own. We live in the streets, in the parks, in the theatres. We sit in restaurants and concert halls and look about at the hundreds of our own kind and shudder.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)