• Chalk Release ‘Claw,’ Announce Second EP

    January 18, 2024 - By 

    Having sealed a stellar 2023 by winning three awards at the NI Music Prize—including a well-earned nod for Best Live Act—Chalk have revealed details of their second EP. Comprising Ross Cullen, Benedict Goddard and Luke Niblock, the Belfast trio have been honing their searing craft since forming in 2019. It’s an increasingly insular arc that’s set to enter new territory on 1st March with the release of their Conditions II. The follow-up to the blistering Conditions, which dropped in May last year, the EP will be released via Nice Swan Records—home to Sports Team, Pip Blom and more—on 1st March.…

  • RTÉ Choice Music Prize Shortlist Revealed

    January 8, 2024 - By 

    The shortlist for the 19th annual Irish Album of the Year in association with IMRO and IRMA has been revealed. Following arguably the strongest 12 months for Irish music in recent memory, the following ten albums have made the cut for the 2023 Choice shortlist: CMAT – Crazymad, for Me Grian Chatten – Chaos For The Fly John Francis Flynn – Look Over The Wall, See The Sky Kojaque – Phantom of the Afters Lankum – False Lankum The Murder Capital – Gigi’s Recovery Rachael Lavelle – Big Dreams Soda Blonde – Dream Big The Scratch – Mind Yourself Ezra…

  • Naoise Roo Announces Final Headline Show

    January 5, 2024 - By 

    Naoise Roo has announced her last-ever headline show. Having spent the last few years underscoring her status as one of the island’s most distinctive songwriting voices, the Dublin artist has revealed that the launch of her latest album – and one of 2023’s very best – Emotionally Magnificent will be her last-ever headliner. Taking place at the Workman’s Club in Dublin on Friday, 2nd February, the performance is set to be an emotional, yet uniquely celebratory curtain call from a singular talent who has made clear her wishes to explore other avenues in her broader creative life. In an Instagram…

  • Acid Mothers Temple For Dublin and Belfast Return

    December 15, 2023 - By 

    Acid Mothers Temple are coming back to Ireland. The Japanese psych-rock legends, who have been fully expanding minds since 1995, will play Workman’s Club in Dublin on Sunday, 12th May and Belfast’s Ulster Sports Club on Tuesday, 14th May. Supports are TBA Tickets are priced €22.00 and £16.50 are on sale now.

  • Sunn O))) To Play National Concert Hall

    December 15, 2023 - By 

    Sunn O))) have been announced to play the National Concert Hall next year. Comprising core members Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson, the drone metal titans play a fully-seated show at the Dublin venue on 25th March 2024. Featuring special guests Jesse Sykes with Phil Wandscher and Bill Herzog, it marks the duo’s first performance in the city since 2017. Presented by Foggy Notions and U:MACK, tickets for the show are on sale now, priced 36.50. Limited VIP ticket add-ons including a soundcheck viewing experience and photo with the Sunn O))) backline are also available. Revisit our review of the band’s…

  • The Bonk and Clara Tracey Launch New Dundalk Series COLLIDE

    December 14, 2023 - By 

    As home to the likes of Just Mustard, Jinx Lennon, Elephant and The Mary Wallopers, world-beating venues including The Spirit Store and forward-pushing movers like Pizza Pizza Records, it’s safe to say Dundalk more than holds its own when it comes to representing what is setting Irish music apart in 2023. It’s a wonderfully independent spirit that runs through COLLIDE, a new, late-night series from An Táin Arts Centre and the Spirit Store. Beginning in winter 2023 and ending in spring 2024, the venues will collaborate on four downright unmissable bills featuring some TTA favourites. And how better to shine…

  • Patti Smith To Play Two Dates at Vicar Street

    December 12, 2023 - By 

    Patti Smith has announced two dates in Dublin next year. The legendary American singer-songwriter and poet will play two (relatively) intimate shows at Vicar Street on Thursday 27th and Friday 28th June 2024. Presented by Foggy Notions, the performances will see Smith perform alongside her band the Patti Smith Quartet. Presale is available now via Foggy Notions and general sale is 10am this Friday, December 15th. Revisit a stone-cold Smith classic from 1975 below.

  • Ty Segall Announces Dublin Show

    December 12, 2023 - By 

    Ty Segall is coming back to Dublin. Five years on from a show at Tivoli Theatre, the genre-mangling psych rock master will make his highly-anticipated return to the city at the Button Factory on Tuesday, 25th June. The announcement comes ahead of the release of the Long Beach trailblazer’s upcoming fifteenth album, Three Bells, which is out via Drag City on 26th January 2024. Check out the video for lead single ‘My Room’ below. Tickets for Segall’s Button Factory show go on sale on Thursday, 14th December at 10am, priced €32.65.

  • Open Ear Festival to Return in 2024

    December 12, 2023 - By 

    Open Ear Festival is set to return next year. Almost certainly the island’s finest small music festival – and without a doubt our favourite – it will return to Sherkin Island off Cork for its sixth edition on the June bank holiday weekend, 31st May to 2nd June 2024. As with previous years, the festival is set to host a perfectly pitched celebration of the fringes of Ireland’s experimental and electronic music communities. Following a back-to-basics outing in 2022, the 2024 edition will see the festival return to exploring a range of wonderful spaces and environs across Sherkin Island. In…

  • Lankum, Mogwai and More For New Irish Event, In The Meadows

    December 6, 2023 - By 

    Lankum, Mogwai and more will play the inaugural In The Meadows festival in June. Set to take over Royal Hospital, Kilmainham in Dublin on Saturday, 8th June 2024, the brand new, one-day event – which is also co-curated by Lankum – will also feature sets by Mogwai, Black Country, New Road, John Francis Flynn, This Is The Kit, in addition to must-see acts Rachael Lavelle, Tara Clerkin Trio, Mohammad Syfkhan and Andy The Doorbum, and more. The brainchild of the people behind All Together Now & Forbidden Fruit Festival, tickets for the event go on sale at 9am on Wednesday,…