Damon Albarn

Gorillaz in Dublin: Damon Albarn takes selfies and signs autographs without missing a note in compelling show

From Mark E Smith to Idles frontman Joe Talbot, it wouldn’t be a Gorillaz show without a rotating cast of guests

Thu Apr 02 2026 - 09:31

Easter Week event guide: Gorillaz and the other best things to see in Ireland in coming days

March 28th-April 3rd, 2026: The best movies, music, art and more coming your way this week

Fri Mar 27 2026 - 04:59

Damon Albarn’s creative output proves the musical magic of keeping office hours

Sublime new Gorillaz album The Mountain shows, once again, how it helps to be a ‘daily musician’

Sat Feb 28 2026 - 05:15

Gorillaz: The Mountain – beautifully tender record with a sad smile plastered to its face

Damon Albarn looks past western music for inspiration but album never sounds like the meanderings of a tourist

Fri Feb 27 2026 - 05:16

Miki Berenyi: ‘The internet has sent people I know completely crazy. That is not restricted to young people’

Fans of the the singer’s early work with Lush will probably adore the new album from Miki Berenyi Trio, which is steeped in her haunting vocals, gorgeously shimmering riffs and deeply personal lyrics

Sat Mar 29 2025 - 05:18

Bat for Lashes: ‘I was rootless and lost in a way, and being buffeted around by music being looked at as a business’

Natasha Khan, aka Bat for Lashes, on how she was worn down by the commercial pressures of the industry and how her new album was inspired by motherhood

Tue Jun 04 2024 - 05:15

The English just can’t escape the taint of class

Donald Clarke: Whether it’s Britpop, The Beatles or The Last Dinner Party, the English just can’t escape the taint of class

Sun Mar 10 2024 - 05:00

Blur: The Ballad of Darren – A comeback album so good we can only hope it isn’t the end

The eighth album from Damon Albarn and co is an emotional tour de force

Fri Jul 21 2023 - 14:32

Blur live in Dublin: ‘Céad míle fáilte’ barks Damon Albarn on an emotionally charged night of hit after hit

Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree may have visibly aged, but they perform with the vigour and chutzpah of a brand new band

Sun Jun 25 2023 - 09:43

The Guide: The events to see, the shows to book, and the ones to catch before they end

The best movies, music, art and more coming your way this week

Sat Jun 24 2023 - 05:00

Damon Albarn: ‘I’ve lost one of the loves of my life’

No matter what else he’s working on, Albarn always comes back to Gorillaz, so the death of one of the virtual band’s key collaborators is a shock

Sat Feb 25 2023 - 06:00

Gorillaz: Cracker Island - Damon Albarn squeezes as much joy and pathos as possible into their best album to date

The virtual band’s LA-influenced eighth album is one of their best to date

Fri Feb 24 2023 - 05:30

Damon Albarn’s criticism of Taylor Swift is ‘hopelessly out of date’

Comment: He wrongly said she didn’t write her own songs – revealing a pop-vs-indie snobbery

Tue Jan 25 2022 - 13:24

The top 10 Irish and international albums of 2021

It’s a close contest between Villagers and For Those I Love, while Arlo Parks aces it

Sat Dec 11 2021 - 05:00

Live music on TV more precious than ever in time of broken audience connections

Funding scheme for music broadcasting should be repeated as restrictions return

Mon Dec 06 2021 - 13:32

Syrian musician Omar Souleyman held on terrorism charges in Turkey

Son says father had no political affiliations and that a ‘malicious report’ had been filed

Wed Nov 17 2021 - 18:48

Gorillaz: Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez review – great songs sandwiched between the disposable and cartoonish

Elton John, Robert Smith, St Vincent and Skepta guest on virtual band’s seventh

Fri Oct 16 2020 - 06:00

The best rock and pop concerts in Ireland in 2020

Albums and gigs to check out from January to June: Green Day, Slipknot, Diana Ross, Damon Albarn, Tenacious D and more

Sat Dec 28 2019 - 05:00

Awright, Boris! The meaning of Boris Johnson’s walkabout video

It’s hard not to think of Geri Halliwell in a Union Jack miniskirt as you watch the PM

Thu Nov 14 2019 - 09:42

Laurie Shaw: Helvetica review – A glitchy, scrappy pop-punk state of Britain

Kerry-based artist’s songs brim over with clever ideas and easily spotted influences

Fri Nov 01 2019 - 05:00

Berlin techno innovator Pantha Du Prince fits right in to Perspectives series

Beacon of enlightened new music programming at NCH in fog of nostalgia culture

Sat Sept 28 2019 - 05:00

‘I could have made a country-rock album – especially with it being in Welsh’

Gruff Rhys: Brexit seems to be like some sort of strange right-wing death cult

Fri Sept 06 2019 - 05:00

Joan as Police Woman: ‘I don’t measure anything by No 1s’

Joan Wasser has no regrets about delaying her solo career until into her 30s. But as she releases a 'Best of' collection, the Connecticut songwriter is looking forwards, not back

Sat Jul 06 2019 - 07:00

National Concert Hall launches bumper programme for 2019-20

Joyce DiDonato, Damon Albarn, Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson in wide-ranging line-up

Tue May 28 2019 - 15:40

All Together Now: Pussy Riot and Bombay Bicycle Club join line-up

Sold-out music festival also announces John Grant, The Wailers and Anna Calvi

Tue Apr 02 2019 - 10:58

From Britpop to Brexit: dreams of England turning sour

Damon Albarn's psychogeographic tour gives the sense of a country on the verge of catastrophe

Sat Feb 02 2019 - 05:00

Damon Albarn: ‘Brexit has revealed terrible truths about the mental health of the English’

The Blur frontman on ‘Merrie Land’, Britpop, Oasis, Morrissey and John Lydon

Thu Nov 22 2018 - 05:00

The Good, The Bad & The Queen: Merrie Land review – Brilliant paean to Brexit Britain

Fri Nov 16 2018 - 05:00

Joe Strummer: 001 review – A late great collection

Fri Sept 28 2018 - 05:30

Mercury prize 2018: full list of nominations for album of the year

Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, Noel Gallagher, Florence + the Machine among nominees for album of the year

Thu Jul 26 2018 - 12:33

Gorillaz at Malahide Castle, Taylor Swift at Croke Park: this week’s best rock and pop gigs

Also: Liam Gallagher, The National, A-Ha, Haim, Giant Sand, Vancouver Sleep Clinic

Sat Jun 09 2018 - 05:00

Brit awards: Dua Lipa, Stormzy the big winners as artists join 'Time's Up' call

Artists carry white roses in protest against sexual harassment as Stormzy asks ‘Theresa May, where’s the money for Grenfell?’

Wed Feb 21 2018 - 23:55

Tony Visconti: ‘The thing with Phil Lynott was that he was visibly dying’

The veteran record producer on Bowie, Morrissey and his problem with Steve Albini

Fri Jan 05 2018 - 05:00

Tony Visconti reveals work on new albums by Perry Farrell and Damon Albarn

The producer says Farrell solo album and Albarn’s The Good, the Bad and the Queen will have new releases in 2018

Wed Dec 20 2017 - 09:50

Best rock and pop this week: Rhiannon Giddens, Bryson Tiller and James Blunt

There’s some serious riffage courtesy of Bitch Falcon and Royal Bloood while Queen + Adam Lambert and S Club Live look back

Fri Nov 24 2017 - 05:00

Stirring up a choice music mix at the Sugar Club

How Music Works: Mark Murphy of Choice Cuts on how he reinvented the Leeson Street venue as a musical mecca for a new generation of hip-hop, jazz, R&B and soul fans

Fri Nov 10 2017 - 00:00