Published: Jun 07, 2012
LIPA students will be saying "Bonjour!" to France this month when they travel there to perform at their very own festival, LIPAStock.
LIPAStock is the brainchild of Foundation Certificate in Popular Music and Sound Technology (PMST) students Pat O’Shaughnessy and Maxime McGowan. The two were inspired by the musical talent based at the institute, and decided to stage a festival dedicated to showcasing LIPA students' skills in the south west of France as part of the country’s national music day celebrations.
The festival takes place on Saturday 23 June, and will be staged in the grounds of a youth and cultural centre in St Ferréol, near the town of Agen, where Maxime comes from. LIPA students will be working on all aspects of the festival, from organising the lights and sound to arranging transport for the students to get to France. A number of LIPA bands and artists will be performing, including Gaby & the Gents, HighFields, Wonderlust and JazzHands. There will also be three local bands performing as part of a cultural and musical exchange. LIPA students will get the chance to work with local people and experience French hospitality.
As well as receiving some financial backing from LIPA, LIPAStock has been funded by a number of corporate sponsors, including lingold.com, aucoffre.com and veravalor.com.
“Their support has been invaluable,” said Pat. “Without it we wouldn’t be able to put LIPAStock on.”
Maxime added: “The cool thing about it is they’re really big fans of what we do and they wanted to help us because we share the same philosophy of true values.
“These French and Swiss companies have really given us the chance to stage the first LIPAStock and realise our dream."
LIPAStock takes place on 23 June 2012 from 5pm to 3am. Tickets are priced at €2 and will be available on the door. To find out more about the festival, see www.facebook.com/Lipastock
Pictured: LIPAStock organisers (front L-R) Patrick O'Shaughnessy and Maxime McGowan