Body & Soul Festival, Ballinlough Castle, Westmeath, Ireland, 20-22 June

Boutique festivals are ten to the penny these days, but few come as highly recommended as Ireland’s Body & Soul. Since spinning off from the eponymous tent at Electric Picnic a few years ago, the three-day event in the grounds of Ballinlough Castle, Westmeath has been growing in stature as a holistic experience, rather than a clatty roll in the muck.

The organisers have plonked B&S over the summer solstice weekend and are keen to play on the anthropological opportunities that date in the calendar awards it. Masquerade balls, spoken word and debate, hot tubs and seaweed… fires, walled gardens and acrobats. Body & Soul is very much about getting back to the root of enjoyment, rather than the hackneyed weekender of old, which peaks with tanning a litre of Grants and passing out in a piss-bush.

With all the boho-jargoneering, though, it would be easy to overlook that this is also a music festival par excellence. The line-up boasts few true heavyweights, but there’s depth throughout the weekend. Much of the acts gracing the two main stages have some form of electronic bent, so expect to be dancing your wellies off into the wee small hours.

Top three highlights                                   

Jape

A very late addition to the bill, the Dublin electro-rockers led by Richie Egan have been keeping a low profile since fourth album Ocean of Frequency dropped in 2011. Come 18.15 on Saturday, revellers will be doubtless baying for ‘Floating’, but the band has enough in its repertoire to get things going for the evening.

East India Youth

An early evening slot on Sunday should mean that the heads have cleared in time for William Doyle taking the stage. Total Strife Forever, Doyle’s debut album under his nom de plume, has been one of the best-received records of 2014. It will be fascinating to see and hear how well it translates to the festival arena.

Jon Hopkins

Find me a man who hasn’t fallen head over heels for Hopkins’ stellar Immunity album from last year and I’ll find him a hefty boot in the hole. There will be weary heads come 1am on Saturday morning, but a dose of Hopkins thumping ambient techno will be enough to revive even the most slumberous. The mouth already waters at the prospect of a set closed by Open Eye Signal.