20 acts worth prioritising across the Ireland Music Week showcases in Dublin this Thursday and Friday, from showband country and drone trad to no wave, hyperpop and shoegaze.
Ireland Music Week runs from Wednesday September 30th to Friday October 2nd, with evening showcases on Thursday October 1st and Friday October 2nd across the Button Factory, the Grand Social and the Workman’s Club, plus daytime shows at the Grand Social from 2pm on both days.
The 50 acts were picked from almost 900 applicants, and the festival has a strong record of facilitating those who ends up on bigger stages. Last year’s lineup included Madra Salach, Florence Road, BABYRAT, THEATRE and Brooki.
These are the 20 I’d make a priority to see, split by day with stage times with others below and frankly picking 20 out of 50 acts on the bill is indicative of the quality of the lineup this year.
Tickets are on sale via Eventbrite, with showcase passes from €15 per night or €30 per day.
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Thursday October 1st
Mischa And The Bear
Grand Social Ballroom, Thursday 9pm
The Dublin duo of producer and bassist Mischa (Danny Rooney, formerly of modernlove) and vocalist Bear (Fírinne McIntyre) make music of a hyperpop electroclash indie sleaze persuasion as you can hear on Crystal Castles-esque debut single ‘Deny’ and ‘Get Away. Their EP got a shout on our best music of August podcast. Mischa And The Bear stand out by flying the flag for a form of electronic pop that is coming around again. They were just named in the first wave of acts for Eurosonic 2027. Catch them here before Europe does.
For Nina
Button Factory, Thursday 9:55pm
The Dublin three-piece formed in 2023 after meeting in college and bonding over alternative rock. ‘Hounds’ was where they stepped up, all driving noise rock guitars, and ‘Swallow’ added a soft rock melancholy with a song singer Holly Owens first wrote in secondary school. This year’s ‘Labour Of My Love’ led our new Irish songs column. They are getting better with every release, and this is their second Ireland Music Week after playing in 2024.
Maicín
Button Factory, Thursday 7:10pm
Cork folk-trad indie band, pronounced “mah-keen”, whose single ‘Kicking The Habit’ was produced with Oli Deakin, known for his work with CMAT. In their own words, imagine the lovechild of Billy Bragg and Jarvis Cocker. They played Electric Picnic last month and released a new single today called ‘Mouth Wide Open’. They open the Button Factory on Thursday at 7:10pm, so don’t be late.
Crying Loser
Workman’s Club, Thursday 10:40pm
Abrasive, skronky, improvisational no wave art rock from Cork. No polished press shots, no radio-friendly anything. Debut single ‘Friends’ and the Oaf Milk EP arrived in 2023, then a quiet spell until ‘Flesh Interface’. Debut album The Ick came out in April on Trapped Animal’s new imprint We Go To 11, and I’m really glad it exists. It made my best albums of April too. The late Workman’s slot suits them.
Filmore!
Button Factory, Thursday 8:05pm
The solo project of Kildare artist Dafe Pessu Orugbo, whose solo project emerged in 2022 through a Dublin Fringe Festival commission that won him the George Fitzmaurice Award for experimental art. Filmore! collides hyperpop, punk, hip-hop and electronics, with satire as a core tool. ‘EVERYTHING IS BRAINROTT’ is the opening statement of a wider mixed-media project from one half of the now defunct Tebi Rex. Expect a performance as much as a gig.
Sarah Crean
Grand Social Loft, Thursday 10:30pm
The Brighton-based Irish songwriter released her second album Heirloom only a fortnight ago. Loosely based on the myth of Calypso, it was made entirely by women and non-binary people, and self-produced after she was dropped by her label and started again. It’s been a long road from ‘2:00am’, which went big on the US Spotify viral chart, and support slots for Blackpink at BST Hyde Park and Bombay Bicycle Club. ‘Dreamer’ is another highlight from the new record.
Burglar
Workman’s Club, Thursday 8:40pm
The duo of Irish musician Willow Hannon and Brazilian Eduardo Di Santos met in college in 2021 and bonded over Stereolab and Smashing Pumpkins. Live, they are a four-piece. ‘Lovey’ has a light-touch earworm indie pop sweetness, following ‘Fate Fades’ last year. I liked them enough to bring them to Galway for our Indie Sleaze night at the Róisín Dubh in March, and they were on the Other Voices Derry trail too. New single ‘Cappadocia’ just dropped.
Band 5000
Workman’s Club, Thursday 9:40pm
Billing themselves as Ireland’s least renowned supergroup, Band 5000 are made up of members of Dublin rock bands Delivery Service, hotgirl, Local Boy and Stupid Son. They made their live debut as part of Whelan’s Ones To Watch 2026, and their bio promises unparalleled global success and universal critical acclaim. With that pedigree, I’d take the gamble on the Workman’s at 9:40pm.
Friday October 2nd
Shamrock Showband
Button Factory, Friday 9:55pm
My favourite new band of the last while, and the one I cite the most when asked about recent discoveries. I introduced them as what would happen if Father Ted and CMAT had a baby: showbands, country and western, rhinestones, reverb and songs about vehicles. Second album Shankill Road Mission was our album of the week in June and made the best albums of that month. Since then it’s been Electric Picnic, Whelan’s Trad & Folk Festival and Other Voices Derry. The Friday headline slot at the Button Factory is the one to build your night around.
Rua Rí
Grand Social Loft, Friday 2:30pm (day show)
Cobh singer-songwriter Seán Damery released his debut album Tell Your Mother I Saved Your Life on Soft Boy Records in May, produced by Kean Kavanagh and rooted in Cobh, Cork City and the fields and streets around them. He did a track-by-track on it for us, opened the SOAK-curated SETS night at the Guinness Storehouse, and is in the middle of an Irish tour running to November. Worth taking a long lunch for.
The Wran
Button Factory, Friday 7:55pm
The second wave of Irish trad-folk is well underway, and the Waterford band are among the latest to come downstream from the likes of Lankum and The Mary Wallopers. We first flagged them via ‘Sullivan’s John’, and they were back in the column again in August before their debut album Stone Man lands on October 9th. Banjo-heavy drone trad that did the business in Stradbally. It’s a strong one-two with Shamrock Showband later on the same stage.
girlfriend.
Workman’s Club, Friday 11:15pm
The Dublin-Limerick band of Hana Lamari, Sophie Dunne, Eilis Mahon and Robyn Avery took our album of the week this month with their second record Carousel. It’s aware of the shoegaze and slowcore moment but prone to heavier eruptions, and runs the gamut of guitar-led rock in a tight 28 minutes. Read the band’s track-by-track before you go, then stay up late for them.
Sei Green
Grand Social Loft, Friday 8pm
Adam Garrett and Ellen Sleator are a Dublin duo who traverse soul, lite funk and disco on dreamy tunes like ‘Bored Of Resting’. We used to call this chillwave, kids. They were on the Other Voices Derry trail and played Culture Night at Bolands Mills, with a longer project, We Never Become, in the works.
Mirrors
Grand Social Loft, Friday 9pm
A melancholic rock band from Cork fronted by singer and guitarist Jodie Lyne, who cite The Cranberries, Mazzy Star and Just Mustard as touchstones. That’s a good lineage: Irish / Celtic rock fused with shoegaze textures. Their EP Envious Of The Faithful opened their account in 2024 and ‘Would’ made our new Irish music playlist last year. I’ve yet to catch a set.
Pebbledash
Grand Social Ballroom, Friday 5pm (day show)
The Cork shoegaze and alternative rock six-piece made their mark with the Four Portraits Of The Same Ugly House EP, ‘O The Wind’, and longer project To Cast The Sea In Concrete continued the upward curve, that included a recent Netflix House of Guinness sync. Their 5pm slot closes out the Friday day show.
Lil Skag
Grand Social Ballroom, Friday 10:30pm
The London-based Enniscorthy rapper is beloved of his fellow rappers and of us, from ‘Flames Joyce’ to the Skagaboo EP with Sugaboo, which made our best albums of March. It’s been a busy summer, with Electric Picnic’s Rockshore and GlowDepot stages and Fuinneamh, but no one does Irish rap quite like Skag all shot through a lens of Irish culture.
No Photos
Grand Social Ballroom, Friday 7:30pm
A Dublin three-piece writing alternative pop songs about identity, friendship and coming of age, pulling from bedroom R&B, alt hip-hop and indie rock. No Photos are Zach Okay, Casper Ivy and Erik Konijn, and they cut their teeth opening for HighSchool and supporting Corella at the Grand Social. They stepped back from live shows to make their debut album Strand, and just released a new single ‘Red Hot’.
Sell Everything
Button Factory, Friday 7pm
A Dublin five-piece led by Tom Kelly, making woozy, melancholic guitar music that has drawn comparisons to King Krule and Mk.gee. There’s jazz and grunge in the mix too, courtesy of a band where everyone makes their own music on the side. Singles ‘Landlord Blues’, ‘Something New’ and ‘Star Girl’ and the Sell Everything Mixtape were put out on LA label Future Gods and have shows in October at Pitchfork Festivals in Paris and London. They open the Button Factory on Friday, so get there early.
Roisín Gowen
Grand Social Ballroom, Friday 4pm (day show)
The London-based Dublin singer-songwriter and member of Scantily Trad, released her debut album Out Of Grief, Into The Garden on March 20th. It’s an intimate, acoustic-centred record about love as much as loss, reflecting on finding peace after the loss of her mother. Joni Mitchell’s Hejira was on heavy rotation while she wrote it, and it shows on ‘Fighting Spirit’. She has supported Courtney Marie Andrews and Jana Horn, and Andy Irvine at the Dún Laoghaire Folk Festival this month.
KiiKO
Grand Social Ballroom, Friday 2pm (day show)
KiiKO started as a Tokyo-Dublin electronic pop project from DJ Emmy Shigeta and producer John McDowell of As Many As Possible, with debut ‘July’ recalling Lali Puna and Cornelius. Now a trio with Dave Rogers, they pull from both Irish and Japanese music world. New single ‘Dance World’ arrives ahead of debut album KiiKO Forever on October 9th. They also played live at The Big Romance Dome at All Together Now. They open the Friday day show, a good way to start.
More info on all of the acts playing
At a glance – full recommendations:
Thursday October 1st
- Amy Michelle: Grand Social Ballroom, 4pm (day show)
- Daragh Fleming x Throwing Snow Grand Social Loft, 4:30pm (day show)
- Gag Reflex: Grand Social Ballroom, 5pm (day show)
- Maicín: Button Factory, 7:10pm
- Augalai: Workman’s Club, 7:40pm
- Filmore!: Button Factory, 8:05pm
- Negro Impacto: Grand Social Loft, 8:30pm
- Burglar: Workman’s Club, 8:40pm
- Mischa And The Bear: Grand Social Ballroom, 9pm
- Band 5000: Workman’s Club, 9:40pm
- For Nina: Button Factory, 9:55pm
- Sarah Crean: Grand Social Loft, 10:30pm
- Crying Loser: Workman’s Club, 10:40pm
- Shark School: Workman’s Club, 11:40pm
Friday October 2nd
- KiiKO: Grand Social Ballroom, 2pm (day show)
- Rua Rí: Grand Social Loft, 2:30pm (day show)
- Roisín Gowen: Grand Social Ballroom, 4pm (day show)
- Pebbledash: Grand Social Ballroom, 5pm (day show)
- Sell Everything: Button Factory, 7pm
- Mount Pyrus: Grand Social Loft, 8pm
- No Photos: Grand Social Ballroom, 7:30pm
- The Wran: Button Factory, 7:55pm
- Sei Green: Grand Social Loft, 8pm
- Mirrors: Grand Social Loft, 9pm
- Alex Gough: Grand Social Ballroom, 9:30pm
- Shamrock Showband: Button Factory, 9:55pm
- Lil Skag: Grand Social Ballroom, 10:30pm
- girlfriend.: Workman’s Club, 11:15pm
- Nerves: Workman’s Club, 00:15pm
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.
