As frontman of Sea Pinks, Belfast’s Neil Brogan established – and consistently re-established – himself as one of the island’s most distinctive songwriting voices. On albums such as Dreaming Tracks and Soft Days, he delivered nuanced, sun-bleached indie-pop sound and made it sound effortless. Last year, Brogan ventured out solo with Life Itself, a stellar four-track EP, and Weird Year, a collection of demos with all the markings of an artist at his peak. Taken from his recent album – and one of the Irish albums of the year at that – Magnolia Day, new single ‘New Development’ distils this fact down to exactly…
-
-
The line-up for this year’s Ireland Music Week has been announced. Taking place online across October 5-8th, this year’s showcases will be filmed at the Grand Social in Dublin. Over 500 acts applied, 50 of which have been revealed today. Among the names include the likes of M(h)aol, Pretty Happy, Cherym, Joel Harkin, Tolü Makay, Niamh Regan, Maria Kelly, Bicurious, Citrus Fresh, and Pixie Cue Rhythm Orchestra. Check out the full line-up below. “Selection for IMW is on most developing artists’ ‘to do’ list and brings with it opportunities to develop into international markets and networks,” said Angela Dorgan, CEO of…
-
Dolans Warehouse and Seoda Shows have announced a series of outdoor gigs in conjunction with Limerick’s Milk Market, set to run throughout August and September. Limrock Live, which takes place in The Milk Market (also known as The Big Top), has announced acts such as The Mary Wallopers, Anna’s Anchor and Toucan so far for the month of August. All events are limited to a 200 person capacity and tickets are sold in pods of four. Robocobra Quartet and Soda Blonde are planned for indoor shows in September, with tickets not yet for sale. Limerick’s Hunt Museum have also launched…
-
Bob Mould has announced a solo show for Dublin. The ex-Hüsker Dü and Sugar frontman will play a solo electric show at Whelan’s on January 19 2022. Tickets are priced €29.50 and go on sale this Friday (July 23) at 10am. The show, which coincides with the upcoming release of his Distortion: Live vinyl boxset, sees Mould perform solo versions of music from across his 40+ career, including some Hüsker Dü classics.
-
Dinosaur Jr. have announced a Dublin show as part of a forthcoming UK and Ireland tour. As well as playing Manchester, Hull and Glasgow, the J Mascis-fronted trio return to Dublin’s Vicar Sreet on Sunday, March 27 2022. The band last played the venue – and Dublin generally – back in November 2016. Tickets for the show go on sale at 9 am on Thursday, July 29th. Photo by Cara Totman.
-
A new festival is coming to IMMA at Dublin’s Royal Hospital Kilmainham. Presented by promoters POD, Meadows Festival is a specially designed, socially-distance and open-air summer series of live music, performance and spoken word. Taking place next month, across August 20-22, the series will feature set from David Keenan & Niamh Regan, Just Mustard & John Francis Flynn, Saint Sister & CMAT, A Lazarus Soul & Lisa O’Neill, and more. Check out the full line-up below. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, July 21 at 9am, priced €19.10 per person. Tickets are available in groups of 4 & 6 persons…
-
The War on Drugs are coming back to Ireland. Accompanying the news of their first album in four years, I Don’t Live Here Anymore, the Philadelphia indie-rock band have announced they will play Dublin’s 3Arena on Thursday, April 14 2022. Marking their first headliner in the city since 2014, tickets for the show go on sale this Friday, July 23rd at 10am. I Don’t Live Here Anymore is out via Atlantic Records on October 29th. Check out the video for the album’s lead single ‘Living Proof’ below.
-
Consistently one of Ireland’s most well-curated festivals, Another Love Story has announced the first selection of artists set to play next year’s edition. The 2022 edition is set to return to the rolling meadows and cosy corners of Killyon Manor, Co. Meath, on August 19th-21st, and the first names seem a positive indicator for the kind of tastefully-selected eclecticism typically on display at the festival. Set to play are legendary Manchester selector, event creator & personality Luke Una, emerging Irish composer & singer-songwriter Rachael Lavelle, Berghain regular Barker, Choice Prize nominee Niamh Regan, live electronics from Leipzig’s Map.Ache, and Cork psych outfit The Altered Hours. Tickets are on sale now and available here, priced…
-
Arriving on the Belfast scene like a bucket of pink paint into white, Dan O’Rawe, aka F.R.U.I.T.Y. brings a chameleonic, singular blend of woozy, lo-fi electronica, hip-hop and experimental pop, underscored by the ingrained localised perspective of a queer person in Northern Ireland. Following up on his contributions to Bangers N’ Breakups, a darkwave cover of ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’ and debut single ‘Not Quite Exceptional‘, new single ‘U.P.S.’ is the first single taken from F.R.U.I.T.Y.’s self-titled debut EP, out 5th August. It sees Tobacco & Eels-esque hazy, kaleidoscopic synth textures frame off-kilter, identity-exploring pop in the vein of Ezra Furman, Jazmin Bean…
-
As the North’s premier – and most downright consistent – art-punk proposition, Invaderband have always delivered. Fronted by Adam Leonard, and featuring the likes of TTA favourite Chris McConaghy, AKA Our Krypton Son, the Derry quartet honour the lineage of (not to mention put their own twist on) post-punk more than any overhyped clan of boys from the Pale ever could. You need not look much further than the band’s new single ‘Handcuffed Man Shoots Himself’. Conjuring everyone from Gang of Four and Swell Maps, to Stranglers and early Blur, it’s a stellar anti-anthem on police brutality that distils Invaderband’s equal parts…