• Dublin Is Sound

    April 3, 2019 - By 

    On Saturday, April 13th – Record Store Day 2019 – Dublin’s The Grand Social will play host the inaugural Dublin Is Sound. Co-hosted by Nialler9 and Seven Quarters, the +14s daytime gig will present a genre-spanning bill of four of country’s best acts: Pillow Queens, Squarehead (pictured), God Knows from Rusangano Family and Tebi Rex. Advance ticket buyers will receive a limited edition 12″ vinyl record on the day featuring tracks from the acts. The vinyl is pressed in the city by Dublin Vinyl with specially-designed artwork by Dublin based designer Ruan Van Vliet in response to the music. Doors…

  • Pixies To Play Dublin and Belfast

    April 3, 2019 - By 

    Boston indie rock legends Pixies will return to Ireland to play two shows in September. Coinciding with the release of a new album in the autumn, the Black Francis-fronted quartet will play Belfast’s Ulster Hall on September 25 and Dublin’s Olympia Theatre on September 26. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10am.

  • Pavement Co-Founder Scott Kannberg aka Spiral Stairs Set For Dublin and Belfast

    April 2, 2019 - By 

    Scott Kannberg aka Spiral Stairs will play Dublin and Belfast in September. The founding member of Pavement and solo artist, who has just released a new album as Spiral Stairs (We Wanna Be Hyp-No-Tized) will play Voodoo in Belfast on Wednesday, September 25 and Whelan’s in Dublin on September 26. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Thursday, April 4, priced €20.00 and £15.00 respectively.

  • Bombay Bicycle Club To Play All Together Now and Cork Opera House

    April 2, 2019 - By 

    Bombay Bicycle Club are set for two Irish appearances in August. As well as joining the bill for the (sold-out) All Together Now in Cork, play the festival on August 4th, the London quartet will also play a headline show Cork Opera House on August 3. Tickets for the latter are priced at €30.00 and go on sale at 10am on Friday. Fan presale for Cork begins tomorrow (Thursday) at 10am.

  • Win Tickets to Broken Social Scene at Vicar Street

    April 2, 2019 - By 

    Before they go on sale on Friday, we have a pair of tickets to give away to Toronto indie rock heroes Broken Social Scene at Vicar Street on Saturday, August 17. To enter, send your name and your answer to the following question to info@thethinair.net: Released in 2001, what’s the name of Broken Social Scene’s debut studio album? Good luck!

  • Stream: Pat Dam Smyth – Dancing

    April 1, 2019 - By 

    When we last spoke to him, back in March of 2016, we reasoned that London-based Northern Irish troubadour Pat Dam Smyth stood tall as one of the country’s most distinctive and vital songwriting voices. Three years on, that theory needs underlining. Having recently signed to Belfast’s Quiet Arch, Smyth is back with a new single – the first for a forthcoming album – called ‘Dancing’. Reflecting on his life as a teenager in Belfast, it’s a pensive, full-band affair, bursting with pathos and Smyth’s singular melodic knack. Stream it below. Smyth’s second album is out in July 2019.

  • A4 Sounds presents: Silverbacks & Extravision

    April 2, 2019 - By 

    Since 2009, Dublin hub A4 has went above and beyond in their mission to transform the means by which cultural works are produced, accessed, and understood in Ireland. Their latest initiative – a new bi-monthly gig night – is one that we’re fully behind. Curated by Matt Hedigan, an artist and member of Hands Up Who Wants To Die, No Spill Blood and Elk, the next installment of the series unites two of our very favourite fast-rising bands from Dublin on Friday, April 5th: Silverbacks and Extravision  It’s BYOB and runs from 8-11pm. Go here for the gig’s Facebook event page and check…

  • Festival Mixtape: Vantastival 2019

    March 29, 2019 - By 

    In an age when we’re lucky to have new-fangled festivals are springing up left, right and centre, Drogheda’s Vantastival holds steady as one of the country’s most consistently impressive – and downright eclectic – Irish summer festials. Set to return to Beaulieu House and Gardens for its 10th anniversary across May 31-June 2, this year’s outing will play host to everyone from King Kong Company, Lisa O’Neill and Just Mustard, to Wallis Bird, Afro Celt Sound System and Pillow Queens. The Co. Louth festival has always boasted much more than a carefully-curated bill of music and this year is no…

  • First Names Announced for Stendhal

    March 29, 2019 - By 

    Long one of the country’s very best summer festivals, Stendhal returns to Ballmully Cottage Farm in Limavady, Co Derry/Londonderry across August 15-17th. Today, organisers have announced the first acts to play this year’s outing and it’s a strong mix of established and fast-rising, international and homegrown. With many more to be announced, among the highlights is a DJ Set from Basement Jaxx, Borders aka Elma Orkestra and Ryan Vail (pictured), Dublin indie rock quartet Bouts, Mob Wife, Amy Montgomery, Lost Brothers, David Keenan, Roe and Stevie Scullion aka Malojian. Check out the first line-up announcement in full below and go here…

  • Belfast Film Festival Preview: The Kiosk – A Q+A With Director Neal Hughes

    March 27, 2019 - By 

    A must-see at this year’s Belfast Film Festival is the debut screening of The Kiosk by director Neal Hughes. Capturing the singular spirit and humanity of the city and its citizens, it’s a look through the eyes of a barista serving coffee from a small coffee kiosk in the heart of Belfast City Centre. We catch up with Hughes to discuss the impetus behind the project, the future of the Kiosk following the major fire at the nearby Primark in August and how his film reveals the poetry of everyday Belfast. Catch The Kiosk at Movie House on Dublin Road on Saturday, April…