Event of the week
Lewis Capaldi
Monday & Tuesday, September 29th & 30th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €159.40 (sold out), tickermaster.ie
Lewis Capaldi sold out these 3Arena shows within hours, and it’s the same story with the Scottish singer’s open-air Irish shows in the summer of 2026. (He’s at Marlay Park, in Dublin, on June 23rd and 24th; Thomond Park, in Limerick, on June 26th; and at Belfast Vital on August 20th). So, yes, Ireland loves him, and with good reason: these shows arrive after Capaldi took a break from touring in 2023 to manage the debilitating symptoms of his Tourette’s syndrome. There’s no official word on a new (third) album, but the release earlier this year of his cover of the Britney Spears ballad Everytime, followed by his own tracks Survive and Something in the Heavens, is a clear message to fans: another collection of songs is on the way. Prepare for billions more streams.
Gigs
The Miami Showband 50th Anniversary Memorial Concert
Monday, September 29th, Vicar Street, Dublin, 7pm, €42.20, ticketmaster.ie
The darkest moment in Irish music history occurred in the early hours of July 31st, 1975, when members of the Miami Showband, travelling from Banbridge, in Co Down, to Dublin, were stopped at a fake military checkpoint. Three of the group – Fran O’Toole, Brian McCoy and Tony Geraghty – were killed. For this 50th-anniversary memorial concert, surviving members Stephen Travers, Des Lee and Ray Millar convene with an array of Irish showband performers and country singers. Guest artists include Johnny Logan, Red Hurley, Tommy Sands, The Swarbriggs and Sandy Kelly. All profits from the event, which is hosted by Ronan Collins and Fr Brian D’Arcy, will be donated to the Irish Cancer Society.
For Those I Love
Wednesday, October 1st, Mike the Pies, Listowel, Co Kerry, 7pm, €25 (sold out), mikethepies.com; Thursday, October 2nd, Cyprus Avenue, Cork, 7pm, €27.50, cyprusavenue.ie; Friday, October 3rd, Limelight, Belfast, 7pm, £26.25, limelightbelfast.com; Sunday, October 5th, Roisín Dubh, Galway, 7pm, €27.50, roisindubh.net
Producing music under the name of For Those I Love, the Dublin singer-songwriter David Balfe won the 2021 RTÉ Choice Music Prize for his debut self-titled album. Four years later, Balfe has released the follow-up, Carving the Stone, another work of raw, lyrical and sociopolitically charged songs. These intimate shows lead up to a headline concert on Monday, October 6th, at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin (7pm, €34.15/€29.20, tickermaster.ie).
Gilla Band
Friday, October 3rd, Cyprus Avenue, Cork, 7pm, €27.50, cyprusavenue.ie
It’s rare that a music act of Gilla Band’s status plays at small venues (some for the first time), so you’ll need to get your skates on to nab a ticket. Earplugs are advised – although you won’t need them for the superb special guest on all dates, the singer-songwriter Aoife Nessa Frances. Also Saturday, October 4th, Connolly’s of Leap, Co Cork, 7pm, €23.50 (sold out), connollysofleap.com; Friday, October 10th, Roisín Dubh, Galway, 8pm, €21.50/€19, roisindubh.net; Saturday, October 25th, and Sunday, October 26th, Workmans Club, Dublin, 7.30pm, €27.50 (sold out), theworksmanclub.com; Thursday, October 30th, Spirit Store, Dundalk, Co Louth, 7.30pm, €22.50, spiritstore.ie
RM Block
Dance
Tipperary Dance Festival
From Wednesday, October 1st, until Friday, October 10th, Thurles, Clonmel and Nenagh, Co Tipperary, various venues, times and prices, tipperarydance.com
Subtitled Dance at Heart, the 16th edition of Tipperary Dance Festival presents a broad range of performances (including Virgilio Sieni’s Satiri, Junk Ensemble’s Dances Like a Bomb and Mufutau Yusuf’s Impasse), masterclasses (including with Italy’s Maurizio Giunti and the UK’s Ian Garside) and workshops (including Tango for Beginners, Age in Movement, Dance for Adults, and Children’s Dance). The festival, says artistic director Alexandre Iseli, “sticks to one value like a mantra: dance can help us cultivate ways to live together ... Seeing differences, embracing them, living with them and maintaining our ability for curiosity and dialogue.”
Music conference
Ireland Music Week
Wednesday-Friday, October 1st-3rd, various venues, times and prices, Dublin city, irelandmusicweek.com
How time zips by: this is the 23rd year of Ireland Music Week, the annual independent-music showcase and conference that has, since its inception, provided encouragement and support for emerging Irish musicians. More than 50 music acts (including several from the Baltic countries) perform on Thursday, October 2nd, and Friday, October 3rd – although you might find it hard to move between all the bookers, record-label execs, managers, publishers and agents. Highlights include Bonniesongs, God Knows, Martina and the Moons, Tanaka VII and the visiting Latvian artist Vultura. All conference discussions and panel sessions take place in Lost Lane, off Grafton Street.
In conversation
An Audience with Priscilla Presley
Wednesday, October 1st, NCH, Dublin, 7.30pm, €55, nch.ie
One of the most famous music-associated people in the world, Priscilla Presley arrives in Dublin as part of a world tour to promote her new memoir, Softly, As I Leave You. The evening will focus on her life before and after her marriage to Elvis Presley, and what it was like walking away from what was perceived as a glamorous world into one of hard-earned independence. Other topics include the tragic death of her first husband, her daughter Lisa Marie’s marriage to Michael Jackson, and the issues of legacy, identity and self-preservation.
Still running
Caim
Until Tuesday, September 30th, Slane Castle, Co Meath, free (booking required), caimatslane.com
The objective of Caim, Slane Castle estate’s inaugural art programme, is to nurture relationships between Ireland’s cultural heritage and international contemporary art. Curated by Jenn Ellis and Matilda Liu, the exhibition features works by nearly 20 Irish and international artists, including Melania Toma, Kathy Tynan, Omar El Lahib, Niamh O’Malley, Yijia Wu and Fergus Martin.
Book it this week
The Mirror Stage, Project Arts Centre, Dublin, November 5th-12th, projectartscentre.ie
Stereolab, Cyprus Avenue, Cork, February 19th, foggynotions.ie
Gorillaz, 3Arena, Dublin, April 1st, ticketmaster.ie
Mary Black: The Slán Tour, Vicar Street, Dublin, May 9th, ticketmaster.ie
