Janelle Monáe will play the Summer Series in Dublin on July 3, 2019. Monáe – who released one of the albums of 2018, Dirty Computer, back in April – is the latest act to be announced for the annual Trinty College gig series. New Order and Paul Weller have also recently been announced to play. Tickets for the show cost €54.65 and go on sale on Friday, December 14.
In our new weekly arts column we’ll be rounding-up some key events in the Irish art world be they exhibition opening and closings, art talks and workshops, submission deadlines and guidelines, and everything in between that fits under the arts umbrella. This week we’re looking at four shows across Ireland which are drawing to a close as we approach Christmas. Martin Healy’s The Augury @ Butler Gallery, Kilkenny This week is your last chance to catch Martin Healy’s show The Augury in Kilkenny’s Butler Gallery. The work sees Healy explore our often fraught and conflicting relationship with the natural world, with particular focus…
“I leave behind A trail of songs From the darkest gloom To the brightest sun” Jeff Tweedy’s alt-Wilco resurgence continues with these eleven new songs of wit and, yes…warmth. The acoustic reimaginations of last year’s Together At Last record aside, Tweedy has tended to conduct his extra-curricular activities in collaboration with his peers (Golden Smog, Loose Fur) or make things a family affair (2014’s Sukierae with son Spencer).This is the first record of new material that bears his name only. Several of the songs have been road-tested during Jeff’s recent solo acoustic tour. ‘Bombs Above’ is a tentative opening confession…
“What the fuck is up Dublin?” screams Luka Palm, as he takes to the stage of The Academy an hour later than expected. The young Dublin rapper carries himself with a boyish swagger, as he marches up and down the stage, with cartoonish intro music blaring in the background. There is certainly a buzz in the air as the show begins, but with that comes an air of uncertainty. Palm has been doing the round on the Irish and UK circuit with his SoftBoy label-mates over the last year, but has not released much music. The audience are unfamiliar with…
Back in January, we featured Kerry experimental folk artist Ronan Kealy AKA Junior Brother as one of our ones to watch in 2018. From making his mark at Electric Picnic, Metropolis, Other Voices and elsewhere, to being lined up for a spin on Cillian Murphy’s BBC 6Music show on December 23, he has made good on the promise and then some Sealing the deal on a very busy year – one that was spun into motion via last year’s ‘Hungover at Mass‘ – is the serene and singular ‘The Back of Her’. It’s a wistful and unravelling heart-stung paean that distils the essence of Kealy’s craft to…
Having had an extremely strong first outing this year, All Together Now has announced that the National will headline the festival next year. When it returns to Curraghmore House in Co. Waterford across the August Bank Holiday (2nd-4th) weekend, the festival will now boast 16 stages, featuring natural amphitheatres, the iconic Spiegeltent, secret woodland stages and the All Together Now Bandstand, across a 3000 acre setting. General and family tickets for next year are on sale now, priced at just €199.50 until December 31. Installment plan options are also available. Revisit our top 10 sets for All Together Now 2018…
SFA frontman and solo extraordinaire Gruff Rhys live at Dublin’s Button Factory. Photos by Aaron Corr
If death and taxes are the only two constants in life, why haven’t SPIES delivered any music that is less than exceptional? Since their launch back in 2011, the Dublin-based band have presented three EPs, each gradually cementing their reputation as post-punk revivalists. Sea Creatures, the last of these, arrived in 2015, and the band has since undergone a three-year hiatus. Writing sessions for Constancy had to fit in between full-time jobs, departures from the country and studies. For many, such a time-sensitive approach would be their shortfall. Constancy however, finds SPIES rejuvenated, reimagined, and with a whole new sonic…
If you had to be robbed by anyone, you’d want to be robbed by Robert Redford. He’d flash his holster, give you a knowing nod, and lay on that wiley Texan charm, the undiminished, easy-going confidence. You’d hand over your bank card and apologise for your shitty overdraft. “No problem,” he’d smile. Based on the real-life exploits of Forrest Tucker, a serial bank robber and prison escape artist, The Old Man & The Gun is a light-hearted, light-footed crime comedy caper about the Sundance Kid refusing to go gently into that good night. After having made his way out of…
The country’s largest annual music conference, Output Belfast will return to the city for its fifth outing on Thursday, February 21st 2019. Organised by Belfast City Council, as ever, the conference will include various panel discussions, music sessions, workshops and speed networkinge events from various artists, managers and industry figures. In the evening, there will once more be various free, collaboratively-curated showcases in venues right across the heart of the city. The line-ups for each – including a bill co-promoted by yours truly – will be revealed in the coming weeks. Go here to sign up and be the first to hear about…