Back for the first time since 2019, Forbidden Fruit has officially kicked off festival season 2022 in Ireland today.

The sun shone down on us today at Forbidden Fruit festival; there were songs in the air, crowds in their funky shirts, viking outfits (yeah, seriously), and tonnes of glitter. Everyone was simply buzzing to be back on the grass at Kilmainham for the first time in three years.

Naturally, we explored all of the festival's landmarks — the food trucks, the bar, and, duh, the stages. Here are the best of what we ate, drank, and listened to across the first day of the festival.

Grub

Little Dumpling was the food go-to at the festival today — they offered up a selection of dumplings (we tried the duck) and other meat plates with various kimchi, edamame salad combos.

Our duck dumplings were so moist and juicy. Decadent with the hoisin sauce and fresh spring onions on top, we were happy to gobble them up while guzzling down a cold drink.

Sups

You can't bate it. Today, Guinness had their own drinks shack at Forbidden Fruit, meaning you could fast track the drinks queues if you wanted a sip of the black stuff. It was flowing and you know what that means; smooth, creamy, and cold, it was the perfect beverage to accompany the sunshine today at the festival.

We also strongly recommend creating a strategy around drinks runs, because queues are zero craic. P.S: if you're not a Guinness fan, they still had some other options in their Guinness watering hole.

Tunes

KOJAQUE came on just before 7 o'clock and did a stellar job of getting the crowd into a hand-waving, dancing, singalong mood. Not only did he grab our attention, but you could tell he was loving it himself, as he swayed and jumped, telling us "stand up".

He brought on an array of guests helping him to diversify the performance and add some a collaborative layers that leant to the hype amongst the crowd. Hearing him sing and rap in that signature Dublin twang made us feel like he was king of the festival and we thoroughly enjoyed his tunes.

We also loved Gemma Dunleavy who had a pop princess attitude with a raw, Dubliner lyricism to her tracks. She had a vibe that mirrored the likes of Anne Marie, but her music echoed her roots in Dublin where she grew up, so they had a raw emotional level that elevated her sound.

All in all, we had a great day. We missed that euphoric feeling of being part of a crowd at a live music event, so that's been our ultimate highlight. Now what we need is a cheeky chipper, cup of tea, and bed. Roll on more of the same tomorrow.

What were your best bits from Forbidden Fruit day one?