• Sound Studio Residency at Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny

    Letterkenny’s Regional Cultural Centre have made an open call for applications for a new residency series. Throughout 2023, the vital North West cultural hub will invite electronic musicians, composers, alternative producers and creative designers to take up residency in their new Sound Studio. Rather than a traditional record studio, it’s a creative space equipped with an iMAC PRO, audio interface and a wide range of acoustic and electronic compositional tools including a baby grand piano, church organ, Moog One 16, SOMA Pulsar-23, Behringer Odyssey, Dave Smith Prophet Module, Arturia PolyBrute, NORD Stage 3 and “many more weird and wonderful noise-makers”.…

  • Quasi at Ulster Sports Club, Belfast

    We’re delighted to be hosting U.S. indie rock legends Quasi in Belfast next month. Off the back of the release of their tenth album, and Sub Pop debut, Breaking The Balls of History, Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss will play their first show in the city in 17 years at the Ulster Sports Club in Belfast on Friday 5th May. Taking place as part of this year’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, and featuring support from Leeds band Cowtown, tickets for the show are available here. After nearly three decades of launching drums and distorted pianos through the shifting interzones of harmony and chaos (moonlighting…

  • God’s Waiting Room: Panda Bear & Sonic Boom w/ David Holmes DJ Set

    We know: it’s probably far too early to be asking the question “gig of the year?” but bear with us. Five months on from releasing of last year’s finest records, Reset, Pete Kember aka Sonic Boom and Panda Bear of Animal Collective will team up for a live show at David Holmes‘ legendary God’s Waiting Room at the Banana Black in Belfast on Friday, 21st April. Sealing the dealing and then some will be a DJ set on the night by none other than Holmes himself.  Tickets are sure to fly out for this one so be sure to snap…

  • Out of Place: Film Screening Tour

    Off the back of being nominated for Best Documentary at the Irish Film Festival London last November, Féile na Gréine documentary Out of Place will hit the road for a selection of screenings later this month and into February. A self-described “meditation on the role music plays in building community, exploring the tensions that emerge when musicians struggle to carve out a space for themselves in their city,” the Graham Patterson-directed documentary features performances from Denise Chaila, God Knows, Hey Rusty, His Father’s Voice, MuRli, and Post Punk Podge & the Technohippies, providing an intimate portrayal of a local music scene…

  • Defying Gravity: A Punk Odyssey

    On 16th March, Belfast’s punk-inspired fashion competition Defying Gravity: A Punk Odyssey makes its inaugural outing at The Banana Block, a thriving events space & living museum in East Belfast. A celebration of homegrown talent and a fashion competition honouring a true punk and style icon, the project was devised with its original guest judge, British punk icon Jordan Mooney – who sadly passed in April 2022 – as central to the premise of the show. Honouring her towering legacy while showcasing Belfast’s creative sector, it will give local fashion designers the chance to showcase their work and walk away with…

  • Myles Manley and Aoife Wolf at McHughs, Belfast

    Two years on from releasing one of the best Irish albums in recent memory, Cometh the Softies, we’re delighted to host Irish experimental popstar par excellence Myles Manley’s long-awaited return to Belfast at McHugh’s on Friday, 13th January. Taking place as part of his Wet January mini-tour of Ireland, and nine years on from his first show in the city (The Pavilion in 2013 – remember everyone?) the Sligo-raised, Dublin-based will perform a full-band show of new and some less-new material. Support on the night comes from fast-rising Co. Offaly psych-folk artist Aoife Wolf, songs from whose recent EP The Wetlands will get a special…

  • Merchy Christmas Set for The Grand Social

    The third annual Merchy Christmas takes over the Grand Social this weekend. Organised by One Stop Band Shop, it’s set to be another unmissable two days at the Dublin venue, with over 60 Irish acts coming together to sell their merch for a great cause. Taking place from 11am to 5pm on Saturday, 17th December and Sunday 18th, the get-together will feature pop-up stalls Aoife Nessa Frances, Gilla Band, Lankum, Junior Brother, Loah, Acid Granny, Gemma Dunleavy and many more. Check out the full list of artists below. At the heart of the annual event is a fundraising drive to combat…

  • Preview: Spilt Milk Festival 2022

    On these shores, few creative initiatives pair careful curation with an independent spirit as focused and informed as Spilt Milk. A year on from hosting the likes of School Tour, Syn and the sadly-missed Shammen Delly, the annual festival of music, art and film returns to Sligo town across 18th-20th November for its fourth outing, and arguably its strongest line-up to date. The programme from this year’s festival comprises four events, taking place at one of the island’s finest art centres, The Model – and it’s primed to be another wonderfully palette-spanning affair featuring several TTA favourites. From 7pm on Friday, the venue will…

  • The Thin Air Xmas ’22 Party: The Killing Spree, Blue Whale & Black Triptychs

    We’re delighted to announce that Belfast hardcore heroes The Killing Spree will play their first show in seventeen (17!) at The Thin Air’s ’22 Xmas party at The Deer’s Head on Thursday, December 22nd. One of the North’s all-time great trios will be supported by long-time TTA favourites, experimental rock four-piece Blue Whale, as well as acoustic electronic ambient duo Black Triptychs. The Killing Spree played shows regularly between 2002 and 2005, embedding themselves in the Irish DIY scene that grew around the Warzone Centre (Giros) in Belfast. Acclaimed for their frenetic and engaging live shows, the band played in…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – 4th November

    On this, the penultimate Bandcamp Friday of 2022, delve into the very best Irish releases of the week from Pretty Happy, Jape, Ex Isles, Le Boom, Thumper, Akrobat, HousePlants & more Pretty Happy – Boots Echo Boy by Pretty Happy Ex Isles – Deaf Republic Deaf Republic / The Smallest Plot Of Land by Ex-Isles Jape – Secret Area Akrobat – Eskimo THUMPER – Summer Assault Beauty Pageant – Born to Stay Le Boom w/ Andy – Next Time Cursed Murphy Versus the Resistance – Republic of the Weird Republic of the Weird by Cursed Murphy Versus the Resistance HousePlants…