Gig Guide
2020
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Thu02Jan2020
Ongaku: A Night of Japanese Sounds
The Big RomanceDublin
Konbanwa! Thursday 2nd January will see the first new night of music at The Big Romance in 2020. Ongaku means “music” in Japanese so expect plenty of city pop, fusion, boogie, funk, j-pop, soft rock, synth, BGM and more spanning across multiple eras selected by our very own Loreana Rushe, featuring records sourced from her travels to Japan.
Admission is free, with the night running from 8pm-midnight.
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Fri03Jan2020Sun05Jan2020
Women's Christmas
The Workman's ClubDublin
In aid of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, The Workman's club holds a weekend over 3-5 January called Women's Christmas, featuring some of the most talented artists on the island.
Performing are Wallis Bird, Ailbhe Reddy, DJ Egg, singer-songwriter Maija Sofia, Loah, Toshín, post-punks Extravision & Roohoneychild.
Weekend tickets are available here, priced €33, and Friday night with Wallis Bird & Ailbhe Reddy costs €16.50 here.
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Sat04Jan2020Sun05Jan2020
Lankum
Vicar StreetDublin
Dublin’s finest experimental folk miscreants Lankum play Dublin's Vicar Street on January 4 & 5, just a few months after their last show there, and the release of new album, The Livelong Day.
Combining four-part harmonies with tradition instruments that include uilleann pipes, concertina, Russian accordian, fiddle and guitar, the group have an incredible knack for melding traditional folk with contemporary underground influences - black metal & drone, for example - to create something truly transcendental. Their sets give and take from the peoples' songbook - listen to our Irish song of 2017, the hauntingly poignant 'What Will We Do When We Have No Money?'.
Tickets are available from Ticketmaster, priced €30. Doors open at 8pm.
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Sat04Jan2020
Nine Below Zero
Black BoxBelfast
One of Britain's most enduring R&B outfits, Nine Below Zero, are set to play the Black Box for Out To Lunch on January 4.
Forty years on from their inception, they're one of the best blues bands around, with their 1980 Live At The Marquee album breaking them into their most popular era. Check out 'Three Times Enough'.
Tickets cost £16.50 from Ticketsolve. Doors open at 7.30pm.
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Sat04Jan2020
The Vinyl Revival
Strange Victory RecordsBelfast
The Vinyl Revival is a 43-minute documentary that follows on from acclaimed Last Shop Standing and directed and produced again by Pip Piper. It came out on Record Store Day 2019 as part of a gatefold album featuring artists from the Distiller label. It will be screened - appropriately enough - on Saturday, January 4 at Strange Victory Records.
It explores the renaissance in all things vinyl. We hear from passionate new record shops owners as well the established die-hards still going and thriving. We speak with musicians and music industry pundits, experts on culture and music history.
The film discusses the importance of the record shop and vinyl as a whole. We answer the why’s of vinyl’s revival, the human need for belonging, the love of history, and the stories of how the humble little record shop has shaped so many lives.
Tickets cost £4, available here. The Screening starts at 4pm.
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Sat04Jan2020
Natalia Beylis, Bambi & Katie O'Neill
The Workman's ClubDublin
Icebear presents a night of Ireland's finest experimental music in the Vintage Room upstairs at the Workman's Club on January 4. Headlining is Woven Skull member, multi-instrumentalist, composer & field recordist Natalia Beylis, who is as comfortable - check her out on Bandcamp.
Bambi performs, who incorporates elements of chart-pop and ambient into something that's romantically disconnected. Katie Geraldine O'Neill blends voice, electronics, guitar and field recordings into an ethereal sound. Listen to her work on Bandcamp.
Admission costs €5 and everything is in aid of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. Doors open at 8pm.
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Fri10Jan2020
Goodbye Quiet Arch: Ryan Vail & Elma Orchestra, Joshua Burnside, Ciaran Lavery & more
The Empire Music HallBelfast
Belfast based indie label Quiet Arch hold their farewell show on the 10th of January 2020 at Empire Music Hall, after which a period of indefinite hiatus will begin. The current and former home for many of Northern Ireland's most successful artists, the music enterprise will take a step back from label operations.
In recognition of their achievements, Quiet Arch have organised a showcase from their catalogue of artists. Headlined by 2019 NI Music Prize ‘Best Album’ winners Elma Orkestra and Ryan Vail, as well as former winner's Joshua Burnside and Ciaran Lavery, the night will be serve as a celebration of the impact that Quiet Arch has had on the music industry and landscape of its native Northern Ireland. In lieu of label services, management and curation of several Quiet Arch artist will be transferred to New Champion Music, the management arm of the label spearheaded by Francesca O’Connor and Ben Magee.
Tickets cost £16.76 from Eventbrite. Doors open at 7pm.
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Fri10Jan2020
Chewing On Tinfoil w/Erica Freas & Cruiser
Whelan'sDublin
Dublin indie-punks Chewing On Tinfoil play Whelan's on January 10. Watch the video for 'Charlene', ahead of the release of their third album later in the year.
Supporting are US-born, UK-based punk Erica Freas - check her out on Bandcamp - and Limerick second wave emo-tinged indie rock quartet Cruiser - watch the video for 'No More Parties'.
Tickets are priced €12/€15 from Eventbrite. Doors open at 8pm.
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Sat11Jan2020
Tony Visconti & Woody Woodmansey's Holy Holy
Olympia TheatreDublin
Now into its fifth year, the Dublin Bowie Festival has announced its 2020 headline act. Holy Holy features an all-star lineup of long-time Bowie producer/collaborator Tony Visconti on bass, '70-'73 Spiders From Mars drummer Woody Woodmansey, with the band set to play the Olympia Theatre on January 11.
Vocals come from Heaven 17's Glenn Gregory, keys/sax from Berenice Scott & Jessica Lee Morgan, while Scott Walker/Cult guitarist James Stevenson and Ian Hunter/Geldof guitarist Paul Cuddeford join them. They'll be performing Bowie's third album, The Man Who Sold The World, and Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars. As well as the former, Visconti produced some of Bowie's most acclaimed work, like the Berlin trilogy, Blackstar and Diamond Dogs - not to mention his work with some of the biggest rock artists of the 20th Century: Thin Lizzy, Iggy Pop, Morrissey & beyond.
Tickets are priced from €45.20, available at Ticketmaster. Doors open at 7pm.
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Sat11Jan2020
Protex
The UndergroundDublin
Retro Revival Indie Club bring Protex to Dublin's Underground venue on January 11 as they reissue their album, Strange Obsessions.
Formed in 1978, Protex were part of the early wave of Belfast punk along with SLF & Rudi. Strange Obsession was recorded for Polydor back in 1980, and was finally released in 2010, with it getting a recent revamp through Bachelor Records. Give the album a listen here.
Admission costs €10 and doors open at 8pm.
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Sat11Jan2020
Amy Naessens
Whelan'sDublin
Soul-pop singer-songwriter Amy Naessens plays Whelan's on January 11 in a full band performance.
Supporting are Dan Elliott and KC Vik.
Tickets are available from WAV Tickets.
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Mon13Jan2020
David Keenan
Olympia TheatreDublin
Young Dundalk singer-songwriter David Keenan plays the Olympia on January 13 in what's his biggest headline performance to date.
An artist who very much lives in the shadow the great Irish tradition, he's a performer of incredible charisma. Check him out on the Late Late Show.
Tickets cost €25 from Ticketmaster. Doors open at 7pm.
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Tue14Jan2020
Slipknot w/Behemoth
3ArenaDublin
Coinciding with their lauded sixth album hitting Number 1 on UK & Irish charts, Slipknot play the 3Arena on January 14. Taken from their new album & return to form We Are Not Your Kind, watch the video for 'Birth of the Cruel'.
Supporting are Behemoth.
Tickets are available from Ticketmaster. Doors open at 6.30pm.
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Wed15Jan2020
Snow Patrol [Acoustic]
Olympia TheatreDublin
Snow Patrol play a special, fully-seated acoustic show at the Olympia on January 15, following the cancellation of their last show, and release of latest studio albums Wilderness and their Reworked release.
Tickets are available from Ticketmaster, priced €39.50. Doors open at 7pm.
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Fri17Jan2020
Elder Druid 'Golgotha' Album Launch w/Slomatics, Nomadic Rituals & So Much For The Sun
VoodooBelfast
Belfast stoner-doom outfit Elder Druid have been consistently one of the hardest working bands in Irish metal over the last couple of years, regularly hitting the UK & Europe. They're set to launch their second album, Golgotha, with a show at Voodoo on January 17 with 3 of their finest peers.
Supporting are sludge-doom trios Slomatics - check out their latest album, Canyons - Nomadic Rituals - listen to second album, Marking The Day - and sludgy stoner rock act So Much For The Sun - check out their debut album.
Tickets cost £10 from Eventbrite. Doors open at 8pm.
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Fri17Jan2020
The Mary Wallopers
The Sunflower BarBelfast
Dundalk traditional balladeering trio featuring the Hendy Brothers of TPM fame, The Mary Wallopers, play Belfast's Sunflower Bar on 17 January. Check them out playing 'Building Up and Tearing England Down'.
Tickets are available from £8 from Sizeable Bear.
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Fri17Jan2020
Lee Fields & The Expressions
Live at St. Luke'sCork
Lee Fields & The Expressions play Cork's Live at St. Luke's on January 17.
The legendary soul frontman has been around since the 60s, when he was a teenager in North Carolina, sweating it out in juke joints. Now in his sixties, his legend has grown in stature, having given the likes of Sharon Jones & Charles Bradley early career breaks. Check out his wonderfully warm soul-funk of It Rains Love.
Tickets are available from uTicket, priced €26.
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Fri17Jan2020
Mob Wife, Cruiser & Cloakroom Q
The MenagerieBelfast
One of our favourite Irish releases of last year was the cross-country split from Belfast post-hardcore indie rock trio Mob Wife and Limerick second wave emo-tinged indie rock quartet Cruiser. They play the Belfast leg of their joint tour at the Menagerie on January 17 - stream it here.
Opening the show are Newry quartet Cloakroom Q - check them out on Bandcamp.
Admission costs £5 and doors open at 9pm.
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Sat18Jan2020
Lee Fields & The Expressions
The Button FactoryDublin
ChoiceCuts bring Lee Fields & The Expressions to Dublin's Button Factory on January 18.
The legendary soul frontman has been around since the 60s, when he was a teenager in North Carolina, sweating it out in juke joints. Now in his sixties, his legend has grown in stature, having given the likes of Sharon Jones & Charles Bradley early career breaks. Check out his wonderfully warm soul-funk of It Rains Love.
Supporting is ULY.
Tickets are available from Ticketmaster, priced €30. Doors open at 7.30pm.
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Sat18Jan2020
Badly Drawn Boy
Black BoxBelfast
UK singer-songwriter & Mercury Prizewinner Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy returns to Belfast to play the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival's Out To Lunch January programme at the Black Box. This will be an intimate solo show featuring only Gough.
It's been almost 2 decades since the release of his award-winning debut album, The Hour of the Bewilderbeast, and since then he's soundtracked About A Boy and Being Flynn, totalling seven studio albums now. Check out the video for 'Year of the Rat'.
Tickets are available from CQAF, priced at £20. Doors open at 8pm.
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Sat18Jan2020
Plain Sailing: Barker
Ulster Sports ClubBelfast
Berghain resident Barker makes a rare appearance when Plain Sailing bring him to the Ulster Sports Club on January 18.
Tickets cost £8 from Eventbrite. Doors open at 10pm.
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Sat18Jan2020
Elliott Smith
Oh Yeah CentreBelfast
Marking 20 years since its release, Rachael Boyd, Junk Drawer and Conor Mason will revisit Figure 8, the fifth and final album Elliott Smith completed before his death. They'll play it in its entirety, alongside a few originals, at the Oh Yeah Centre on January 18.
Released in 2000, Figure 8 songs have all Smith's ornate elegance and a sublime mastery of pop hooks. Rolling Stone placed it on their list of the 100 greatest albums of the decade and it was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Admission costs £8 and doors open at 8pm.
