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Dublin: 1 °C Friday 29 March, 2024
From left to right: Caleb, Jared, Matthew and Nathan Followill Victoria Will/AP/Press Association Images
Slane

Kings of Leon Slane gig to go ahead, despite the death of their beloved uncle

Organisers say tomorrow’s gig will go ahead despite the death of a close relative of the Followills. A massive traffic operation will get underway around Slane Castle tomorrow.

SLANE ORGANISERS HAVE confirmed that the Kings of Leon will play their headline gig in Co. Meath tomorrow, despite the death of their uncle.

Guitarist Nathan Followill tweeted last night from Dublin about their loss:

Just lost my Uncle Cleo. My tears could fill the Mississippi River right now. I’m an absolute mess. Thank you all for being nice. This is a tough time.

The band are leading the first concert at Slane Castle in two years tomorrow and an MCD spokesperson has told TheJournal.ie that it’s “all going ahead” despite the band’s sad news.

Brothers Jared, Nathan and Caleb Followill and their cousin Matthew Followill arrived in Dublin a couple of days ago, earlier than planned according to Nathan’s Twitter page which read “Bye London. Have to push off early to Dublin to avoid the ash cloud”. A few hours later he simply said “Dublin. The boys are back in town”.

Since they arrived they’ve been soaking up the atmosphere, and the Guinness. Drummer Nathan tweeted on Wednesday:

And it wasn’t long before he tweeted a picture of his first pint of Guinness in the early hours of Thursday morning. The band have also tweeted about feasting at the Patrick Guilbaud restaurant.

Last night before they heard the sad news of their uncle’s passing the band were out enjoying themselves, and contributing to the country’s coffers:

Slane traffic plan

The 80,000 people attending the gig at Slane tomorrow are being urged by organisers and Gardaí to use public transport, with all the details available on the MCD website. Gardaí are urging people not gain entry to Slane Castle via the banks of the River Boyne. Two people drowned in the river when REM and Oasis played at the venue in 1995.

The last concert at Slane, when Oasis played two years ago, resulted in massive organisational problems and sparked thousands of complaints, reports The Irish Times. Slane Castle owner Lord Henry Mountcharles has assured fans that changes to the site have been made to avoid a repeat of the problems.

Car parks will open at noon, and organisers are warning that there is a 23-30 minute walk to the venue from the car parks. The Whigs, Mona, White Lies, Thin Lizzy and Elbow lined up to support before Kings of Leon take to the stage at around 8.30pm.

Drummer Nathan Followill told Tony Fenton on Today FM yesterday that he’s hoping that the weather will be kind for the gig:

It’s going to be one hell of a night of music and hopefully mother nature will be kind and give us a nice Irish summer night….which will be fifty degrees and raining!

Read more: Kings of Leon prepare to hold court at Slane Castle>