LAST weekend The Make A Move Festival celebrated hip hop and youth culture with a series of dance masterclasses and graffiti workshops and a lot of great music.
From Thursday there were events happening all over the city. Dublin rappers Lethal Dialect and Temper-Mental MissElayneous showcased their rhymes and flow in Bourke’s and impressed, proving that using your own accent and humour gives hip hop its own distinct Irish identity.
The sounds of New Orleans marching band ‘The Hot 8 Brass Band’ got the party started in Dolan’s later. They were loud, brash and brilliant incorporating music from Michael Jackson (You Wanna Be Startin’ Something), Snoop Dogg (What’s My Name) and their best known cover ‘Sexual Healing’ by Marvin Gaye. For over 90 minutes they blasted their way through a set that was joyous and great fun. The Hot 8 Brass Band will return to Limerick in the winter.
On Saturday the sun shone brightly and Bedford Row started to resemble a Brooklyn neighbourhood with Limerick’s first Block Party in full effect. The Peoples Park rocked all day with over 30 street artists working on pieces to the beat of DJ Leon mixing and scratching at the bandstand.
In Mickey Martins DJ A2DF kicked off the afternoon with tasteful jazz cuts building the crowd for Mochilla’s B+. DJ PUDGE with MC Voice brought the funk to Bakers Underground and had the dancefloor rocking late into the night.
For those with any energy left The Hip Hop Karaoke was the perfect end of party session in The Blind Pig.
Reflecting on the weekend, festival organiser Shane Curtin commented, “We were blessed with the weather, a lot of planning went onto the event, particularly in The People’s Park. Our aim was to create a festival that brought life into the city centre, that engaged with the young and give them a platform to express themselves. Over 150 kids participated in the festival and 1000s attend the gigs so I think we achieved our aim.”