After his recent solo shows, one of America’s most interesting and esoteric songwriters with a deep back catalogue of music under his own name and Smog is back in Dublin this summer.
Bill Callahan plays Dublin National Concert Hall on Sunday 20th July 2025 with promoters Foggy Notions.
Tickets €38 plus fees on sale this Thursday 10th April at 10am From NCH.
About Bill Callahan
One of the finest singer/songwriters to emerge from the indie rock scene of the late ’80s, Bill Callahan uses the images of the American West in ruggedly thoughtful ways that speak to the present as well as the past. He began working in the lo-fi genre, with home-made tape-albums recorded on four-track tape recorders. Later he began releasing albums with the label Drag City, to which he remains signed today.
After releasing a string of critically acclaimed albums as Smog, he began making music under his own name with 2007’s Woke on a Whaleheart. The switch reflected how much richer and deeper his music had become over the years, both literally and figuratively: His songs were increasingly contemplative, while the drawl he used to deliver them grew lower and slower with time. On the albums that followed Whaleheart’s flowing blend of country, funk, and soul, Callahan took his sparse yet evocative style in directions ranging from the gentle drift of 2009’s Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle to the stark, driven meditations of 2011’s Apocalypse. A new chapter of his music began with 2019’s intimate Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest, which suggested that even a committed outsider like Callahan could find happiness. This warmth extended to less-overtly autobiographical albums like 2022’s YTILAER and its accompanying live album, 2024’s Resuscitate
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
