As part of Black History Month, Brew Mbirika originally from New York City but resident in Dublin will give a talk and live performance as well as a Q&A session at the Tivoli Backstage, Dublin on Thursday 16 February.
Famed troubadour, BREW, of the Dublin melodic rock group BLUESUN will play a unique show entailing a talk from him detailing his life in Ireland as a black American artist who was recently naturalised Irish after having lived in Dublin for over 20 years – Brew’s ancestry despite being born American is a combination of African and Filipino heritage. This is a rare opportunity to gain insight into the personality behind the music of Brew.
He informs:
“This will be a UNIQUE GIG for me!!! Black History Month Gig Series… hmm surprise folks I’m half Filipino as well …Better brush up on historical facts,,, am I the 2nd black Irishman in this biz?? I promise loads of insight and will take NUMEROUS questions but my PUNK side warns beware of the answers”
Doors open at 8pm at The Tivoli Backstage Pub at 18/19 Francis Street, Dublin 8 with show starting at 9pm
Art-rock three-piece Slow Riot return with new track ‘Pink December’, available to stream & download now. Conceived, written and recorded during the same sessions that produced last Autumn’s ‘Absent Dreams’ single, yet a paradigm shift away from it’s (step)sister sonically, ‘Pink December’ offers a tantalising glimpse of a new sound being forged in their Limerick rehearsal space.
The signature deadpan vocal delivery and motorik driving bass remain, but gone is the athletic, lean post-punk; eschewed for layers of dense guitars, tribal drums, and half-heard backing vocals slowly unveiling themselves over nearly five and a half minutes. This is the sound of a band delving deeper into the thematic darkness that has characterised their output to date and embracing it.
“The Limerick post-punk band are on the up.” – Nialler9
“Inventive slab of fuzzy, at times ethereal but mostly noise-infused post-punk.” – Drowned In Sound
One of the biggest original song contests in Ireland, The Clancy Brothers Songwriting Competition 2017 is now open for entries.
And to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Clancy Brothers Festival, they are launching ‘A Song for Carrick’, a new competition category inviting songwriters to submit songs about or connected to Carrick-on-Suir, the home of the Clancy Brothers.
Both competitions are free to enter and open to all musical styles and genres, all ages and all nationalities. As long as it is a song, it is eligible for entry. Songs are judged on melody, composition, originality and lyrics, not on performance or production skills.
It is easy to enter, either by sending an MP3 by through the website or on a CD by post. You can enter one song in each category, (however you may only enter one song per category, and it must be a different song for each category).
This Clancy Brothers Songwriting Competition is designed with the songwriter in mind. First prize includes €500 cash sponsored by IMRO, studio time at Crossroads Recording in Kilkenny, and CD duplication from Duplication Ireland. With these prizes the winner will be all set for the next step in their songwriting career.
The three finalists will perform their song at a concert during the Clancy Brothers Festival of Music and Art 2017 as part of a 15 minute set, (date and venue to be confirmed), after which the winner will be announced. The two runners up also receive cash prizes of €250 each so no one leaves empty handed.
Take Carrick-on-Suir as your theme and enter ‘A Song for Carrick’…It could be a song about Carrick-on-Suir, a love song based in the town, a song about Carrick-on-Suir’s setting beneath the Comeraghs and Slievenamon, or about someone from Carrick-on-Suir such as Black Tom, Seán Kelly, Maurice Davin or even the Clancy Brothers themselves…the possibilities are endless.
The finalists will perform their song at a concert during the Clancy Brothers Festival, (date and venue to be confirmed), after which the winner will be announced. First prize is €200 and the two runners up will also receive cash prizes of €50, sponsored by the Carrick-on-Suir Business Association and the Clancy Brothers Festival of Music and Art.
Entries to both competitions can be posted on a CD to Clancy Brothers Songwriting Competition, The Tudor Artisan Hub, 42 Main Street, Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary, or submitted in MP3 format via the website at www.cbsongwriting.com. All entries must include lyrics and contact details. Please mark clearly which competition you are entering. For full details please go to www.cbsongwriting.com.
Culture Vultures – the salon-theme pop culture event co-curated by Tony Clayton-Lea and Andrea Keogh – celebrates its 3rd birthday with a humdinger of a celebratory event on Monday March 6th at The Sound House.
The event will highlight the best in Irish music and literature with a performance from one of the country’s best bands, Little Green Cars, and an exclusive public interview with one of Ireland’s most acclaimed authors, John Boyne, to tie in with the publication of his latest novel, The Heart’s Invisible Furies.
Dublin band Little Green Cars released their second album, Ephemera, almost a year ago, and has since proven that they are the go-to band for anyone seeking harmony-drenched pop music that touches on serious subjects. Presently working on material for their third album, Little Green Cars join Culture Vultures for an exclusive intimate performance that will see the band deliver tracks from Ephemera as well as from their 2013 debut album, Absolute Zero.
One of Ireland’s prolific and acclaimed novelists, John Boyne is the author of nine novels for adults and five for younger readers. While he is perhaps best known for his YA novel, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, his latest book, The Heart’s Invisible Furies, looks set to catapult him into a different arena altogether. John Boyne’s awards/accolades feature a number of international literary awards, including the Que Leer Award for Novel of the Year in Spain, and the Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize in Germany. In 2015, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of East Anglia. Culture Vultures co-curator Tony Clayton-Lea will interview John on the night, and John will also be giving a short reading from his new book.
Previous guests of Culture Vultures have included Liam Cunningham, Cathy Davey, John Cummins. Neil Hannon, Lenny Abrahamson and many more.
Tickets priced at €14 go on sale this Wednesday February 15th from www.ticketmaster.ie (online only). Culture Vultures takes place at The Sound House, 28 Eden Quay (upstairs at The Wiley Fox.).
“Let’s Go” is the first release from Sharon Shannon’s brand new studio album “Sacred Earth”. The track features vocals from Cara Robinson and is sure to get everyone tapping along to the wonder sounds of her playing. This new album will be released on Friday 3rd March 2017 and is Sharon’s 10th studio album.
Sharon Shannon is a musician who likes to surprise. While she is known for her arrangements of traditional Irish tunes and Irish-influenced compositions, she has always been eager to explore new styles, and to meet and work with other musicians. There are Irish influences here, of course, but these are cheerfully mixed in with often unexpected styles from around the world, including – for the first time – Africa. More than one person has mentioned this album being akin to Paul Simon’s “Graceland”, exciting times!
Did you know Sharon married Brendan Grace recently? Well it is “Fake News” but they did stage a mock wedding recently all in aid of one of her much-loved causes, the charity Madra. Apparently, there was a lot of fun and we can only imagine the music session that followed the ceremony!
“Let’s Go” is at radio now, Sharon will be touring extensively worldwide in 2017 to support Sacred Earth, Irish tour dates to be announced shortly.
Due to the success of the Festival Management & Sound Production course in Westmeath, Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLETB) are delighted to announce a brand new Dublin-based Festival Management & Sound Production course. The course will run entirely within the highly renowned Sound Training College, located in the heart of Temple Bar, Dublin.
The Sound Training College boasts over 30 years of professional training experience, complimented with unrivaled state of the art facilities and industry professional lecturers.
Students will acquire the skills required to succeed in the festival and event industry, both in Ireland and abroad. The course includes training in Music Technology, Desktop Multimedia and Audio Production, Event Production, Music Industry Studies, Team Working, Sound Engineering and Production, Entrepreneurial Skills, and Work Experience at some of the top music festivals in Ireland.
The course is free for eligible jobseekers. It is aimed at motivated individuals who are looking to work in the fast-paced and exciting music industry. Upon successful completion, learners will receive a QQI Level 5 Major award in Sound Production.
The course is full time, with a start date of March 20th 2017. Places are limited, so be sure to apply early!
For more course information and entry requirements, please visit the following links:
The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys TD, has today announced details of more than €9 million in capital funding for arts and culture centres across the country. The Minister made the announcement as part of the Creative Ireland programme, with funding provided under her Department’s Arts and Culture Capital Scheme 2016-2018.
A total of 56 cultural organisations will benefit from this capital investment, including theatres, heritage centres, galleries, archives, integrated arts centres, artist studios and creative and performance spaces.
Seven flagship projects will receive substantial funding allocations:
Solstice Meath Arts Centre – €300,000
The Irish Arial Creation Centre (home of Fidget Feet) – €350,000
The Hunt Museum, Limerick – €400,000
The Hawk’s Well Theatre in Sligo – €550,000
Cavan Town Hall Theatre – €750,000
The Riverbank Arts Centre, Kildare – €1,000,000
Wexford Arts Centre – €1,000,000
A further 49 projects will receive funding ranging from €20,000 to €276,000.
Speaking today Minister Humphreys said:
“This €9 million announcement is the most significant investment in regional arts and cultural centres in a decade. The Creative Ireland Programme places a focus on investing in our cultural infrastructure, because high quality infrastructure is critical for a vibrant arts and culture sector, which in turn underpins social cohesion and supports sustainable economic growth.
“I have visited numerous arts and cultural centres over the last number of years, and it is abundantly clear to me that we are well served in terms of the number of centres nationwide. The main objective of these capital grants is to maintain and enhance the existing stock of arts and culture centres, many of which need to be upgraded.
“We deliberately made this scheme as flexible as possible to ensure projects of varying sizes could benefit. The largest funding awards – of €1 million each – are going to Wexford Arts Centre and the Riverbank Arts Centre in Kildare. However a wide variety of other projects will also benefit including new lighting and sound systems in theatres, the conversion of an old Post Office to an artist studio and the improvement of digital facilities. These projects all aim to improve the audience and creative experience. This funding package will also ensure past investment in these arts and cultural centres is protected and sustained.
“This kind of investment goes to the very heart of what I am trying to achieve through Creative Ireland and the Action Plan for Rural Development. Creative Ireland aims to place culture and creativity at the heart of every community nationwide, while the Rural Action Plan seeks to revitalise rural towns and villages through a range of investments and initiatives. Of the €9 million in funding I am announcing today, over 85% is going to projects outside Dublin. However, a number of very important cultural facilities in the capital will benefit, including The Irish Film Institute, the Ark, the Gallery of Photography and the Project Arts Centre.
“Creative Ireland aims to promote individual, community and national wellbeing through cultural activity. A vibrant cultural sector is essential to society and investment in local arts and cultural centres helps to facilitate access to and participation in the arts in communities nationwide.
“I will be opening a further Stream of funding under this Scheme (Stream 3) in the coming weeks. It will be geared towards providing smaller capital grants of up to €20,000 to not-for-profit organisations with a defined arts and cultural remit. While the amounts involved are relatively modest, the grants will in themselves make a huge difference to individual organisations.”
Having recently played a sold out concert as part of NYF Dublin in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Liam Ó Maonlaí and his all-star band take to the road this April with performances lined up in Kilkenny, Dublin, Cork, Leitrim & Waterford.
Ré (pronounced ‘ray’ and meaning ‘moon’ or ‘era’ in Irish) features some of Ireland’s most innovative and decorated musicians. Maitiú Ó Casaide, a Dublin based piper from the esteemed Ó Casaide family, received TG4’s Young Musician of the Year Award 2015. Cormac Begley’s concertina playing has been described as ‘a masterclass in timeless musicianship (Irish Times ****) and in 2014 he received the Sean Ó Riada Award. Eithne Ní Chatháin (Inni-K), a highly celebrated traditional singer and fiddle player from Co. Kildare, is breaking new ground in indie-folk under the alias Inni-K. Founding member of the Hothouse Flowers and revered songwriter and accompanist, Peter O Toole from Dublin adds a depth of musicality and sensitivity to this eclectic group.
Over the past three years the band have performed at some of the main international arts festivals including the Sydney Arts Festival, New Zealand Arts Festival, Singapore Arts Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival. They have also toured extensively throughout Europe and have performed at the Lincoln Centre in New York. They received a nomination for best music at the Bessie Awards and the production Rian (comprised of Ré and eight contemporary dancers) received an award for best production.
Visit venues for more details and ticket information.
Live entertainment events in Ireland – music: arts, theatre and comedy: family, attractions and exhibitions, generated a massive €1.7 billion of additional revenue over a 12 month period supporting employment for nearly 11,500 people, according to a major new report published in partnership with Fáilte Ireland and IMRO.
The huge income came from over 4 million people attending live events – including nearly 300,000 overseas visitors to the Island of Ireland. In all, live entertainment events were responsible for an amazing 3.7 million bed nights in hotels and guesthouses, the equivalent of over 54 “Sold Out” All Ireland Finals at Croke Park.
The research shows a total of €669 million in additional gross revenue value was produced by the event goers, while for every €1 spent on a ticket, an additional €6.06 of revenue was generated within the economy. The figures are revealed in ‘Let’s Celebrate 2017 The Cultural and Economic Contribution of Live Entertainment Events in Ireland.’ The report, the first time a detailed study has been carried out into the industry in Ireland, was undertaken by well-known industry figure, Justin Green, with economic research conducted by London based international firm, BOP Consulting.
The Let’s Celebrate 2017 report emerged from a belief that the entertainment industry is frequently overlooked and not always respected as the viable and tangible professional industry that it is. This is considered particularly disappointing, by those in the industry, in light of the level of recognition and respect our musicians, actors, dancers and various other performers gain internationally.
The purpose of the project is designed (1) to gain the public’s recognition and support for Ireland’s live entertainment industry and in particular its artists, musicians, performers and the supporting industry as a whole (2) to provide the industry with a benchmark document against which the sector can be measured and which is designed to benefit the overall industry and (3) to provide an important credible educational tool for Colleges, Universities, Research Bodies etc. to use.
Quantifying the economic and cultural impact of live entertainment in Ireland for the first time, the Let’s Celebrate 2017 report is a ground-breaking, independent piece of research. This benchmarking document examines the current status of live entertainment events in Ireland and its economic and cultural contribution to the country. Based on ticket sales by Ticketmaster Ireland over a 12-month period, the document also involved a detailed survey of over 5,700 ticket attendees across relevant events. The document also assesses the impact of a range of different live entertainment genres – Music: Arts, Theatre and Comedy: Family, Attractions and Exhibitions. It breaks down the impact of these genres geographically (Dublin, the rest of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) and provides a number of case studies on live entertainment across the Island of Ireland.
In the Republic, an additional €1.3 billion revenue was generated by live entertainment events which were attended by 3.4 million people of which 433,666 came from Northern Ireland and overseas. The total number of bed-nights arising from live entertainment events in the Republic in the 12 months surveyed was 3.1 million.
As well as the Republic, the research also details the relevant figures for Northern Ireland, Dublin and the rest of the Republic. The study shows that over 83,000 fans were lost to Northern Ireland by travelling to events there. As well as the key research, the report also has contributions from a cross-section of contributors including Paul McGuinness the former U2 Manager, promoters Caroline Downey, Peter Aiken and Denis Desmond, Michael O’Leary of Ryanair, Anne Clarke of Landmark Productions, Moya Doherty of Riverdance, Louis Walsh, Simon Cowell, Lord Henry Mountcharles, Niall Stokes of Hot Press andothers as well as artists such as Robbie Williams, Michael Flatley, Michael Bublé, Brendan O’Carroll, Hozier, Danny O’Donoghue from the Script, Daniel O’Donnell and Panti Bliss.
Some of the business groups who contributed include Fáilte Ireland, Chambers Ireland, IMRO (Irish Music Rights Organisation), DLRCC/Richard Shakespeare, Dublin City Council, Irish Hotels Federation, Iarnród Eireann, Vintners Federation of Ireland, the Licensed Vintners’ Association, the Lord Mayor of Cork, the GAA, Aviva Stadium, Croke Park and others.
In an introduction to the report, Professor Andrew Burke, Dean & Chair of Business Studies, Trinity College Dublin, said: “Using a very comprehensive and robust dataset, this study highlights the turnover of these industries, the number of jobs created as well as the spill-over effects on the rest of the economy. Live performance is clearly shown to be a valuable business sector.”
Mr Justin Green, whose brainchild the study was, said: “We felt it extremely important that every element of the report, including both the figures and research be quantifiable, tangible and verifiable. The audit is based on factual information and presented in a format which provides a template for the industry to build upon.”
Victor Finn, IMRO Chief Executive added “Open air festivals and live music events contribute very significantly to the Irish economy. This research demonstrates that festivals reach into local communities also, providing employment and economic activity that bring benefits to areas other than just the large urban centres.”
Commenting on the report, broadcaster Pat Kenny of Newstalk, described it as: “An astonishing, fascinating reveal of how much Entertainment Events contribute to Irish Culture, Jobs and the Economy at large. Hugely valuable”.
RTE’s Miriam O’Callaghan added: “Let’s Celebrate is a landmark, ground-breaking independent piece of new research, that comprehensively establishes for the first time ever the enormous cultural and economic contribution that people working within the industry make to our society. Very informative, stimulating, a wonderful document.”
Today FM broadcaster, Matt Cooper, said the study was such “an interesting, essential and fact-based document that captures the real economic contribution of live entertainment events.”
On May 26th and 27th, Quirky Nights Glamping Village, Enniscrone, Co. Sligo will be going ‘Live on Air’. David McGowan has already surprised the world with his fascinating, new glamping business venture. He’s determined to keep the momentum going in Enniscrone, by hosting the first ever music festival to hit the town. Live on Air is definitely a weekend to mark on your calender to kickstart an amazing summer with family and friends.
Live on Air is showcasing a huge range of homegrown, renowned and upcoming Irish talent. The festival will present to you a wide range of musical talent, with a number of diverse genres. Wherever you’re musical interests lie, you will be sure to find them in Enniscrone this May.
There is an abundance of amazing acts in store such as Hermitage Green, Ryan O’Shaughnessy, Moxie, Rackhouse Pilfer, Rusangano Family, This Side Up, Na Mooneys, Strung, Lisa Canny, Meltybrains?, Interskalactic and many more to be announced. Visit the festival website at www.liveonairfestival.com or check out their social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter for further information.
Throughout the weekend, not only can you enjoy the music, there will be plenty of activities to make every minute enjoyable. Why not wake up and go for a surf, swim, or just a refreshing stroll on our beautiful five kilometre beach. Live on Air is family friendly and camping orientated. Keep a close eye on Facebook and the festival website for ticket release date.
