Popular local quartet Vacuity announce reunion concert, their first live performance in over a year.
Friday, December 1, saw Limerick post-hardcore four-piece Vacuity announce their return to live performance via their Instagram page.
After over a year of inactivity, Vacuity announced they will be playing local venue Pharmacia on February 2, 2024, with support from Cork-based Red Sun Alert, local blues revivalists Cascando, and Shannon- native DJ and beatmaker Godwin.
Vacuity, who announced their reunion in September of this year, had yet to confirm their return to live performance until last week, adopting a near media blackout before making official announcements.
The quartet, founded in 2021 by core trio Seth Collins, Ben Young, and Conor Brennan, had a prolific career prior to their breakup in late 2022. Bringing forth a dense catalogue of singles culminating in their debut album Lismullane, released in conjunction with their breakup, the band had been missed by many in the Limerick music scene.
Limerick Voice spoke with the group’s co-lead singer and guitarist Seth Collins about the band’s comeback.
Despite a closed doors breakup in late 2022, its clear the group have reconciled with each other since: “After a year apart; we all really miss playing together after the radioactive meltdown that was the band breakup. A large part of it was realising we had all grown and changed as individuals and we were all in a better place to work together again.”
The concert’s venue, Pharmacia, has become notorious in recent years for hosting local talent, making it a natural choice for Vacuity. Like most young Limerick bands, the four-piece played their fair share of Pharmacia shows in their first run as a band: “We found that out of the venues to chose from, Pharmacia was the most customer friendly venue and it’s a staple of the Limerick music scene at this stage.”
The supports on the night offer a mix of local and national talent, a conscious decision on Vacuity’s part.
With Cork and Limerick’s music scenes having close ties, deciding the support lineup was seemingly an easy task: “The openers were bands we have played with many times before. Red Sun Alert have always been one of my favourite bands in Ireland and they’re a force to be reckoned with live. As for Cascando, they’re just such lovely gents that we’re glad to call our friends. They’ve always been good to us, and we’ve played with both of these bands’ multiple times and its great to share the stage with them again for our comeback.”
Just under two months away, the gig is still a while away yet excitement around the Limerick music scene is mounting. Considering the local cult status and general momentum the band developed before their untimely breakup, the gig will be anxiously awaited by many. Seth included: “I am beside myself with excitement. Words can’t describe it. I’ve been gigging away myself with solo gigs and my other band, so I got my warmups done. I’m ecstatic to get back on stage to a crowd who’s just as excited to see us as we are to see them.”
The gig, run in conjunction with University of Limerick’s radio station, ULFM, is shaping up to be one of next year’s most widely anticipated events. Considering the time Vacuity spent apart, as well as the recent reposting of the band’s discography on Spotify, the appetite for a Vacuity reunion has been demonstrated via social media with longtime supporters of the group reposting the gig announcement en masse.
Tickets for Vacuity’s reunion gig are available via Eventbrite.