Kodaline star Vinny May said it would be a dream to play Croke Park after getting a taste of the iconic stadium with their friend Ed Sheeran during his last tour.
The Dublin born drummer and his band famously joined Ed on stage during his headline gigs at Croker in 2015, where not only did they perform two songs to the crowd, but bassist Jay Boland even proposed live on stage.
And after the Bad Habits hitmaker performed to 160,000 fans over the weekend, Irish musician Vinny admitted that following in the superstar’s footsteps by some day headlining the venue is still one of their biggest goals as a band.
Read More: How much money does Ed Sheeran make from his Croke Park gigs? Estimated earnings for concerts
“We got to experience a bit of it when we played two songs with Ed Sheeran there a couple of years ago, so that was a kind of real moment thinking ‘wouldn’t it be amazing to headline here’ so that’s probably one we’d love to play at some point,” he told the Irish Mirror.
The All I Want hitmaker, 32, added: “They are always on the bucket list playing Croke Park or the Aviva. I suppose the biggest show we have had in Ireland is playing Marley Park, I think it was 32,000, that was pretty big but yeah, Croke Park will always be up there.”
Following his highly acclaimed gigs in Dublin at the weekend, Ed has been the talk of the town, with fans and those in attendance describing the gigs as ‘unforgettable’ and ‘spectacular’.
Vouching for the singer on a personal level, Vinny described chart topper Ed as a good friend to him and the band, and credited him for being on hand with advice over the years.
“Ed is a good friend of ours, we have played a couple of festivals with him in Europe, and gone to a couple of his gigs, and he is a really, normal guy.
“He just happens to be probably the biggest recording artist in the world.
“But he is just an ordinary guy and really down to earth and very normal you know.
“And we are really appreciative of him, everytime we have met him he has always got words of advice or wisdom, and just chats to us as a normal person. He is a really cool guy.”
The Swords born musician went on to defend the UK singer, and fellow Irish singer/songwriter
Johnny McDaid, from Snow Patrol, after a recent copyright case at the High Court over claims that they plagiarised hit song ‘Shape Of You’ from two other writers.
The duo, and producer Steve McCutcheon, recently won the case where they were accused of plagiarising part of a track called ‘Oh Why’ by Sami Chokri, who performs under the alias Sami Switch.
Speaking out in support of his friends and fellow musicians on the result, Vinny said: “Ed, and we know Johnny McDaid, from Snow Patrol, who does a lot of writing with Ed and we have worked with Johnny in the past, and he is a good friend of ours as well... they would never set out to rip off somebody elses song.
"And if it happens it happens, but it is definitely not intentional.”
Read More: Marty Morrissey leads stars flocking to Croker for 'spectacular' Ed Sheeran gigs
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He went on: “There’s other ways of going about it than starting long protracted legal battles that kind of put people’s careers in turmoil and obviously how Ed dealt with it was really good.
“And he obviously won the battle, so I think he was proven right in the end, but I suppose there were a lot of these cases in the past and I suppose it is part of society. It is a hard thing to kind of quantify.”
Noting the importance of backing and befriending others in the industry, particularly in Ireland, he said he feels it is important to support other performers, rather than try to tear each other down.
“Especially with Irish bands, you know, because it is such a small industry, you are bound to cross each other’s path at some point.
“And as a small country, we definitely punch above our weight in terms of acts that are globally well known.
“So I think you get further being friendly than you do trying to hold a grudge at somebody for their success, you just have to stand and commend them, and applaud them for it.”
Vinny and the band - made up of Steve Garrigan, Mark Prendergast and Jason Boland - are set to have one of their busiest years to date this year, headlining major summer gigs, including Donegal beach festival Sea Sessions in June.
Heading off for the first time as a dad, after he and his wife Carina welcomed their first child in 2020, he said he’s ‘buzzing’ to get back in full action.
“It’s been a long two years, so we are all buzzing to get back and play some shows, and amazing festivals, and Sea Sessions is one of them so it is going to be great.
“This is what we live to do. When you can’t play gigs, and all you can do is write music, all you want to do is play gigs, so we are really looking forward to finally getting back on the road and finally playing some shows.”
Kodaline will take to the main stage on Bundoran beach on Saturday 18 June, alongside Cork singer Lyra and a host of other acts including Ejeca, The Scratch, Block Rockin’ Beats, Gemma Dunleavy, Malaki, Dart, HousePlants, Kynsy, Monjola, N.O.A.H, Scattered Ashes, THUMPER, True Tides and Chloé Robinson.
Tinie Tempah and Joel Corry will be taking to the stage on Friday the 17 June, with Basement Jaxx headlining on Sunday the 19 June.
Tickets priced from €129.90 for 3 days and €159.90 including 4 nights' camping are on sale now from all Ticketmaster outlets nationwide, www.ticketmaster.ie and www.seasessions.com. Limited Day Tickets from €59.90 and Surfers Bar (VIP) upgrades are also available from €60 extra.
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