Owen Humphreys shoots Day Two of this year’s Westport Festival, featuring acts as diverse as Tinariwen, The Barley Mob, Bell X1, Kool and The Gang and Bryan Adams.
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It is hard to imagine a less fashionable sitcom than Mrs. Brown’s Boys, Brendan O’Carroll’s cash-spewing granny-drag comedy in which he plays the foul-mouthed matriarch at its centre. Based on the act O’Carroll and various family members developed on stage over years of touring, and co-developed by RTE and BBC Scotland, the show is powered by the comic appeal of a stocky man in a dinner lady’s vest pottering about sets, mugging for the audience, laughing at his own jokes and spitting out ‘fecks’ like punctuation. Trading on shoe-worn sitcom set-ups, Mammy-knows-best nostalgia and gags so broad a rookie stormtrooper…
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Dropped late last night, Dublin instrumental three-piece Adebisi Shank have got us even more excited for their forthcoming third album with the release of the somewhat familiar ‘Voodoo Vision’. A fixture of their live sets over the last few few years, the track – previously titled ‘Thunder’ – is a vocoder-laced, effects-laden brilliantly-realised, beautifully bastardised and utterly exhilarating six minutes of sheer instrumental transcendentalism. We’re fans, in other words. Stream the track – set to feature on the band’s forthcoming third album – below.
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Dedicated to the life and work of Nobel-prize winning Irish writer Samuel Beckett, Happy Days Festival returns to Enniskillen from July 31 to August 10. World-renown as one of the finest and boldest alternative festivals around, Happy Days – named after the 1961 Beckett play of the same name – will see varied theatre productions, visual art, concerts, writers and artists talks, special events and everything in between take place across Enniskillen over the eleven days. Make sure to check out the full brochure for the festival – including venues and ticket prices – here. Watch a clip of Billie Whitelaw in a performance…
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Belfast has a new – if indeed any already exist – folk, punk, indie, rock & blues club in the form of Revival Belfast, taking place at McHugh’s Bar at Queen’s Square, starting from Friday, August 1. High-tops and sailor ink is not just permitted, it’s expected; so get down and party at their inaugural night. Admission is £3 and doors open at 10pm.
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Fresh from supporting Arcade Fire at Marlay Park at the weekend, and with a Leopardstown date this week, Meath indie rock band Ham Sandwich have revealed that they will be performing at Whelan’s in a few weeks time. The band will be playing at the Dublin venue on July 15. Tickets are priced at €17.50 and are on sale now.