This summer, Royal Hospital Kilmainham was set to play host to the 10th anniversary of the Forbidden Fruit Festival, a milestone year primed to showcase some of the most dynamic names in electronic music. Renowned for its forward-thinking programming, the festival's 2020 edition was shaping up to be a defining moment, with a lineup curated to reflect both the global scene’s evolution and the festival’s own journey over the past decade. At the top of the bill, boundary-pushing selector Peggy Gou was expected to bring her genre-blurring energy, while electronic classics Underworld and Hot Chip were due to provide a lesson in the enduring appeal of live electronic performance.

The Avalanches were preparing to bring their signature cut-and-paste euphoria, setting the stage for a weekend awash in both nostalgia and newness. Fatima Yamaha, the elusive architect of emotive synth cuts, was slated for a rare appearance, joined by influential acts like Booka Shade and Irish hometown favourite Krystal Klear, ensuring a wide scope of house and techno sounds. Festival regulars and first-timers alike, including Folamour, Leon Vynehall, Model Man, Or:la, Partiboi69, Skin On Skin and TSHA, formed a bill that charted a course through everything from percussive club workouts to introspective electronica.

This edition was not merely a celebration—it was an assertion that, even after a decade, Forbidden Fruit remained a vital incubator for club culture and live performance in Ireland. Despite the anticipation and planning, the energy the festival promised—three days blending international icons with breakthrough talent, against the historic backdrop of Kilmainham—will have to wait for another time. For now, what remains is the ongoing conversation between music, space and community that Forbidden Fruit has fostered, and the hope that soon these artists and their audiences will converge once again, ready to mark a new chapter in Irish festival culture.