Yo! This is Andy Connolly here, AKA Naive Ted, Deviant etc... and I'm asking you for money. Well, WE are asking you for money. Who's we? I'll explain....

Back in 2007, me & my comrades Jimmy Penguin, Tweek & Mikey Fingers concocted a plan to throw a skratching house party for our friends around Ireland in the turntablism community. We felt it was necessary because we like to hang out with our peers. At this time, the main opportunity to meet up was at the DMC & ITF battles, which were quite stressful & hectic events, not exactly conducive to connecting on a meaningful level. Also, honestly, we were sick of the battles, collectively feeling that such events were a bit of a cul-de-sac of virtuosity, not promoting the arts of turntable manipulation in the direction we sought.

Anyway, word got out to the streets that we were planning a party & we panicked. No-one wants their gaff invaded by the Buckfast wielding hordes of Galway in the mid 2000s. So we hollered at our pals in the Bierhaus. There was some skepticism but after assurances that we wouldn't wreck the pub they were fully onboard & the first edition of Community Skratch Games was born. It was whopper. We had showcases, battles & DJ sets from the best vinyl wobblers in the land. We organised an MCs vs DJs game of football that never happened. And even though we sorta wrecked the pub the lads in Bierhaus supported our notion to make it an annual event.

As the years went on, our daft idea grew legs. Acts started travelling from further afield, world champion battlers, internet legend freestylers & renowned beat-diggers all made the trip to Galway to showcase their craft down the pub. Next, the Community Skratch BBQ in Brighton, UK debuted in 2008 & events started popping up all over the world, including Germany, Poland, Portugal, Chile, USA & beyond.

So here we are in 2026, 19 CSG events behind us, & not a dollar of profit ever made nor asked for. We do this for the love. We do this for the craic. We do this because people want us to.

But this is the TWENTIETH edition! We wanna make it a bit special. We need money for that.

To date, the majority of costs for CSG are covered by Bierhaus. This has been hugely helpful, it just wouldn't exist without their patronage. But it's a free festival, there's a LOT of acts & there's only so much money they can give us. We've supplemented the budget on occasion with funds raised from merch sales & from our personal savings. Performers usually play for costs & many of them don't even get that or refuse to take any payment at all. All very noble, but it's not ideal!

So we're asking you for money. We've never asked you before.

Money raised from this GoFundMe will go to making this event the best one yet. For the audience, AND the artists performing.

I can't break down the exact way the money raised will be spent at this stage but the following list will give you an idea of what you're supporting...

This year is our biggest line-up ever, nearly 50 performers (!), travelling from near & far, all spending at least 2 days in one of the most expensive countries in Europe.

So, yeah. That's it. If you've ever enjoyed what we do, now is the time to throw us some cash. It'll be gratefully received.