Bloop Groop Weekender
Mar
20
to 23 Mar

Bloop Groop Weekender

Bloop Groop, Dublin's hardware-synth hub famous for its low-pressure “Hang, Jam, Play” sessions, announces its debut 3-day Weekender from Friday 20 to Monday 23 March 2026, with live electronic shows, low-stakes sets, maker demos, talks and hands-on DIY.

Since late 2024, Bloop Groop - founded by Caroline Swords and Gary Byrne - has quietly grown into a regular fixture of Dublin’s electronic music calendar, hosting informal meets where newcomers and old pros share short, loud hardware sets to a friendly crowd. The project now counts a core membership (and surprisingly civilized WhatsApp community) in the hundreds, with over 150 live performances hosted across jams, meets and gigs in Dublin City spaces like The Digital Hub and Trinity College Dublin. The gang shares knowledge, support, and collaborates on music. And, of course, buys and sells each other gear!

Friday 20 March: ALEA(s) show @ FLUX D2 Gallery, 7pm to 9pm
Belgian live-electronic collective ALEA(s) (fear. François from Shakmat) headlines with synths, industrial/acid techno and audacious live drawings/animations. 

Special guests TDK (Karl Burke (Karl Him) + Trev O'Reilly (Colonel Modules)) deliver all-modular improv + LAST EDEN (Aileen Wallace) weaves dark loops on modular / hardware /  DIY over industrial beats. 

Tickets on Eventbrite, 9 EUR to 20 EUR

Sunday 22 March: Bloop Groop Hang, Jam, Play, Show + Tell Edition @ Digital Hub, 5pm to 9pm
HANG + JAM: gear demos by local makers Between Machines, ATK Modular, Phantom Instruments and Tolm, plus talks by Synthdad, Peter from Circuit3 and Daire from Fronics, visuals by Nick AKA lifewing.. With special guest François from Shakmat!

PLAY: a few Bloopers play short, loud 10-15 min hardware sets of all genres.

No gear needed, just show up! Learn, dance, make new pals, and catch up with old ones.

Tickets on Eventbrite, 5 EUR to 15 EUR

Monday 23 March: Shakmat DIY Module Workshop @ Digital Hub (SOLD OUT)
Hands-on module building with Shakmat maker François.

Equipment kindly supplied by TOG Hackerspace in Dublin 12, so huge thanks to Jeffrey Roe

More info
Website, newsletter signup: https://www.bloopgroop.com

Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ie/o/bloop-groop-caroline-gary-28513336917

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BloopGroop

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloopgroopdublin/

What’s Bloop Groop?
Bloop Groop is a Dublin-based synth community founded  and hosted by Caroline Swords and Gary Byrne, where electronic musicians get together in a low-stakes, supportive environment to Hang, Jam, Play.

We welcome every level: from curious newbies who just love dancing, to professionals with decades of experience, and everyone in between. We host our regular meets, as well as gigs, workshops, masterclasses and more. We’ve a big, kind Whatspp community where people generously help each other. We’re about learning, sharing, and collaborating, rather than going it alone.

Our ethos? Play short and loud, to a friendly crowd. Lark about. Learn some tricks, vibe with new pals, catch up with old ones. We’re a diverse community of every age, background, and gender, brought together by our love of electronic music. And gear!

No gear or just starting out? No problem. You can listen and watch and maybe get to have a go of the gear that’s there. No need to be shy, everyone is so welcoming and kind.

Bloop Groop is kindly supported by The Digital Hub Development Agency, and a proud member of FLUX Studios.

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Bloop Groop 10
Oct
3

Bloop Groop 10

We were in the most luxurious venue, Digital Hub’s The Bank, with our biggest meet yet! More than 40 people came down, 10 sets were played, the night was absolutely amazing. Click to see the photos, and the videos on YouTube.

PLUS ATOV Berlin DIY build workshop - our first of many workshops!

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Bloop Groop 09
Sept
5

Bloop Groop 09

iD8 Studio was home to our 9th meet, what a great room with excellent space and light. Rich brought his PA and desk, and took care of the sounds. There were 10 killer sets, and loads of new faces, as the Groop gets stronger and louder and prouder.

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Bloop Groop 08
Aug
3

Bloop Groop 08

Back in our home of Studio 2 in the Digital Hub, the Bloopers stormed it with our latest meet. Caroline and Gary made hand-screened t-shirts, the sets were incredible, and we captured the lot on our brand new YouTube channel!

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Bloop Groop in the Garden
Jul
19

Bloop Groop in the Garden

We’d a spin off event Saturday June 19th, with a Bloop Groop // Pearse Park Community Gardens collab. A ton of Bloop Groop members hail from Dublin 12, so where better to meet like-minded neighbours who care about community, creativity - and having the craic.

Nestled behind the Swan Leisure Swimming Pool car park on Windmill Road, Pearse Park Community Garden is a vibrant green haven run by local volunteers. Established in 2023 following the insights of the Pearse Park Survey, the garden provides an inclusive space where people of all ages and abilities grow food, learn new skills, and build community connections.

Top Blooper Karl is also one of the main organisers of the garden, and he is keen to bring more cultural events to this unique space, So after the day’s work was completed, Karl showed everyone the basics of modular with the help of his lovely assistant Ruby, they made a patch from scratch together. Then a few short sets: Gary + Katie did their Elektrons + Blarps, Daire performed a Phronics Overture, and Trev finished up with his killer set.

This pilot event was a great success - we made music and pals, and et cake, in the unique and vibrant suburb of Crumlin in Dublin 12.

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Bloop Groop 07: Bloop Groop Goes to College
Jun
27

Bloop Groop 07: Bloop Groop Goes to College

Grab a ticket while you can for BLOOP GROOP GOES TO COLLEGE, 27/06/2025, from 5pm, monthly synth meet with a twist.

Rich Duckworth let the Bloopers loose in Trinity, for an evening of HANG, JAM, PLAY. Venue was the The Boydell Hall Recital Room in the Discipline of Music, School of Creative Arts in the rafters of Trinity College Dublin - which is exactly as fancy as it sounds.

We’d something new too - DFAMarama! As many DFAMs as poss, synced together and sounding deadly.

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Bloop Groop 06
May
30

Bloop Groop 06

Our most-attending meet yet - loads of new people, amazing sounds, just deadly craic. The format of HANG, JAM, PLAY is starting to take great shape, sets of 5 to 15 mins for the final 60 minutes or so makes for a fabulous finish. The stakes are low to play out loud in the safe, welcoming space.

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Bloop Groop @ Superbooth
May
8
to 11 May

Bloop Groop @ Superbooth

Lots of the gang went to Superbooth in Berlin, spent 4 days seeing the new synths, dancing, and being silly. Caroline and Gary spent too much time looking for the Techno Bathroom, and not enough looking for Techno Viking. Shout “Jason” and see how many lads turn round.

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Bloop Groop 05
Apr
25

Bloop Groop 05

Back after Easter, before Superbooth! New peeps coming, great! Niall from ATK brought some of his wares to show off, and Gint his mad VR setup. Mazin!

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Bloop Group 04
Mar
14

Bloop Group 04

We’re back to Studio 4 for this month’s Bloop Groop, it’s a bank holiday weekend so will anyone actually show up? Sure we’ll make a racket and have larks even if there’s only a few heads there.

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