• First Acts Announced For Longitude 2015

    Headliners Hozier, Alt-J and The Chemical Brothers are amongst the first acts announced to play this year’s Longitude. Set to take place in Dublin’s Marlay Park from July 17-19, the annual festival will also see performances from Caribou, Sbtrkt, Wild Beasts, Jungle, Dublin’s very own Girl Band and several more. Tickets for Longitude – priced at €149.50 (plus fees) for a weekend or €59.50 (plus fees) – are on sale next Friday,January 30 at 9am via Ticketmaster.

  • Rave New World (23/1)

    In the latest installment of Rave New World, the equally, exceedingly tasteful Antoin Lindsay and Aidan Hanratty delve into very best new electronic tracks and mixes of the week, as well as various unmissable upcoming nights and releases. Gigs Hydraulics at The Menagerie, Belfast Friday, January 24 Belfast’s best kept secret returns to The Menagerie tonight with residents Bloom, Jamie Nelson and Jamie Nevin providing the soundtrack. If you head down you’ll be treated to grime, garage and future sounds which is always relentlessly fun. Nobody else in the city is doing anything even remotely similar so treat yourself to this one. AL…

  • The Midnight Union Band – Of Life And Lesser Evils

    The formation of The Midnight Union Band sounds like one of those great rock and roll stories. Peter Flynn (piano/organ/electric guitar/lapslide/mandolin), Brian McGrath (bass) and Cian Doolan (electric guitar/mandolin) had all played in a band together, but they were struggling with creating a grander sound. One day they literally stumbled upon busker Shane Joyce on the streets of Kilkenny and invited him to join the band, and with the addition of drummer John Wallace, it seems the The Midnight Union Band was truly born. After the release of five song EP Behind The Truth in 2013 and a year of…

  • Sleater-Kinney – No Cities To Love

    If, after ten years and numerous highly influential albums, you want to call it a day, that’s perfectly fine. That old Neil Young line about burning out holds as much weight now as it did in back in 1979. But if you are going to reappear without warning, you’d better have a damn good reason. You can talk about legacy ultimately being redundant, but how many great bands are tarnished by a bad comeback album. The Pixies’ Indie Cindy is a record chock full of cuts that wouldn’t be considered C-sides back in their heyday, the world wasn’t begging for…

  • 15 For ’15: Goldie Fawn

    Over the last three weeks we have been revealing a handpicked selection of Irish acts we’re certain are set to do incredible things in 2015 and beyond. Today, we conclude that feature – 15 For ’15 – with a rejuvenated Belfast-based songstress: Katie Richardson AKA Goldie Fawn. Words by Brian Coney. Photo by Joe Laverty. Having well and truly cut her teeth as the leading lady of kaleidoscopic, tale-telling troupe Katie and the Carnival, Belfast-based singer-songwriter Katie Richardson has recently very convincingly metamorphosed and re-established herself as Goldie Fawn. Retaining the swooning, enchanting quality that made her previous incarnation so potent,…