Highlight of the week
John Mayer
Friday, 29th of March, 3Arena, Dublin, 7pm. Tickets priced at €75.50 are sold out, refer to ticketmaster.ie
John Mayer, an all-around musician and songwriter, never fails to surprise with his versatility. Since the tender age of 17, he’s been influenced by artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and we’ve seen Mayer embrace genres including blues, country, folk, Americana and soft rock. In his last show on his brief European tour, Mayer returns to his original style of solo acoustic. The audience is requested to maintain silence upfront. Dressed in a casual T-shirt and jeans, Mayer’s performance promises to be relaxed, self-assured, and jovially presented. His setlist comprises old favourites mixed with personal anecdotes that could astonish even his die-hard fans. Madison Cunningham, winner of the 2022 Grammy for best folk album for Revealer, will open the show.
Shows
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Monday, 25th of March, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 7pm, €47.70;
Tuesday, 26th of March, Limelight, Belfast, 7pm, £38; refer to ticketmaster.ie
Against all odds, the Scottish brothers, famously known as the “Beach Boys with a Brillo pad”, are still producing music 40 years after their debut. The Reid siblings, William and Jim, from East Kilbride, have recently launched a new album, Glasgow Eyes. According to Record Collector, it’s being hailed as “a breathtaking success, more vibrant than anything they’ve produced in the past 35 years”. To their fans’ delight, the brothers are charting a path that promises the same euphoria albeit lesser clamour. Let their guitars play on!
David Kitt
Friday, 29th of March, Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, 8pm, tickets: €20/€15, refer to celtronicfestival.com
Letterkenny has been included in Celtronic 2024, which primarily takes place in Derry. The town will host a night of “live music and late-night electronic experiments”. The line-up includes artists like Porphyry, The Fully Automatic Model, Anna Mullarkey, Gareth Quinn Redmond, and notably, David Kitt. Known as New Jackson, Kitt might give the crowd a sneak peak of songs from his upcoming album Oops! … Pop, expected to be launched the following month.
DJ Shadow, also known as Joshua Paul Davis, wraps up his recent low-profile tour with a fully booked concert in Dublin at the Academy on Thursday 28th March at 7 pm. Don’t for a second believe that his fans will allow him to quietly exit without first presenting some vinyl tracks on his turntable. Not only is DJ Shadow a skilled manipulator of sound samples, history was made with his debut album, Endtroducing…, in 1996, the first ever fully sampled album, which is documented in the Guinness World Records. It’s anyone’s guess what might be produced at this point. Yet, that is the allure.
On Saturday 23rd March at 7.30pm, promising classical musicians from the Royal Irish Academy of Music’s Young Artist programme will take the stage at Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park in Dublin for their annual Riam Young Artists Concert. The €17 showcase offers attendees the chance to witness the early performances of gifted musicians at the start of their careers such as Ava Duffy (pianist), Adam Joyce (cellist), Sarah Brazil (violinist), Ruadhri O’Dea (pianist), Elizabeth Troup (cellist), Simon Carey (clarinetist), Juliette Carroll-Breen (pianist) and Emily Brazil (soprano).
Comic, Emma Doran’s show, Dilemma, has sold out at the Mermaid Arts Theatre in Bray, Co Wicklow, on Saturday 23rd, at 8pm, as well as on Friday 29th March, at Spirit Store, Dundalk, Co Louth, priced at €25.
Identifying herself as a “jester, parent, and opportunist”, Emma Doran has tirelessly strived to bring laughter to many – initially through stand-up performances at local comedy clubs, eventually appearing on shows such as Republic of Telly and No Worries If Not! on RTÉ, and most recently on the Amazon Prime show – LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland. Now, Doran is ready to step up her game, preparing for an extensive tour across the nation that spans April and May, ending with two performances at the esteemed Vicar Street in Dublin (on Friday, May 24th and 31st). Find out more about her tour dates on emmadorancomedy.com.
Visual Art – CA Collective Exhibition
RHA in Dublin will be hosting the CA Collective Exhibition until Sunday, April 28th, organised by Connections Arts Centre. The exhibition honours a variety of artistic works from 14 creatives with intellectual disabilities, challenging public perceptions. Alongside the display are gallery tours, artist demonstrations, and discussions, featuring art from Amy Begley, Thomas Higgins, and Matthew Sexton. The dialogues will feature artists explaining their craft and sharing their experiences.
Paul Lynch – In conversation
Scheduled on Tuesday, March 26th at 8 pm, the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, is hosting a conversation with Paul Lynch. From a journalism background to being a more recent regular contender in literary award nominations, Lynch has pivoted his career towards literature. Having won the Booker Prize last year for his astounding novel “Prophet song”, hosting the conversation will be journalist and broadcaster Alex Clark. This is the first of many public appearances for Lynch in the coming months before he presumably starts working on his next potential award-winning book.
The President is playing until Sunday, March 24th at the Gate Theatre in Dublin, with varying ticket prices.
Hugo Weaving and Olwen Fouéré’s performances in Thomas Bernhard’s play, set following an attempt on a dictator’s life, were lauded as two brave acts in an elegant production. If you’re in Ireland, be sure to plan your attendance at a few highlighted events.
Mark your calendars for the West Cork Literary Festival in Bantry, Co Cork from July 12th to 19th. More details are accessible on the website westcorkmusic.ie.
Schedule also includes the performance at Vicar Street, Dublin by Luke Kidgell on August 17th. Tickets can be acquired via ticketmaster.ie.
On August 22nd, head down to Dublin’s National Stadium for Killer Mike’s gig, again tickets available on the aforementioned site.
Lastly, close August with the gig by Girl in Red at the 3Arena, Dublin on the 27th, get your entry pass at ticketmaster.ie.