• Premiere: No Oil Paintings – What Good Does It Do

    August 20, 2021 - By 

    Off the back of a storming set at Stendhal Festival last weekend, acclaimed Belfast Americana/alt-folk act quartet No Oil Paintings have returned strongest single to date. Capturing the Chris Kelly-fronted foursome at their most emphatic and earworming, ‘What Good Does It Do’ was self-recorded at Half Bap Recording Studios, mixed by Ben McAuley and mastered by Dan Coutant at Sun Room Audio Mastering in New York. Speaking about the track, which is taken from the band’s forthcoming debut album, Kelly said: “The song is a personal admission of the futility of one’s own anger and frustration. An enraged and impassioned plea for better temperament, delivered sonically…

  • New Cork Festival The Great Beyond Announced

    August 4, 2021 - By 

    A new music and comedy festival is coming to Cork. Courtesy of Coughlan’s Live Promotions – the good people behind the gem that is the Cork bar and venue of the same name – The Great Beyond will take place at the sublime 18th-century county mansion Ballinacurra House in Kinsale across Saturday, September 11 to Sunday, September 12. And the line-up is nothing to be sniffed, either. Across the two days, BellX1, Lisa Hannigan, The Frank & Walters, Wallis Bird, The Scratch, Marc O’Reilly, Bernard Casey, Laura O’Mahony, Naked Animals, Paddy Dennehy, Rowan, Ultan Conlon, Cry Monster Cry, Robert John Ardiff, Míde…

  • Video Premiere: Neil Brogan – New Development

    July 30, 2021 - By 

    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…

  • Ireland Music Week Announced Line-Up

    July 28, 2021 - By 

    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 Launch Outdoor Gig Series

    July 28, 2021 - By 

    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 For Solo Whelan’s Show

    July 21, 2021 - By 

    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 Announce Dublin Show

    July 19, 2021 - By 

    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.

  • New Irish Festival, Meadows Festival, Set For IMMA at Royal Hospital Kilmainham

    July 19, 2021 - By 

    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 To Make Dublin Return

    July 19, 2021 - By 

    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.

  • First Acts Announced For Another Love Story 2022

    July 16, 2021 - By 

    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…