• Biffy Clyro to play Royal Kilmainham Hospital

    After a hugely successful summer which saw the band play their first headline sets at Reading, Leeds and Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Scottish alt-rock three-piece Biffy Clyro have announced they will play Dublin’s Royal Kilmainham hospital on June 28, 2014. The announcement comes after the band were confirmed to play Cork’s Live at the Marquee the day before on Friday, June 27. The Pixies, Elbow and Neil Young are amongst others acts set to play the festival. Tickets for the Dublin show are priced €44.50 including booking fee go on sale this Wednesday, 18 December at 9am from Ticketmaster.

  • Neil Young and Crazy Horse to play Cork’s Live at the Marquee

    Six months on from their show in Dublin, Neil Young and Crazy Horse have announced that they will play Cork’s Live at the Marquee on Thursday, July 10 2014. Having last performing there back in 2008, tickets for the show will be able from Monday, December 16 at 9am. To purchase tickets go to Ticketmaster. In the meantime, there’s this masterpiece:

  • Watch: Hornets – Stay Free

    Ahead of supporting LaFaro at Belfast’s Voodoo tonight, Saturday, December 14, Belfast-based punk metal band Hornets have unveiled the video to their new single, ‘Stay Free’. Shot and produced by Patrick McElwee,  the video for the single – released via Start Together Singles Club – was shot on location in Belfast city and features a guest appearance from Steven Toner from Belfast glam punk five-piece The Unprotected. Having recently expanded to a four-piece (as the only photo of the new line-up, above, shows), Hornets have just finished recording their latest EP, No Faith, with Rocky O’Reilly. The EP is expected to be release…

  • Tickets go on sale for Arcade Fire and Pixies @ Marley Park

    Tickets for Arcade Fire and alt-rock pioneers Pixies at Dublin’s Marley Park on Sunday, June 29 have gone on sale. Set to be one of the most must-see Irish summer shows of 2014, the event was announced on Tuesday afternoon. Along with confirming the show – as well as a date at Cork’s Marquee on June 30 – the Pixies revealed Paz Lenchantin from A Perfect Circle and Zwan as their new bassist. Co-produced by former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy, Arcade Fire released their fourth studio album, Reflektor, back in October. Tickets for the show – priced at €61.50 – are available to…

  • Watch: Out Krypton Son – I See A Sadness

    Off the back of the release of his stunning ‘Can’t Make You Come Back’ (not to mention a sublime cover of Willie Nelon’s ‘Pretty Paper’) Derry singer-songwriter Chris McConaghy AKA Our Krypton Son has unveiled a live video of a sublime new track, ‘I See A Sadness’. Filmed in Smalltown America’s studio in Derry, the video – edited by Paul Brown and his team from In Your Steps – is, according to the STA blog on the video, “delicate in every sense of the word and is sure to pull on the heart strings and bring a tear to a…

  • Girls Names announce European tour

    Starting to crop up in all different kinds of end of year lists, Belfast-based four-piece Girls Names have announced details of a forthcoming European tour. Starting in London on February 5 and concluding in Italy’s Savignano Sul Rubicone on February 13, check out the eight dates below. February 5: The Lexington, London February 6: Espace B, Paris February 8: Ferme de Biereau, Louvain-la-Neuve February 9: Rössli, Bern February 10: Blah Blah, Turin – door sales only February 11: Garage Genova, Genova – door sales only February 12: Off Modena, Modena – door sales only February 13: Sidro Club, Savignano Sul Rubicone Watch the wonderfully…

  • Stream: The Groundlings – Life Is Fine/Roses Red, Violence Blue

    Belfast-based rock n’ roll band The Groundlings have unveiled a stream of two new tracks titled ‘Life Is Fine’ and ‘Roses Red, Violence Blue’. Two brilliantly garagey efforts from the three-piece – recorded by the band themselves – both tracks are expected to feature on a six-track EP at some point in the new year. The Groundlings play a Cramps Tribute night at Belfast’s Voodoo on February 8. Go here for the event page. Stream ‘Life Is Fine’ and ‘Roses Red, Violence Blue’ below.

  • Watch: The Late David Turpin – Fur

    Taken from his third studio album We Belong Dead, Dublin-based singer-songwriter The Late David Turpin has unveiled the video to his new single, ‘Fur’. Made in collaboration with photographer Mark Duggan and the actress Julie Shanley as well as friends of Turpin, the video was inspired by Derek Jarman’s The Angelic Conversation and Jean Cocteatu’s La Belle et la Bete. Speaking of the video, Turpin said, “When I made ‘Fur’ I was thinking about hair. Because we live in a pornographic society, hair – like all the realities of the body – is something we seem to either fetishise or…

  • Red Enemy sign to Mediaskare, release new video

    In a brilliant one-two, Dublin progressive hardcore/metal band Red Enemy have announced they have joined the roster of U.S.-based Mediaskare Records, unveiling the video to their latest single ‘Changing The End’ in the process. In a post on their official Facebook page, the five-piece said, “We’re chuffed to announce that we have officially joined the Mediaskare Records roster. Mediaskare has been the home to some of our best friends and favourite metal bands down through the years and it’s truly an honour to be a part of their future plans. You can expect an album in 2014 but we will have more…

  • Out To Lunch Arts Festival 2014 Line-up Revealed

    Boasting appearances from acts and people as diverse as ventriloquist Nina Conti, Irish novelist Edna O’Brien and multi-faceted English rock musician Julian Cope (above), the line-up for the ninth annual Out To Lunch Festival has been announced. Taking place from January 2 to January 26, the annual Belfast festival of music, arts and culture will commence with Scala Strings at The Black Box on Thursday, January 2 and conclude with the closing day of an exhibition by Julian Friers titled In Concert. There’s dozens of fantastic shows on throughout the festival’s three-week stint, all of which (including ticket bookings) you can…