Gig news: Tortoise, Julia Wolf, Kurt Vile, Elder island, David Keenan, Culture Date with Dublin 8, Katie Gregson-MacLeod and more

Some recent gig news from the Irish live circuit.

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David Keenan is out on his Modern Mythologies Tour with two Dublin shows at Whelan’s this Tuesday April 14th and Wednesday April 15th, then on to Galway (Róisín Dubh, April 18th), Limerick (Dolan’s Warehouse, April 19th), Belfast (Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, May 7th) and Donegal (Balor Arts, May 9th). Tickets via.

Keenan recently collaborated with local rapper Reggie on ‘El Paso’.

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Kurt Vile & The Violators play Vicar Street on Monday September 14th with special guests Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band, in celebration of new album Philadelphia’s been good to me, out May 29th. Ryan Davis made a well-received Irish debut last year. Tickets €37.50 plus fees on sale Friday April 10th via Foggy Notions.

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Tortoise play Button Factory on Tuesday November 3rd – their first Irish show in over 15 years. The Chicago post-rock institution whose influence runs through an extraordinary range of music. One of those bands you don’t pass up when they come around. Tickets €36 plus fees on sale Friday April 10th via Foggy Notions.

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Elder Island play Button Factory on Friday October 23rd. The Bristol trio – electronic-meets-indie with 365 million streams and a new album Hello Baby Okay on !K7, recently got picked by Elton John for his Rocket Hour on Apple Music. Tickets €25 including fees, on sale Friday April 10th via singularartists.ie.

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Julia Wolf plays Button Factory on Tuesday November 17th with special guest SCRO. The NYC alt-pop singer-songwriter is on the rise off the back of ‘In My Room’, still climbing the Billboard Hot 100, with a 2025 album PRESSURE that pulls from pop, rap and dance collaborators and puts blunt, diaristic songwriting at its centre. Tickets €25 including fees, on sale Friday April 10th via singularartists.ie.

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Eliana Glass makes her Irish debut at Arthur’s Blues & Jazz on Tuesday April 14th, presented by Enthusiastic Eunuch. Her album E was one of the more striking jazz/experimental vocal records of last year – Pitchfork described her as channelling Carla Bley and Annette Peacock. Tickets €22.50 via Biletto.

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Queer Shed Sligo host an evening at the Yeats Building, Sligo on Saturday April 18th. Panel discussion on ‘Creating Queer Community in Uncertain Times’ from 6.15pm (free), followed by live music from Anca Ioana and The Amniotics, and a DJ set from LoveSmoke (€15, or free for Queer Shed members). The Amniotics are a four-piece alternative band drawing on Pavement, Patti Smith and Wet Leg, with a recent track ‘Recovering Catholic’ out now. Tickets via Eventbrite.

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Ghais Guevara plays his first Dublin headline at The Workman’s Club on Saturday May 2nd, presented by Sleepover Club. The North Philly rapper-producer has got the nod from NPR, Vice and The Needle Drop, and supported McKinley Dixon here when he was over. Pippa Molony opens and Walshy supports. Tickets via dice.fm.

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SIGNS returns at The Sugar Club on Sunday May 3rd. Louis Scully’s DIY live music series has sold out both previous editions, and this one is headlined by Elikya – a 9-piece Congolese group playing rumba and soukous – with David DeBarra (whose new album is very worth your full attention) and also Farah Elle, Cormorant Tree Oh, Little O, Pablo Santo and more on. Tickets via signs-bank-hol.eventbrite.ie.

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Theo Parrish plays a Sound Signature label showcase at The Savoy, Cork on Saturday May 9th, running from 5pm to 1am. One of the most important DJs in contemporary house music – his Sound Signature label has been a touchstone for deep, soulful, uncompromising dance music for 25 years. Tickets via Eventbrite.

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Culture Date with Dublin 8 returns for its annual festival across May 4th-10th, with 150+ events across one of the city’s most historically rich neighbourhoods. This year’s themes are ‘Songlines of the City’ and ‘Gulliver 300’ (marking 300 years since Jonathan Swift’s novel). Music highlights include: Tom Dunne, Fiachna Ó Braonáin & Alan Connor at the Church of St. Catherine & St. James (May 6th); Camille O’Sullivan at Christ Church Cathedral (May 8th); a special Three Castles Burning Dan Donnelly event at the National Stadium (May 9th) combining boxing, poetry and live performance with Damien Dempsey, Niamh Ní Charra, Brian Kerr and Barry McGovern; Guy Davis at Arthur’s Blues & Jazz Club; SoFar Sounds at Teeling Whiskey Distillery; and the Guinness Choir’s 75th anniversary concert at St. Patrick’s Cathedral (May 7th). Many events are free. Full programme at culturedatewithdublin8.ie.

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Katie Gregson-MacLeod is coming to Ireland in May for a full nine-date run. The 23-year-old Scottish singer-songwriter broke out with viral TikTok hit ‘complex’, got an Ivor Novello nomination, then left her major label for Matt Maltese’s Last Recordings on Earth. Dates: De Barra’s Clonakilty (May 15th), Coughlan’s Cork (May 17th), Róisín Dubh Galway (May 18th), Ruby Sessions Dublin (May 19th), Dolan’s Upstairs Limerick (May 21st), Unitarian Church Dublin (May 23rd), Levi’s Corner House Cork (May 24th), Ulster Sports Hall Belfast (May 26th), Sandinos Derry (May 27th). Tickets on sale Friday April 10th via singularartists.ie.

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Thaiboy Digital makes his Irish debut at Whelan’s on Saturday July 4th. The Swedish-Thai rapper and Drain Gang affiliate – collaborator of Bladee and Yung Lean – has a new album Paradise with Swedm out May 8th, blending trance, eurodance and cloud rap. Tickets on sale Friday April 10th via Foggy Notions.

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The Tallest Man on Earth plays the National Concert Hall on Wednesday August 26th – his first ever Dublin show at the NCH. Kristian Matsson’s raw, grainy voice and a guitar in that room should be pretty special. Tickets €40 plus fees on sale Friday April 10th. Presented by Foggy Notions.

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