• Monday Mixtape: King Kong Company

    Ahead of the band’s show at Cork Opera House on October 24 as part of this year’s Jazz weekender (tickets right here) Mark White from King Kong Company riffs on some of his all-time favourite songs, including Iggy Pop, Suicide, Lee Perry & The Upsetters and more. Muddy Waters – Mannish Boy I got together with a few other wanna be musicians and started a band while in secondary school. We had enough self awareness to play what we considered ‘easy’ songs. Mannish Boy was the first. Slow, no chords, no breaks, perfect! Everyone played the riff in time and…

  • Red Hot Chili Peppers To Play Dublin

    Red Hot Chili Peppers are coming back to Ireland. As part of a forthcoming stadium world tour, the Anthony Kiedis-fronted four-piece (with returning guitarist John Frusciante in tow, no less) play Dublin’s Marlay Park on June 29th 2022. Tickets for the show are available here from next Friday, October 15th at 10am. Revisit the band’s fairly legendary 2003 Slane show below.

  • Line-Up Announced For Cork’s Quiet Lights Festival

    Islander have announced details of the fourth outing for Cork winter festival, Quiet Lights. Set to return to various venues in the city across 18th-21st November, this year’s bill is another brilliantly curated affair featuring Lisa O’Neill, Junior Brother, Maija Sofia, Joshua Burnside, Trá Pháidín, Brigid Mae Power, Niamh Regan and more. Check out the full line-up below. “After losing out on hosting Quiet Lights by mere days due to renewed restrictions last year, we are excited (and a little nervous) to be bringing our little festival back to Cork this year,” said festival director Jonathan Pearson. “We’re very proud…

  • Girl Band To Play Limerick on NYE

    Girl Band are set to bid farewell to the shitshow that is 2021 with a return to Limerick. Off the back of a string of English festival shows, the Dara Kiely-fronted Dublin quartet have announced that they will play Dolans Warehouse on New Year’s Eve. Tickets for the gig, which is presented by the ever-reliable Seoda Shows, go on sale this Friday, 6th October at 9am priced€28. Can’t wait? Pre-sale is currently available via the band’s mailing list.

  • Sound of Belfast 2021 Programme Launched

    The programme for this year’s Sound of Belfast has been announced. Returning both live and online for 14 days across 4-18th November, this year’s outing will see 50 events take over 11 venues across the city. Organised by the Oh Yeah Music Centre as a means to turn up the spotlight on the city’s world-class talent, highlights from this year’s programme include Bicep at the Telegraph Building, new night No Photos featuring Marion Hawkes and more, Kneecap, Bangers N’ Mashups live with Mob Wife, F.R.U.I.T.Y., Sasha Samara and more. Go here to check out the full programme and to buy…

  • Silverbacks Announce Second Album ‘Archive Material’, Release Title Track

    Silverbacks have announced details of their forthcoming second studio album. At noon today, the Dublin five-piece revealed that they will release Archive Material via Full Time Hobby on January 21st, 2022. The follow-up to last year’s acclaimed – not to mention Choice Prize-nominated – Fad, it was recorded at Dublin’s Sonic Studios with Girl Band’s Daniel Fox on production duties once again. Thematically, the pandemic is said to function as a prism through which frontman Daniel O’Kelly examines ideas of community. He said: “I can’t remember who it was, but I saw a musician who said that they’d be keeping away from writing…

  • Best Album & Single Shortlists for NI Music Prize Revealed

    The Best Album and Best Single shortlists for this year’s Northern Ireland Music Prize have been revealed. Supported by PPL, the Best Album shortlist includes the likes of This Ship Argo’s Always The Bees: Never The Honey, Fir Wave by Hannah Peel (pictured), Arvo Party’s Inheritiance, Isles by Bicep and Into The Depths of Hell by Joshua Burnside. See the full list below. Andrew McGibbon – Northern Gothic Arvo Party – Inheritance Bicep – Isles CATALAN! – Veritas Dani Larkin – Notes for a Maiden Warrior Hannah Peel – Fir Wave Jealous of the Birds – Peninsula Joshua Burnside –…

  • Monday Mixtape: Jackie Beverly

    Off the back of her new single ‘Temporary State’ Irish indie-folk artist Jackie Beverly takes us on a tour of some of her all-time favourite songs, featuring Phoebe Bridgers, Laura Marling, MUNA and more. Muna ft Phoebe Bridgers – Silk Chiffon How could I not have this as the first track for this mixtape? I adore MUNA and I would definitely say that Saves The World had a major influence in my earlier releases. The fact that Phoebe Bridgers features on this though is just perfect. It’s a great song to start your day with. Laura Marling – Held Down I…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – October 1st

    On what is surely the best Bandcamp Friday yet, dig into very best new Irish releases, featuring NIMF, Group Zero, Jane Deasy, Loah, Willie Stewart, Tebi Rex, Fears, Cherym, Jackie Beverly, FRMR, Panik Attaks, Cat and more. Group Zero – Memorial Hall Everyone’s Already Come Apart by Group Zero Jane Deasy – Thawing EP Thawing ~ EP by Jane Deasy NIMF – The Faery Sea The Faery Sea by nimf Various Artists – In The Echo: Field Recordings From Earlsfort Terrace In The Echo: Field Recordings From Earlsfort Terrace by Various Artists Tebi Rex – Deadman Cherym – Hey Tori…

  • ‘It’s a Shame About Kilrea’ with Robyn G Shiels at Flax Art Studios, Belfast

    Earlier this month, Kilrea-raised, Belfast-based doom folk master Robyn G Shiels made his return to the stage with a show alongside Hatchet Field and An Auld Lad at the Sunflower. Taking place as part of this year’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, it delivered exactly what we have come to expect from a RG show: carefully-crafted and perfectly understated tales of darkness and deliverance. With a head full of steam, Shiels has been quietly pushing forward into some new territory. Taking place at Flax Art Studios – located in the former UTV studios building in Belfast, Havelock House – he will play a…