The Belfast duo’s long-awaited third album arrives on January 29th 2027, with 18 tracks, a long list of collaborators, a second set of three singles and two new BICEP LIVE shows.

Bicep have announced their third studio album SLUG, out on Friday January 29th 2027 via Ninja Tune. It is their first album since 2021’s Isles.

The album is being revealed through three separate three-track single drops, each with its own three-part short film. The second drop is out today: ‘Gas’, featuring Lauren Duffus and SOARR, ‘Ultra’, featuring Eartheater and Saskia, and ‘Equarium’, featuring Kehina. It follows the first drop of ‘Air’, ‘Lemonder’ and ‘Viper’, which included Clark, Saskia and SOARR.

The films for this drop were directed by Alex Takács, also known as Young Replicant, and follow a gang of pigeon fanciers on a heist. The first drop’s videos, directed by Ryan Doubiago, followed two UK free party crews from set-up to sun-up. The third drop’s films will go into the world of demolition derbies.

About SLUG

After stepping away from touring, Bicep largely logged off and returned to their studio and archive, revisiting demos and techniques from 10 or 15 years ago. They built a custom vocal booth in a new studio and worked more collaboratively, sending ideas to collaborators and reshaping tracks in response. The 18 tracks move between rave, breakbeat, vocal-led material and ambient soundscapes.

Collaborators include Clark, Eartheater, George Riley, Lauren Duffus, SOARR, Saskia, Kehina, KUČKA, Sassy 009, Rowena Fysx, Julia Kent and Zosia Jagodzinska. The artwork is by creative director Viktor H.

SLUG tracklist

1. ‘Gas’ (feat. Lauren Duffus & SOARR)
2. ‘Air’ (feat. SOARR)
3. ‘777’ (feat. Eartheater)
4. ‘Lemonder’
5. ‘Ultra’ (feat. Eartheater & Saskia)
6. ‘Cielo’
7. BICEP & Clark – ‘Edmeno’
8. ‘Pole II’ (feat. Kehina)
9. ‘Equarium’ (feat. Kehina)
10. BICEP & Clark – ‘Viper’ (feat. Saskia)
11. ‘Curb’ (feat. George Riley & KUČKA)
12. ‘Horses’
13. ‘Janus’ (feat. Sassy 009)
14. ‘Lamb’ (feat. Rowena Fysx)
15. ‘Honda’
16. ‘Xy’
17. ‘Rose’ (feat. Kehina)
18. ‘Tides’ (feat. SOARR)

BICEP LIVE and tour dates

BICEP LIVE returns after a three-year hiatus with a sold-out show at London’s Royal Albert Hall on November 26th. Two new BICEP LIVE shows are announced for 2027, with presale on Thursday October 29th at 10am and general sale on Friday October 30th at 10am. You can register for presale at bicepmusic.com/live. There are no Irish dates announced yet.

• Saturday October 31st: Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (sold out).
• Sunday November 1st: The Underpass, Melbourne (sold out).
• Monday November 2nd: The Underpass, Melbourne.
• Thursday November 26th: Royal Albert Hall, London (sold out).
• Saturday March 20th 2027: Knockdown Center, New York.
• Sunday March 21st 2027: Estéreo Picnic, Bogotá.
• Wednesday April 7th 2027: Snowbombing, Mayrhofen.
• Friday June 4th 2027: Primavera Festival, Barcelona.
• Saturday July 31st 2027: Old Royal Naval College, London.

SLUG can be pre-saved here.

Dublin Gig Guide: October 20th to 26th. Highlights: Autechre, Haunted Dancehall with Kelela and Circuit des Yeux, Manic Street Preachers, J. Cole, Macklemore, Jazzy, TOMORA, Egyptian Lover, Thumper, ear, 2manydjs, Lumo Club’s 11th birthday, Kerri Chandler, Leftfield, Elder Island, Tresor 35, Allie X, Shed Seven, Telephones, Retail Simps.

Autechre open the week at Vicar Street on Tuesday with one of their live sets in total darkness. Haunted Dancehall takes over the National Concert Hall across Saturday and Sunday, with Kelela headlining the first day and Circuit des Yeux scoring Nosferatu with Alan Sparhawk on the second. Manic Street Preachers play two sold-out nights at 3Olympia on Wednesday and Thursday, Macklemore brings the Free Palestine tour on Monday in 3Arena, with Jazzy’s biggest headline show yet at the same venue on Saturday. Also on Saturday, TOMORA bring Tom Rowlands and AURORA to the National Stadium and Egyptian Lover plays The Bernard Shaw for Circles. Bank holiday Sunday is the busiest night of the year so far: Thumper sell out the Button Factory, 2manydjs play Vicar Street with Kormac, Lumo Club turns 11 at Hang Dai, and Kerri Chandler, Leftfield, Gerd Janson and a Tresor 35th birthday with Regis and Daniel Bell are all on.

All doors times are 7.30pm or 8pm unless stated.

🔗 Dublin venues, clubs and bars – A Nialler9 guide

Skip to day: Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon

Tuesday October 20th

Autechre @ Vicar Street
The Sheffield duo return to Vicar Street for another of their performances in pitch black, a format they have held to for years and which turns the room into pure sound. Presented by Foggy Notions.

Harmony Index, Aoife Nessa Frances and Henry Earnest @ Daylight, Glasnevin
Harmony Index is the solo project of Los Angeles multi-instrumentalist and producer Nico Leibman, who has toured with the likes of Jessica Pratt and Ana Roxanne. Her music plays like a DJ set, drifting between piano-led trip-hop, lounge, dream-pop, 2-step and breakbeat house

Starjunk 95 @ The Grand Social
Tokyo electronic producer. Think Cowboy Bebop meets The Gorillaz & Daft Punk.

Kris Drever @ Whelan’s
The Orkney singer and guitarist, a third of Lau, plays the main room solo.

Bill Laurance @ The Sugar Club
Music Network present the Snarky Puppy founder member and pianist.

Køra, Éist, Individual Collective @ Whelan’s Upstairs
Three-band bill of Irish alternative acts.

Sceptic, Kippax, Bloom BD and Newgrass @ The Sound House
Four Dublin guitar bands.

Tengu Jazz: Rita Lynn Quartet and Alba @ Yamamori Tengu (6pm)
Two sittings for the weekly jazz series, the second at 8:30pm.

Wednesday October 21st

Manic Street Preachers @ 3Olympia Theatre
The Welsh rock band play the first of two nights at 3Olympia. Sold out. Second night Thursday.

Xenia Xamanek, Dublin, Jasmine Wood + Henry Earnest (DJ, B2b) @ Daylight, Glasnevin
AD 93 affiliate Jasmine Wood launches Rooms, a 13-track ambient compilation on her Lota label, with a live set from Copenhagen-based musician and founder Xenia Xamanek.

Toshín @ Bello Bar
A big soul voice. Expect live music, storytelling, a few outfit changes, some very special guests, and of course Toshín & The Teleporters doing what we do best.

Deaf Havana @ The Academy
The Norfolk alt rock band, back together and touring again.

Keyside @ The Workman’s Club
The Rock Revival present the Liverpool indie four-piece. Support Byros and Bulbs

Shampain and EMA takeover @ The Grand Social (9pm til late)
Jägermeister’s Save The Night: Galway’s Shampain and bass aficionado EMA with the Equal Music Alliance programming the night.

The Witcher In Concert @ Vicar Street
The music from the games and series performed live. Two nights, also Thursday.

Benziê @ The Sound House (7:30pm)
Brazilian blend of MPB, pop, reggae and tropical rhythms.

Thursday October 22nd

J. Cole @ 3Arena
The North Carolina rapper brings The Fall-Off tour to Dublin, the album having finally landed after years of being trailed.

Manic Street Preachers @ 3Olympia Theatre
Second night at 3Olympia. See Wednesday listing.

The Witcher In Concert @ Vicar Street
Second night at Vicar Street. See Wednesday listing.

St. Paul and The Broken Bones @ The Academy
Paul Janeway’s Alabama eight-piece soul band, a full-throated horn-driven live act.

The Fynches @ Whelan’s
Dublin indie rock in the main room.

The Small Fortunes @ The Workman’s Club
MCD present the Warrington garage rock band.

NUA1: Down To Earth @ Curveball
A showcase night of new Irish acts.

Metronome: Antoni O’Breskey & Consuelo Nerea Breschi @ NCH
Antoni O’Breskey and his daughter, singer and fiddler Consuelo Nerea Breschi (Varo / Landless / Rattling Ark) have just released the album A Wild Inhabitation.

REVOLVE S2 with Arabú, Mickey Chaos and Bucket @ The Grand Social
REVOLVE returns with two live acts and a DJ set.

HALLOWHELAN’S: Ivy Romero, DC Dolls, Henosis and Notions @ Whelan’s Upstairs
Four-band bill upstairs.

Taylor and Frey @ Little Whelan’s
Cormac Taylor and Mark Frey are songwriters and performers based in Dublin and Los Angeles.

Francesco Turrisi @ Project Arts Centre
Grammy Award-winning pianist Francesco Turrisi launches his album “Vuci” with a multimedia show exploring his Sicilian roots and migration through music, archival recordings, and poetry.

1-800 GIRLs @ The Sound House
Emotionally-charged dance producer DJ Jake Stewart.

Atrocity Exhibition @ Fibber Magee’s (9pm)
Expect loud beats, experimental sets and underground, obscure music from the likes of genres such as goth, deathrock, industrial, & more.

Friday October 23rd

Elder Island @ Button Factory
The Bristol trio’s electronic soul has grown into something much bigger live than their records let on. Presented by Singular Artists.

Allie X @ The Academy
The Canadian art-pop writer, whose records have become stranger and sharper with each one.

One More Tune: Fizzy Orange, Sell Everything, Mango Dassle @ The Back Page (9pm)
A slightly premature love letter to Dalymount Park before it closes for renovation with live music from Fizzy Orange & Sell Everything followed by a DJ set from Mango.

Brake Loose @ Sin E
Irish hard rockers. Support: SINK + LYINK.

Levellers @ Vicar Street
The Brighton folk-punk band, still going strong three decades on from Levelling the Land.

Kestrel, Skyless and Vespers @ The Workman’s Club
Exhibit A present three Irish alternative bands featuring Cork based band Kestrel, dream pop/shoegazers Skyless and the live debut of VESPERS.

Adult Leisure @ Whelan’s Upstairs
Bristol-based alt-indie four-piece.

Okonski @ The Sugar Club
Steve Okonski’s trio play warm, unhurried instrumental soul for Colemine Records.

Mute The TV @ The Sound House
Dublin rock and grunge band.

Samhain Sesh ft. Digdeep, County Rocket & Soft Rules @ The Grand Social
Three alternative rock bands.

Clubs and DJs

Romare @ Fidelity Studio (9pm)
A DJ set from the London producer, whose sample-led records dig through blues, highlife and house. Sold out.

Kenny Hanlon @ The Big Romance (9pm)
Soul, Funk, Leftfield.

Circles: Subject x Syncopated Records @ Pawn Shop (10pm)
Applied Rithim, Billy Spike Iland, Bronwyn, Niz, Rhyzine and Unthink.

Tengu x Circles: Wigs with IMOGEN @ Yamamori Tengu (11pm)
IMOGEN techno all night long for the Wigs crew, as part of Circles.

Resonate x SHED: Mac Declos and LAWRENCE @ Wigwam (11pm)
Mac Declos plays a house set, with LAWRENCE all night long in the other room.

Paradisco takeover @ Pygmalion (11pm)
Disco and house on South William Street: Fanki.music, G.G, Fawda, Tammy Bao.

GLIMMER 001: Queer Techno Party @ The Sound House (11pm)
First edition of a new queer techno night.

Ariana Grande Club @ The Workman’s Club (11:30pm)
Throwback Events give a full night over to the pop star.

Skip to day: Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon

Saturday October 24th

The Outstraight Yard Party @ The Bernard Shaw (2pm – 10pm)
with dub, hip hop, reggae artist Cian Finn & Different Rhythm’s Pablo Santos. Outstraight represented by Beano, Don Kobz, Panda Drey, Conkan and more.

Haunted Dancehall: day one @ National Concert Hall (2:30pm)
Foggy Notions and the NCH open their two-day experimental weekender with Kelela headlining. Across the day: Kelela, Voice Actor, Proc Fiskal, Robocobra Quartet, TURNSPIT, A Good Year, Felicity J Lord, Nashpaints, Shampain

Jazzy @ 3Arena
The Dublin singer and producer and DJ plays her biggest headline show to date, two years on from ‘Giving Me’ going to number one. Debut album Peace and Patience is out Friday.

TOMORA @ National Stadium
Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers and AURORA bring their collaborative project to the National Stadium.

Shed Seven @ Vicar Street
The York band’s Britpop songbook is still able to fill rooms.

Overpass @ Whelan’s
Birmingham indie four-piece in the main room.

The Awning @ The Workman’s Club
Aiken Promotions present the Dublin ethereal folk band.

Buenos Vampiros @ Curveball
Argentinian four-piece post-punk band.

FYA Fox @ Whelan’s Upstairs
Armagh alt-pop artist Fya Fox has released her new single ‘October 15th’.

The Next New Low @ Little Whelan’s
Brian Mooney of Trust Me I’m A Thief and his band including Daniel Smith. Support: Lizzi Murtough, Rana Haddad.

Def Nettle, Arcadian Shadows @ Thomas House
Arcadian Nights present indie, post and electro punk bands.

Swiftogeddon @ The Grand Social (Early Show)
20 years of Taylor Swift special.

The Jam’d @ The Sound House
A tribute to The Jam.

Clubs and DJs

Circles: Leftfield @ Centre Point (11pm)
A DJ set from Neil Barnes, with Pat Hyland and Aoife Nic Canna in support, for Circles.

Circles: Egyptian Lover @ The Bernard Shaw (10pm)
The LA electro originator returns to the Shaw for Circles, with hellokt in support

Circles: BRIDGE @ Fidelity Studio (9pm)
The Brooklyn-based DJ and cultural curator DJ plays Fidelity for Circles.

Equinox: Ian Pooley with OneCanChan @ Yamamori Tengu (11pm)
The German house producer, three decades deep.

Block x Influence: LESSSS @ block. (11pm)
Schranz and industrial fusion DJ/producer headlines for Influence.

Index: Belters Only @ Index (10pm)
An extra date added for the Dublin pair.

Loose Ends presents CamrinWatsin @ Wigwam (11pm)
House and breaks from the Irish dance producer at Wigwam.

Soulnezz and Moreir4rt @ Pygmalion (11pm)
Two DJs across the Pyg rooms.

Whelan’s Indie Club @ Whelan’s (10:30pm)
The Saturday indie late bar, with Vittorio’s Late Night Céilí in the main room from 11:30pm.

Skip to day: Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon

Sunday October 25th

Haunted Dancehall: day two @ National Concert Hall (2:30pm)
The second day of the weekender, with Irish debuts throughout. Across the day: Circuit des Yeux with Alan Sparhawk, performing a live score to Nosferatu (1922), keiyaA, Colm Ó Cíosóig, presenting his solo project Scrata, Midwife, thredd, feeo, E The Artist, Caitlin Orla Eve and ear.

Seb Fontaine: Bank Holiday All Day Rave @ The Sound House (5pm)
The Cream resident plays an early one.

2manydjs @ Vicar Street
The Dewaele brothers play Vicar Street with Kormac in support. A tasty prospect and their first venue gig in Dublin in quite a while.

THUMPER @ Button Factory
The Dublin noise-pop band play their final show 11 years on, with d_abdu in support. Sold out.

Black Nylon, Gabriel Paschal Blake, Anemoia @ The Workman’s Club
October Banker gig in the Trev tradition. The Murder Capital’s Gabriel Paschal Blake goes solo with ‘Everythin’ About You’.

Duke Dumont @ 3Arena
The London big room house producer on a bank holiday Sunday.

Boney M @ National Stadium
The disco institution, presented by Selective Memory.

Girl in the Year Above @ Whelan’s
Irish-Cornish alt-indie band.

Bonehead Fest @ The Grand Social
An all-dayer of Irish punk and hardcore.

The Adults Are Talking @ Whelan’s Upstairs
A Strokes tribute band.

Organ Freeman @ The Big Romance (6pm)
Live jazz every Sunday, with Tony Football Club this week.

Clubs and DJs

Telephones @ Lucky’s (7pm)
Telephones returns for one night with a live set from Lee Kelly as Alto Beara, plus Moving Still, Pablo Santo and Yabi. Free in, running to 1am.

Gerd Janson @ Fidelity Studio (9pm)
The Running Back boss, always worth it.

Lumo Club 11th Birthday @ Hang Dai Chinese (11pm)
Lumo marks 11 years with an intimate club party in the restaurant, the Lumo DJs playing disco, Italo, edits and pop until late.

TEED @ The Workman’s Club (11:30pm)
Selective Memory present a DJ set from Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs’, the British producer and DJ Orlando Higginbottom

Kerri Chandler @ Index (11pm)
Index x Subject: The Kaoz Theory founder and New Jersey house master, in for the bank holiday.

Circles: Subject x Tresor [T35] @ Wigwam (9pm)
Tresor’s 35th birthday brought to Dublin, with Regis, Fireground live, Daniel Bell, Aero, Ayolxi, Cailín, Giles Armstrong and Jon Hussey. Running until 3am.

Pyg and District 8 present Deep Dish and Matador @ Pygmalion (11pm)
The reunited Deep Dish with Matador in support.

Bodytonic presents Catz N Dogz @ The Bernard Shaw (10pm)
The Polish duo with Animwal.

Frame and Hidden Love present TAFKAMP @ Frame (11pm)
The Dutch DJ with Kjinn and Derv.

Soundsystem Sunday: Woozy with Darwin and Carré @ Yamamori Tengu (11pm)
Bass music. Darwin and Carré DJ, with a live set from Mana Dealer.

Skip to day: Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon

Monday October 26th

ear @ Button Factory
The indie laptop duo make their Irish debut proper, a day after their Haunted Dancehall set. Presented by Foggy Notions. Sold out. Intro piece.

Macklemore @ 3Arena
The Seattle rapper brings the Free Palestine tour to Dublin, with proceeds going to aid organisations.

Retail Simps and Oh Boland @ Doyle’s Corner (7pm)
Montreal’s Retail Simps play their first Dublin show behind Real Simple, somewhere between the Velvet Underground and midwest proto-punk. Galway and Dublin skronk rockers Oh Boland support.

Mark Olson @ Whelan’s Upstairs
The Jayhawks co-founder solo.

Song Cycle @ Whelan’s Bar
Whelan’s weekly free singer-songwriter night.

Jazz Jam @ Arthur’s
A weekly jazz jam, with an opening set from a different band each week followed by a jam session.

🔗 Dublin venues, clubs and bars – A Nialler9 guide

The London indie electro-pop band bring their A Long Way From Kansas tour to Dublin on Thursday 4 March 2027

Hot Chip have announced a headline show at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin on Thursday 4 March 2027, promoted by MCD.

The tour is named after their ninth album, A Long Way From Kansas, which is due on 8 January. The title is a nod to The Wizard of Oz. The first single from it is ‘Random Violence’, which is described as a tribute to the Optimo DJ Keith McIvor, who died in 2025.

The band marked the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough album The Warning with a reissue in July. We’ve covered their Irish appearances before, including the All Together Now line-up in 2024 and Beyond The Pale in 2023.

Tickets

• Hot Chip play 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin on Thursday 4 March 2027, with doors at 7pm.
• Tickets are €48.20 or €53.85 plus fees – booking fees and a venue restoration fee. A 12.5% service charge per ticket applies, capped at €10.50.
• The MCD presale starts at 10am on Wednesday 21 October. Sign up for presale access on the MCD page.
• General sale starts at 10am on Friday 23 October via Ticketmaster.ie.

A Long Way From Kansas tour dates

• 26 February – Astra, Berlin.
• 28 February – La Madeleine, Brussels.
• 1 March – Paradiso, Amsterdam.
• 2 March – Le Bataclan, Paris.
• 4 March – 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin.
• 6 March – Leeds Beckett Students’ Union, Leeds.
• 7 March – SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow.
• 8 March – Albert Hall, Manchester.
• 9 March – O2 Institute 1, Birmingham.
• 10 March – O2 Academy, Bristol.
• 12 March – Exhibition White City, London.

A Long Way From Kansas Tracklisting:

1. Stuck Around
2. Waiting Around
3. Random Violence
4. The Mask Is Slipping
5. Splinter
6. Shortcut To Love
7. Me In Your Head (feat. Beth Ditto)
8. Hook Me Up
9. Secular Hymns
10. The Garden (feat. Eddie Chacon)
11. Crushing 

The first six acts for St James’ Church are named for the 25th edition, which runs from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November.

Other Voices has announced the first six acts for its 25th anniversary edition in Dingle: The Waterboys, Gilla Band, Julia Jacklin, Lambrini Girls, Knats and Brìghde Chaimbeul. The festival runs from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November, a little earlier than last year’s December edition.

More Church acts and details of the wider programme are promised in the coming weeks. The road to Dingle starts in Dublin with Other Voices: Home at the Guinness Storehouse on Sunday 8 November.

The first six for St James’ Church

• The Waterboys: Mike Scott’s band have long had the west of Ireland running through their music, from Fisherman’s Blues to ‘The Whole of the Moon’, and this is a return to the Church.
• Gilla Band: the Dublin band’s loud, abrasive and unpredictable guitar music has been tearing up the rulebook for a decade.
• Julia Jacklin: the Australian songwriter makes the Church debut with songs that are wry, tender and honest, from her new album The Gem.
• Lambrini Girls: the Brighton punk band are furious, funny and political live.
• Knats: the Newcastle jazz collective build their sound on bass and drums, with swagger and groove.
• Brìghde Chaimbeul: the Skye musician takes the Scottish smallpipes in unexpected directions, blending traditional tunes with drones and intricate textures.

Above: Julia Jacklin’s ‘The Hardest Thing’, Lambrini Girls’ ‘Bang Bang Bang’ and Knats performing ‘Never Gonna Be A Boxer’ on Later… with Jools Holland.

The Jameson Music Trail

The Jameson Music Trail returns with emerging artists playing in pubs, cafés and venues across Dingle all weekend. More than 40 acts are confirmed so far:

• Alannah Thornburgh
• Avenue 68
• BABYRAT
• black nylon
• BUKKY
• Burglar
• CABL
• Child of Prague
• Danny Murphy
• Daragh Fleming
• Throwing Snow
• echo northstar
• Esmeralda Road
• How I Became A Wave
• John Blek
• Junk Drawer
• KK Lewis
• Maicín
• McGrath
• mischa and the bear
• Múlú
• Nell Mescal
• New Jackson
• Officer John
• Piaras Ó Lorcáin
• PORTS
• Robocobra Quartet
• Roisín Gowen
• Róisín El Cherif
• Rory Sweeney
• Rua Rí
• Search Results
• Sei Green
• SELL EVERYTHING
• SHAMROCK SHOWBAND
• Shark School
• Smithereens
• State of Grace
• telekura
• The Railway Boys
• Roofcats
• Yunè Pinku

Ireland’s Edge

Ireland’s Edge, the festival of ideas, runs at the Dingle Skellig Hotel on 27 and 28 November. This year’s theme is Idir an Dá Linn (“in the meantime”). The first speakers are Aisling Bea, Irvine Welsh, Gwenno, Carole Cadwalladr, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, Malachy Browne of The New York Times and Sophia Smith Galer, with more to come. Tickets are on sale now via Eventbrite.

Tickets and how to watch

• Jameson Music Trail tickets go on general sale at 12pm on Friday 23 October via Eventbrite.
• Access to the St James’ Church recordings is by competition only, run through Other Voices and partners’ social media and digital channels.
• The Church performances will stream live on the Other Voices YouTube channel and into venues around Dingle.
• They will feature in a 25th anniversary series broadcasting in early 2027, with performances and highlights also on RTÉ television, radio and the RTÉ Player.
• Dingle Coaches will run an Other Voices bus service on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, with routes east and west of Dingle. Routes and tickets are here.

Fontaines D.C. lead this week’s new releases with the biggest Irish album of the year. Around it, The Avalanches resurface after six years, Rachel Chinouriri and NAO return, Max Richter reckons with the state of things, and there is a deep seam of electronic music from Matthew Herbert, Jacques Greene, Two Shell, TSHA, Djrum and more. It is a huge week for Irish releases too, with new records from Arborist, banríon, chósta, Christian Cohle, Jack Tiraquon and The Kates, plus a 30th anniversary reissue of an Ash classic.

Nialler9 keeps a rolling list of Irish album releases for 2026.

Album of the week

Fontaines D.C. – Dopamine Chamber

Our album of the week. The Dublin band’s fifth album pushes electronics, trip-hop rhythms and cinematic, string-assisted atmospheres to the front while using four decades of rock as raw material. Reunited with producer James Ford, it is tighter and more defined than Romance, Grian Chatten edging towards rap in places over Tom Coll’s standout drumming. ‘Marianne’ sets regal strings against ’80s synths, ‘Mimesis’ rides a New Order-style bassline, and ‘Where Is Gone?’ brings in Rosalía for the band’s first studio guest. As we said in our review, it is a lush, stadium-sized modern rock record, uncompromising and cohesive as it becomes the first Fontaines album that barely feels Irish.

Read the review in full.

Recommended albums

The Avalanches – No Bad Memories

The Australian group return with their fourth album and first in six years, a sprawling 31-track collage that picks up the sample-stitched, sun-blind maximalism of Since I Left You and Wildflower. This time there is a concept under it: No Bad Memories digs into the overlap of advertising, memory and nostalgia, turning jingles, sonic logos, commercials and the hums of old technology into warm, euphoric portals back to childhood and collective memory.

The guest cast is something: Karen O, John Glacier, Rivers Cuomo, Barry Can’t Swim, Jamie xx and Loaded Honey among the voices, alongside Ryoji Ikeda, Portraits of Tracy, Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Haruomi Hosono and Suzanne Ciani, who helped build the sound of brands like Coca-Cola and Atari. Lead single ‘Can’t Get Over Losing You’ features Portraits of Tracy, and the centrepiece ‘I Give Everything I Have 2 U’ comes with a one-take video starring Haley Joel Osment weaving through Shibuya traffic, who also voices some of the fake ads along with Mike Patton

I hate to say it but No Bad Memories does very little to stir anything in me. It makes sense that the band that made Since I Left You 25 years ago would evolve their methods, but their answer these days appears to be let’s bring our sample-frenzied style into a modern DAW and apply the tropes of 21st century dance music that has sprouted around them since.

To the point where this cloying record just sounds like a metronomic hyperactive mash of everything you’ve heard in dance music before – with annoying advert interludes, the brief fizzy thrill of who’s-singing-next matched with dayglow sunny melodies.

It’s like being on a relentless attention-grabbing rollercoaster you just want to get off from. When it calms down and gives the music room to breathe in the second half of the album’s 31 tracks, it fares better but it was hard going to get there.

Bibio & Dorian Concept – Answers

A first full collaboration between Bibio, the British producer Stephen Wilkinson, and the Austrian keyboardist and producer Dorian Concept, out on Warp. The instrumental album Answers weaves Bibio’s woozy, pastoral electronica together with Dorian Concept’s fluid synth playing, the single ‘Lichen Trip’ showing how naturally the two sit together. Warm, intricate and gently psychedelic, it is a meeting of two distinctive voices on the same label.

They Are Gutting a Body of Water – KOOL FAITH / LOOSIES II

The Philadelphia project of Douglas Dulgarian pushes shoegaze through a digital blender, splicing blown-out guitars with glitch, digicore and hip-hop textures. KOOL FAITH / LOOSIES II is more of that restless, genre-melting noise-pop, equal parts haze and chaos. A thrilling listen for anyone who likes their guitars dissolved into static, and a follow on from one of my albums of 2025 in Lotto.

Sophia Stel – the greatest album of all time

The rising songwriter makes her debut with the knowingly titled the greatest album of all time, trading in bright, sharp-witted electro-pop. Led by the single ‘I Do’, it pairs big hooks with a wink, announcing a confident new pop voice. A debut that backs up its cheek with the songs to match.

@ – Autosmile

The hard-to-google Baltimore-based art-folk duo Victoria Rose and Stone Filipczak aka @ make their 4AD debut with second album Autosmile, a subtly spellbinding blend of folk, ambient pop and gentle experimentation.

Lead single and title track ‘Autosmile’ is nearly seven minutes long and arrived on 4AD – a hypnotic song about the mystery of a strongly-tethered relationship  “I don’t know how I belong to you, but I do somehow,” Rose sings as the song makes use of the interlocking vocal harmonies, acoustic passages, guiro percussion and guitar-expressed colour.

A record that casts a slow, enticing spell.

They play Workman’s Dublin on November 16th.

banríon – Untarnishing

Róisín Ní Haicéid’s banríon steps from full-band indie-rock into something more intimate and revealing on Untarnishing, her debut album and the start of a solo era. Written as a time capsule of 2022 to 2024 and shaped partly by songwriting workshops with Adrianne Lenker and Florist, its nine songs turn over love, loss, belonging and self-forgiveness with her wit and candour intact. Lead track ‘HimNotTo’, born of her first queer relationship, channels Riot Grrrl defiance against the male gaze, while ‘Roseland’ reaches back to her grandparents’ home in Donegal and ‘Forgiving’ makes peace with a surgical accident she lived through at 17. A tender, clear-eyed record about looking back and staying in the present.

chósta – harmony in solitude

Conor Kelly’s second album as chósta is the first to feature his voice , folding an indie sensibility into the electronic and ambient textures he has worked in to date. The result bridges the head and the heart, song structure drifting in and out of atmosphere. A thoughtful next step from a producer with a fine ear for mood.

“A lot has happened in three years. I suffered heartbreak, lost my Grandmother (her voice is sampled on the track ‘Fragments’) and I’ve overcome a lot of self-esteem and anxiety issues in that time. I’ve actively tried to spend less time on social media. I mean, how do we navigate unhealthy comparison with others in an age when access to someone younger, more talented, entertaining, better looking or wealthy is available at the click of a button? To circle back to Heat, the antagonist Neil McCauley has a recurring dream about drowning which he signifies as not having enough time to accomplish everything he wants to, and I often have that same fear. When reflecting on this album lyrically, it certainly feels like me processing the death of a dream but maybe also the beginning of a new one. 

Being brutally honest, I wasn’t sure if I would ever release another body of work such as this. The campaign around Twilight Transmission wore me out mentally. Any momentum I had perished and I felt like the only artist ever to release a debut album and see their opportunities diminish. I put so much into it for minuscule return and it left me drained emotionally, financially and spiritually. At the same time, I also probably got caught up in aspirational ideas and wrapped up too much of my identity in being a musician and defining myself by that. A realisation dawned on me; I was doing it for the wrong reasons and had forgotten why I started in the first place – the love of music. Reconnecting with that has probably been the most valuable aspect of this entire process. “

Saint Abdullah & Eomac – When The Sandbox Has No Edge

A continuing collaboration between the Iranian-American brothers Saint Abdullah and the Dublin producer Eomac, real name Ian McDonnell. On their fifth album now on Planet Mu, the trio make dense, politically charged experimental electronics, folding field recordings and Middle Eastern samples into club-adjacent abstraction. Challenging, immersive music with a strong sense of purpose. Armand Hammer, Richie Culver and Abbas Zahedi are among the guests. This one has a more overt hip-hop influence.

Rachel Chinouriri – I Think I Spoke Too Soon

The British-Zimbabwean songwriter follows her breakthrough debut What a Devastating Turn of Events with I Think I Spoke Too Soon, another set of sharp, emotionally candid indie-pop. Chinouriri writes about heartbreak and self-doubt with a directness that has won her a devoted following, wrapping hard feelings in bright, hook-filled songs. A confident second step from one of British pop’s most relatable voices.

Rachel Chinouriri was just announced for 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin on Tuesday, 1 June 2027.

Dummy – do you love the color of the sky?

The Los Angeles band Dummy fold motorik krautrock, shoegaze and bright synth-pop into something hypnotic and melodic. do you love the color of the sky? leans into that collision of drone and tune, propulsive and dreamy at once. One for fans of Stereolab and Broadcast with a contemporary edge.

Dummy Live :

Thu. Jan. 21 – Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew
Fri. Jan. 22 – Leeds, UK @ The Attic
Sat. Jan. 23 – Dublin, Ireland @ Bello Bar
Mon. Jan. 25 – Edinburgh, Scotland @ Mash House
Tue. Jan. 26 – Manchester, UK @ YES Pink Room
Wed. Jan. 27 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds
Thu. Jan. 28 – London, UK @ Moth Club
Sat. Jan. 30 – Paris, France @ Le Chinois
Sun. Jan. 31 – Tourcoing, France @ Le Grand Mix
Mon. Feb. 1 – Bruges, Belgium @ Cactus
Wed. Feb. 3 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso Noord Tolhuistuin
Thu. Feb. 4 – Berlin, Germany @ Kantine am Berghain

Djrum – DJ-Kicks: Djrum

The London producer Felix Manuel, whose own music spans jungle, techno, ambient and modern classical, takes on the long-running DJ-Kicks mix series. Expect a deep, wide-ranging journey that moves between styles with the same fluid intelligence as his productions. A mix for close listening as much as the dancefloor.

Jacques Greene – jg

The Montreal producer has brought heart-on-sleeve emotion to dance music for over 15 years, and jg is the first record he calls built unapologetically for the dancefloor. His third album and first since 2019’s Dawn Chorus, out on LUCKYME, it sharpens his melodic instinct into 11 club tracks drawn from his creative circle, with guests including DJ BORING, Ouri, Jonah Yano, umru, crushed and Sølv. It arrives after his Venice-premiered film score with Nosaj Thing as Verses GT. Emotive, widescreen music still built for both the floor and the comedown.

Gotts Street Park – Somewhere Between

The Leeds trio built their name on warm, vintage-leaning soul, funk and cinematic instrumentals, and as go-to collaborators and producers. Somewhere Between was captured live in the room, and it shows in its easy, late-night groove, with guest turns including Pip Millett. Supple, soulful music made by players locked in together.

Max Richter – While The Flood Rages

The German-British composer and pianist returns with While The Flood Rages, a standalone companion work drawn from his third collaboration with choreographer Wayne McGregor, the ballet MaddAddam, itself inspired by Margaret Atwood’s trilogy. Across 15 tracks and three acts it engages head-on with ecological crisis, technological acceleration and human connection, building its textures from processed ocean recordings, electromagnetic hum and even manipulated gunfire, a falling piano motif returning throughout. Out on Decca, it closes on the luminous lead single ‘Now We Can Sing’. A typically absorbing record from one of the defining voices in contemporary composition.

NAO – Autumn

The London singer returns with Autumn, more of the elastic, soulful pop she calls wonky funk, made with Dave Okumu. NAO has always paired a remarkable voice with adventurous production, and her songwriting has grown warmer and more reflective across each record and this is her fifth. A rich, grown-up return from a singular British soul talent.

Two Shell – Infinite Now

The elusive, perpetually online UK electronic duo deal in hyper-polished, playful club music that treats pop, rave and internet culture as one big sandpit. Infinite Now brings their restless, ultra-modern sound-design to bear on hooks that lodge instantly. Have completely lost interest in Two Shell with their increasing use of AI vocals and twist towards pure sugar pop dance music so be wary.

Matthew Herbert – Theukhasmorefoodbanksthanbranchesofmcdonalds.com

The British electronic auteur has built a career turning everyday sound and political provocation into music, and the run-on web-address title here tells you exactly where his anger sits. theukhasmorefoodbanksthanbranchesofmcdonalds.com is an album by made entirely from samples of everyday food bank items such as pasta, cereal, tinned fruit, nappies and toilet roll, it represents the latest iteration of Herbert’s long-standing interest in food and the systems that underpin it (Plat du Jour, One Pig, etc). 

To get the album you have to make promise to make a charity donation / take a leading question box-ticking exercise at the website.

Arborist – Looking For Love

The Belfast singer-songwriter Mark McCambridge returns as Arborist with Looking For Love, a record he frames as a love letter to his home city. His literate, Americana-tinged songwriting has always carried a strong sense of place, and here it turns that eye on Belfast itself, finding tenderness and grit in equal measure.

UK and Ireland shows this month:

15th October: The Harrison, Belfast
20th October: The International, Leicester *
21st October: South Street Arts Centre, Reading *
22nd October: Cambridge Junction, Cambridge *
23rd October: Adrian Flux Waterfront, Norwich *
24-25th October: Boia Festival, St.David’s, Wales
5th November: Cleere’s, Kilkenny, Ireland
6th November: Phil Grimes, Waterford, Ireland
12th Nov: The Cove, Hastings, England
15th Nov: The Waiting Room, London, England
17th Nov: Folklore Rooms, Brighton, England
19th Nov: The Empire, Belfast, Ireland
20th Nov: Yarn, Ballycastle, Ireland
22nd Nov: The Savoy, Cork, Ireland
26th Nov: Monroe’s, Galway, Ireland
*supporting Duke Special

Christian Cohle – Queen of Ashes

Heart-on-sleeve, throwback alternative art-rock with soft edges, Queen of Ashes wears its influences openly, drawing on Talk Talk, Bowie and Roxy Music. Christian Cohle leans into drama and texture, building songs that feel widescreen and deeply felt on his third album, a swerve from the first’s textured electronic-driven songs. For anyone who likes their rock romantic and a little theatrical.

Launch show Dublin on November 13th.

Francis Harris & Gareth Quinn Redmond – Eyes Bright and Low

A collaboration that blends analogue and digital synthesis with piano, Eyes Bright and Low brings together the American producer Francis Harris and the Irish composer Gareth Quinn Redmond, with guest vocals from Rachael Lavelle. The pair deal in slow, deep listening, the music patient and enveloping. A gorgeous, unhurried record for the headphones.

Jack Tiraquon – The World Overhead

The third and final part of Jack Tiraquon’s Mr. 8040 space saga (Space Dimension Controller) brings the story back to earth. It is an ambitious, concept-driven close to the trilogy, marrying narrative scope with the producer’s widescreen electronic pop. A satisfying landing for a project that has aimed to the interstellar throughout.

Jack Tiraquon live shows in Dublin and Belfast at the end of the month.

The Kates – Between Takes

The West Cork band’s Between Takes is both their debut and their final album, a record about making time for music alongside work and family. There is a hard-won warmth to that premise, and the songs carry it with melodic folk heart. They launch it at DeBarra’s in Clonakilty, a fitting home for a very West Cork farewell.

The title reflects the reason behind this, struggles they have faced behind the scenes as musicians, women, and parents, finding the time to pursue their passion, to follow their authentic truth and to create visibility for women in music.

The Kates are Eve Clague, Liz Clark, Mary Beth O Mahony, Míde Houlihan and Paula K.

Live shows:

• October 16 – DeBarra’s Clonakilty – Sold Out
• October 26 – Cork Jazz Monday, Crane Lane
• December 4 – Levis’ Ballydehob 

Cathal Caulfield – Welcome the Stranger into Tipsy House

The Mayo fiddle player and folk singer Cathal Caulfield, whose playing marked the return of For Those I Love on ‘Of The Sorrows’, makes his solo debut with Welcome the Stranger into Tipsy House. Most of its 15 tracks are unaccompanied solo fiddle, reels, hornpipes, airs and songs with roots reaching back to pre-Famine Ireland, partly born of Covid isolation. The banshee-haunted single ‘Finvola, the Gem of the Roe’, which he calls his most experimental fiddle song yet, shows how far he pushes the form. He launches it in the Backroom of The Cobblestone in Dublin on Saturday November 14th.

Antoni O’Breskey & Consuelo Nerea Breschi – A Wild Inhabitation

A father-daughter collaboration, A Wild Inhabitation blends traditional songs with minimalism, electronica and jazz, moving fluidly across forms and generations. It is a warm, exploratory record built on a deep musical bond between Antoni O’Breskey and his daughter, singer and fiddler Consuelo Nerea Breschi (Varo / Landless / Rattling Ark). 

It also features esteemed Irish artists Ultan O’Brien (Slow Moving Clouds), Kevin Murphy (Rattling Ark), Paatho Cummins (Paahto & The Bull), Ross Chaney (John Francis Flynn band), Jack Duffy (Junior Brother band), Barry Carroll, Matthew Jacobson, Brenda Castles and Alex Borwick, alongside Italian cellist and producer Davide Viterbo (Distant City).

They launch it at the National Concert Hall in Dublin on October 22nd.

Ash – 1977 (30th Anniversary Edition)

Ash’s debut 1977 turns 30, reissued across 2LP, 2CD and digital formats. Still one of the great teenage rock records, its rush of ‘Girl From Mars’, ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘Oh Yeah’ captures the Downpatrick trio at their most giddy and tuneful. A reminder of just how many hooks they packed into one record before they were out of their teens.

Nikki Nair – Majestic Animals EP

The American producer Nikki Nair has become one of the most restless names in contemporary bass and club music, wrong-footing dancefloors with mutant rhythms and sly humour. The Majestic Animals EP is another hit of his skewed, high-energy approach – “something like Philip Glass composing for Sonic the Hedgehog, but built into dexterous footwork/jungle shapes.”

Declan O’Rourke – Oceanic

The acclaimed Irish singer-songwriter returns with his eighth album Oceanic, recorded in Sydney with his longtime friend and Midnight Oil guitarist Jim Moginie. It is a full-circle record: O’Rourke first put songs to tape in Australia at 19 and named his 2004 debut Since Kyabram after the rural Victorian town. The focus track ‘Miracles and Mirages’, written the day the pair first met 20 years ago and rediscovered for these sessions, sets the tone, and following the Paul Weller-produced Arrivals it is a warm, assured step on. He plays Vicar Street on October 17th.

Pebbledash – Live At St. Luke’s EP

The Cork band Pebbledash capture their feedback-laden, folk-indebted live sound on Live At St. Luke’s, recorded in the deconsecrated St Luke’s church in Cork City. It reimagines audience favourites ‘Killer Lover’ and ‘Tiles and Moss’ and leans into the traditional undercurrent running through their catalogue, taking in ‘O’ The Wind’, ‘Asha’s Waltz’, ‘Cell’ and the cinematic ‘Carraig Aonair’. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Enda Boyle, it is a vivid document of a band at their most transporting live.

NOTIFY – For Now

The Irish ensemble NOTIFY share their new album For Now, rooted in traditional music but built on improvisation and collaboration. The six-piece, Pádraig Rynne, Tara Breen, Davie Ryan, Adam Taylor, Rory McCarthy and Hugh Dillon, cut much of it live in the room, keeping first takes and letting unplanned ideas redirect the music, opening reels, jigs and slow airs into odd metres and less predictable shapes. Two-time Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens and Galway songwriter Niamh Regan guest, and place runs through the record, its tunes named for the homes and landscapes that shaped the band.

TOMORA – Celebration EP

TOMORA is the project pairing Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers with the Norwegian singer Aurora. The Celebration EP sets Rowlands’s propulsive, psychedelic electronics against Aurora’s soaring voice, a meeting of big-room thrills and pop instinct. A follow on from February’s debut album.

Also released today:

• Brian Eno – Another Day On Earth / Drawn From Life (reissues)
• Caspian – Caspian
• Eels – Cookie Happened
• Flora Hibberd – Mammoth
• JGrrey – you, me and jen
• June McDoom – Follow The Light
• Lucky Daye – ALOUD!
• Richard Thompson – Hippies, Thugs and Heroes
• Sassy 009 – Dreamer+ Deluxe
• TSHA – Mi Casa EP

Nialler9 keeps a rolling updated list of Irish album releases.

The Bard College indie electronica pair went from an iPhone recording in the library to an A24 Music deal and a sold-out European tour in under two years.

ear are Jonah Paz and Yaelle Avtan, who met at Bard College in upstate New York in 2024 and came to music from other art forms, Paz as a painter and Avtan as a ceramicist. Based between New York and London, they play two Irish shows this month, so here’s a quick guide to how they got here, what they sound like and where to start.

How they got here

The story goes that they started collaborating after an impromptu open mic noise set on just their second day of knowing each other. Their first single, ‘Nerves’, came out in November 2024, partly recorded on Avtan’s iPhone in the college library. It was picked up by Spotify’s Cph+ editorial playlist, which put the unknown duo alongside a run of Copenhagen internet-savvy alt acts.

They self-released their debut album, The Most Dear and The Future, in September 2025. It earned a deal with A24 Music, the film studio’s record label, and a sold-out European tour followed.

Their second album, Rumspringa, arrived on A24 Music at the end of May this year. The title comes from the Amish rite of passage in which young people step outside the community’s customs before deciding whether to commit to them.

What ear sound like

ear sit somewhere between indietronica, IDM, glitch pop and 2000s bloghouse, with soft, whispery vocals over collage-like production. Some writers have tagged it “laptop twee”, a nod to the twee, digital hardcore, British post-punk and Sparklehorse records the pair bonded over at Bard. They operate as a strictly 50:50 collaboration, and the sentimental, specific songwriting is as much the point as the glitches around it.

The first record leaned soft and bedroom-scale. Rumspringa swaps much of that for skittering breakbeats and squelchy square-wave bass while keeping the sighing vocals and lilting synth melodies on top, and its lyrics deal with the realisation that you can’t go back to where you came from. A fucked up Postal Service by way of Crystal Castles.

What is laptop twee?

So what is laptop twee? It’s less an established genre than a handy shorthand, and it’s mostly been used about ear. The idea is twee pop’s fragile, naive melodies and small-voiced vocals, built on a laptop instead of jangling guitars, with sampled textures, programmed beats and glitchy electronics doing the work. Activaire describes it as pairing the minimal beats and sharp synths of electroclash with the vocals of twee and folk.  Eli Enis said laptop twee answers the question “what if Belle & Sebastian were really into Bladee in high-school?” and that piece also quotes a defunct Nina article that poses it as “when a traditional twee pop song is produced in a way that feels distinctly post-hyperpop.”

Laptop twee acts include bassvictim, Worldpeace DMT, Cootie Catcher, Amigos Imaginarios the femcels and ear.

The key songs

‘Nerves’ is where it all started, and it’s still the best way in. It opens as a hushed ambient ballad, with strings that sound more like horns, whispered textures and low rumbles under gentle layered vocals, before erupting halfway through into something close to a banger. Avtan has said the bass in the song was almost an accident: it was sitting off to the side of the session until they dragged it into the track, as she told No Bells.

If ‘Nerves’ is the way in, ‘Real Life’ is the live set highlight right now, a song that recalls the blog band buzz synth internet music era of Hipster Runoff circa 2010.

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Where to see ear in Ireland

• Sunday October 25th, National Concert Hall, Dublin, as part of Haunted Dancehall, with Sunday tickets at €35.
• Monday October 26th, Button Factory, Dublin, with Sunken Foal in support, presented by Foggy Notions, with tickets at €24.50 including booking fee.

Tommy Sands receives the Lifetime Achievement award and Dolores Keane enters the Hall of Fame at Vicar Street on Tuesday 10 November.

The nominations for the eighth RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards have been announced, with the ceremony taking place at Vicar Street in Dublin on Tuesday 10 November 2026. It will be broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1, with John Creedon returning as host and a television highlights programme to follow.

It’s a change of season for the awards. The last two ceremonies were held in February, when Lankum and Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin were the big winners in 2024, and Róis took Best Original Folk Track and Best Emerging Artist in 2025. This year’s eligibility window runs from 18 November 2024 to 11 September 2026. As before, the seven main awards are chosen by a jury (of which I am one), with no public vote.

Several of this year’s nominees are back after being shortlisted last time. Joshua Burnside and Macdara Yeates were both in the running in 2025, as was Lemoncello, who are now up for Best Folk Group. Lisa O’Neill was also nominated in 2024, when she was shortlisted for Best Folk Singer and Best Folk Album.

Performers on the night include Beoga, The Unthanks, Declan O’Rourke, Jillian O’Malley, Joshua Burnside and Hammy Hamilton & the Ora Quartet, with more to be confirmed.

Honorary awards

• Lifetime Achievement: Tommy Sands
• Hall of Fame: Dolores Keane

Best Folk Album

• An Bhearna Bhán – Jillian O’Malley
• Caillte Sa Cheol – Ciarán Ó Maonaigh
• Curlew’s Cry – Barry Kerr
• Ithaca – lullahush
• It’s Not Going To Be Okay – Joshua Burnside.
• Phases – Beoga

Best Folk Group

• An Chéad Ghlúin Eile
• Beoga
• Lemoncello
• Poor Creature
• Ye Vagabonds

Best Folk Singer

• Barry Kerr
• Clare Sands
• Joshua Burnside
• Lisa O’Neill
• Macdara Yeates

Best Folk Instrumentalist

• Caroline Keane
• Ciarán Ó Maonaigh
• Jack Talty
• Seán McKeon
• Altan O’Brien

Best Emerging Artist

• Rua Rí
• Ellie O’Neill
• The Railway Boys
• Leevy

Best Original Folk Track

• ‘Anam Cara’ – Clare Sands
• ‘Heaven Has No Wings’ – Dove Ellis
• ‘Johnny Workman’ – Rua Rí
• ‘The Curlew’s Cry’ – Barry Kerr
• ‘The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right’ – Lisa O’Neill

Best Traditional Folk Track

• ‘Amhrán na Scadán’ – The Railway Boys
• ‘Cad É Sin Don Té Sin’ – Tríona & Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill
• ‘Coleraine Jig’ – Rattling Ark
• ‘De May Bush’ – Macdara Yeates
• ‘Ryan’s Rant’ – Cormac Begley & Liam O’Connor
• ‘The Mickey Dam’ – Damien Dempsey

The Irish Artists for Palestine quiz night raises funds for the Lemon Tree Collective, with stops at the Sugar Club in Dublin, Headford and the Oh Yeah Centre in Belfast.

MayKay, Pauline and Eamon are taking their Outrageous Fundraiser Quiz Tour on the road, with proceeds going to the Lemon Tree Collective in aid of people in Gaza. The night is a fundraiser by Irish Artists for Palestine.

Expect “a night of chaos, questionable questions and rounds that you can not study for”, along with tunes from DJ Cyril Briscoe.

All funds raised go to the Lemon Tree Collective, which with its partner organisations is providing over 120 families in Gaza with access to food, medicine and tents. The money also funds a school programme for children in Khan Younis.

Dates and tickets

• Tuesday October 27th: The Sugar Club, Dublin.
• Friday October 30th: Campbells Tavern, Headford. Galway.
• Thursday December 3rd: The Oh Yeah Centre, Belfast.

Tickets are €25, with spot prizes on the night. Details are on the Irish Artists for Palestine Instagram page.

The DJ, writer and broadcaster is bringing her Before Midnight party home for three Dublin dates at Centre Point in February, March and April.

Annie Mac has announced a Before Midnight Dublin residency for 2027, with three shows at Centre Point on Friday February 5th, Friday March 5th and Friday April 2nd.

“I couldn’t be happier to be bringing Before Midnight home for three shows next year,” she says, inviting fans to “come and dance yer legs off with us”.

Annie played The Last Days of Dalymount in September, and plays the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival this bank holiday weekend.

Dates and tickets

• Dates: Friday February 5th, Friday March 5th and Friday April 2nd 2027, at Centre Point, Dublin.
• Pre-sale: Thursday October 22nd at 10am, with sign-up through the Centre Point site.
• General sale: Friday October 23rd at 10am.

The Belfast electronic punk duo team up with Sarah Barthel of Phantogram and Belfast producer cosign on a double single, out today, as they begin an arena tour as main support to Fontaines D.C.

Chalk release the double single ‘Heaven’ and ‘Hell’ today, Tuesday October 20th, via ALTER Music. ‘Heaven’ features Sarah Barthel of Phantogram and cosign, and the pair come with a double-feature video.

‘Heaven’ is the band’s sunniest song yet, despite the desolate searching sentiments at the heart of the song.

Benedict Goddard directed the video, which is presented as an old-school cinema double feature with an intermission between the two tracks. He says they had always wanted to make a double video for an A/B-side release, and were drawn to fallen angels and the space between heaven and hell. There is also an interactive Heaven/Hell microsite, where fans choose a path and unlock hidden content and exclusive audio and visuals.

It follows recent single ‘Get Fucked’.

The duo of Ross Cullen and Benedict Goddard, who formed Chalk in 2022, signed to New York label ALTER Music in 2025. Their debut album Crystalpunk came out earlier this year and debuted at number one on the UK Dance Albums Chart. ‘Can’t Feel It’ also features on the EA Sports FC 27 official soundtrack.

Fontaines D.C. arena tour

Chalk are the main support, and the sole support act, on the 20-date UK and European ‘Dopamine Chamber’ arena tour by Fontaines D.C., starting in Lisbon tomorrow. It includes Paris’ Accor Arena and London’s O2. There are no Irish dates on the run.

• Wed October 21st: MEO Arena, Lisbon.
• Thu October 22nd: Movistar Arena, Madrid.
• Sat October 24th: Sant Jordi Club, Barcelona.
• Mon October 26th: Unipol Forum, Milan.
• Wed October 28th: Hangar Luka Beograd, Belgrade.
• Fri October 30th: Forum Karlin, Prague.
• Sat October 31st: Atlas Arena, Lodz.
• Mon November 2nd: Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin.
• Thu November 5th: Hovet, Stockholm.
• Fri November 6th: Spektrum, Oslo.
• Sun November 8th: Royal Arena, Copenhagen.
• Tue November 10th: Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam.
• Thu November 12th: AFAS Dome, Antwerp.
• Fri November 13th: Accor Arena, Paris.
• Fri November 20th: M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool.
• Sat November 21st: AO Arena, Manchester.
• Sun November 22nd: OVO Hydro, Glasgow.
• Tue November 24th: First Direct Arena, Leeds.
• Wed November 25th: Utilita Arena, Birmingham.
• Fri November 27th: The O2, London.

The Choice Music Prize winner returns to Dublin for a special end-of-year show following her first solo Irish tour.

Denise Chaila has announced a show at The Sugar Club, Dublin on Tuesday December 8th. It follows the An Seo tour, her first solo run of Irish dates this autumn.

The tour marks a new chapter, bringing together old and new music shaped by her experiences across Ireland, Zambia, Brazil and Mexico. It takes in everything from jazz and traditional music to samba, storytelling and song, and the promoters bill it as a chance to see a different side of Denise as she shares some of her most personal music to date.

I chatted to Denise on the Podcast in January.

Tickets and details

• Venue: The Sugar Club, Dublin.
• Date: Tuesday December 8th.
• Tickets: On sale now priced €25 plus fees.

The Dublin rapper Smokey picks the Irish rap songs he’s into right now, from Dole Q and Lethal Dialect to Emby, Earfzilla and DeathtoRicky.

Smokey is a Dublin rapper who grew up in Ballybrack, a part of the city where, as he tells it, anything the community needed had to be fought for by the people who lived there. That DIY spirit carries through his music, which draws on a childhood of French hip-hop records and Eminem verses traded between schoolmates, and a love of language that started in English class. He has since worked in arts management, label work, artist management and event curation.

His new single ‘Mariner’s Lane’ is a personal piece of storytelling about a chaotic chapter of addiction and paranoia, and a house that became infamous in his circle. It’s the first of a trio of singles in quick succession.

Dole Q – ‘Scary Eire’

Remember me and my mates banging this when we were younger. The Madness sample is a crazy flip, and Rira’s storytelling had me in the dole office with them all. It was the anthem when I was on the scratcher for two years. RIP Dada Sloosh.

Crutch – ‘Wartime’

Crutch is the general on this one, chatting through his war stories on a Detroit beat. I know the bloke years and I know what he’s been at, so to hear it on a record makes it a certified hood classic. When the war kicks off, I know what the anthem’s going to be.

Babyface feat. Ruka & Survival – ‘RE/UP’

Love this chat with the boys, it kinda reminds me of ‘Poland’ by Yachty in a funny way. Babyface is one of the funniest boys out here right now, and Ruka and Survival play their part in a stellar way. It’s going on the Insta story if we’re out here getting bread.

Earfzilla – ‘Vintage Vuitton’

I love this chat. I find it crazy that he’s sitting in the Leaving but breaking boundaries with his sound. The production is so reminiscent of that 2010s sound, and Earf really hits every beat with a box to the jaw. Can’t wait to see what else he’s sitting on.

Lethal Dialect – ‘The Auld Chinaman’

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard Lethal Dialect tell a story, but I love how he describes the pub and the characters he grew up watching, and he ends it perfectly in a nostalgic sense. The hook is haunting too, good for a stroll around the fair city.

Sputnik One & Emby – ‘Supa Natural’

There’s nobody coming near Emby when it comes to grime on the Emerald Isle. I love this track because Sputnik made the beats a bit more experimental for Emby to jump on effortlessly. He’s good at hitting those high notes on the hook too, I never knew he had it in him till then.

Lunitic – ‘Behind the Mic’

This is the first track on the Homemade Bombs mixtape from back in the day. Lunitic is the reason I got into this, and his Scouse accent at the beginning introducing the tape is gas. He comes through with some serious bars, the samples are killer, and it’s a trip down memory lane every time I spin it. Lunitic is the godfather of this and nobody can tell me different.

Readys – ‘Myphonesjump’

This fella has had my phone jumpin’ since he dropped this. The sample is a hilarious flip, I couldn’t get over it when I heard it. He does a serious job of hitting the pockets in the beat, laying out hilarious punchlines and making it look easy at the same time. He’s taking trap to a new level.

GOMiE X Lallee – ‘Find Me (Westend)’

The boys out west had the speakers jumping when they dropped this. Hearing them on a little garage beat and repping the area like Andre 3000 did in ’95. Their chemistry, bravado and banter make this track a 10/10. The west FOR SURE has something to say.

Jimmi – ‘Misty’

I think Jimmi is such an incredible rapper and producer and doesn’t get enough credit for his work. This track is definitely a bit more laid back than what I usually hear him on, but I love the intro, and his laid-back flow makes this such a smokers’ anthem. The bloke’s got cork on his back in my opinion.

Honourable mention: DeathtoRicky – ‘Victory Lap’

I don’t really know what more I can add to the conversation here. He’s plastered all over my TikTok and the way it’s blowing up is insane. DeathtoRicky’s workflow is unmatched, and the fact he’s got all the boys with him shows what a community spirit he has. The track itself is such a bouncy chat, and I’m mad excited to see what he’s got in store next.

Follow Smokey on Instagram.

The Nashville rockers return to Ireland on Tuesday 22 June 2027, with tickets on sale next Friday.

Kings of Leon have announced a headline show at 3Arena in Dublin on 22 June 2027, promoted by MCD.

The date follows the announcement of their tenth studio album, O My Beloved, which is due on 6 November. They were last announced for outdoor shows in Limerick and Belfast last year.

Anyone who pre-orders O My Beloved in any format from the official store by 2:59pm on Tuesday 20 October gets a code for the artist presale. Existing pre-orders are enrolled automatically. An MCD presale follows on Wednesday 21 October.

Tickets

• Kings of Leon play 3Arena, Dublin on Tuesday 22 June 2027.
• Tickets are from €88.80 plus fees, subject to Ticketmaster charges.
• Artist presale: pre-order O My Beloved from the official store by 2:59pm on Tuesday 20 October to get a code.
• The MCD presale starts at 10am on Wednesday 21 October via Ticketmaster.ie.
• General sale starts at 10am on Friday 23 October via Ticketmaster.ie.

The all-female trad supergroup play the Dublin venue on Tuesday 1 December 2026, with tickets on sale next Wednesday.

BIIRD have announced a headline show at The National Concert Hall in Dublin on Tuesday 1 December 2026, promoted by Aiken Promotions.

BIIRD are 11-piece all-female Irish traditional music collective founded in 2024 by Lisa Canny – a seven-time All-Ireland champion on harp and banjo – BIIRD have made a remarkable amount of ground in a short time. Their stated mission is to change the perception of trad worldwide, and they’re doing it with scale, style and genuine musicianship. Trafalgar Square on St Patrick’s Day 2024, Galway International Arts Festival, All Together Now, and notorious support slots on Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour across New Zealand, Australia and North America – the trajectory is steep.

They’ve already sold out Vicar Street so this is a natural next step.

BIIRD are Lisa (harp, banjo, vocals), Laura Doherty (fiddle, guitar), Zoran Donohoe (concertina), Sal Heneghan (fiddle, harp), Miadhachlughain O’Donnell (flute, vocals), Nicole Lonergan (fiddle), Niamh Hinchy (vocals, synth), Aoife Kelly (cello), Ciara Ní Mhurchú (fiddle), Hannah Hiemstra (drums) and Claire Loughran (fiddle, harp). Lisa and Niamh are also the duo Absolute Lilt, who recently announced their debut EP on Heavenly.

Tickets

• BIIRD play The National Concert Hall, Dublin on Tuesday 1 December 2026.
• Tickets are €37.50.
• They go on sale at 10am on Wednesday 21 October via Ticketmaster.ie.

The Irish singer-songwriter plays Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on March 21st and 22nd 2027 as part of a 25 Years, 25 Cities tour.

Damien Rice has announced two nights at Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin on Sunday March 21st and Monday March 22nd 2027. They are part of 25 Years, 25 Cities, a tour marking the 25th anniversary of his debut album, o, which he will play again for the audience that grew up around it and for newer listeners.

He made o at home, writing, recording and producing it himself after walking away from a record deal. A loan from his father, which didn’t have to be repaid if he finished the record, paid for it, and equipment and support from his second cousin, the composer David Arnold, helped. It came out in February 2002 on his own label, and he has said he thought it would be the only record he ever made.

Tickets

• Damien Rice plays Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin on Sunday March 21st and Monday March 22nd 2027.
• An artist presale starts at 10am on Wednesday October 21st, and you can sign up for it at damienrice.com.
• General sale starts at 10am on Friday October 23rd via Ticketmaster.ie.
• Ticket prices haven’t been announced yet.

25 Years, 25 Cities tour dates

• February 9th – Melbourne, Hamer Hall.
• February 11th and 12th – Sydney, Sydney Opera House.
• February 16th and 17th – Singapore, Capitol Theatre.
• February 20th – Bangkok, SiamPic Hall.
• February 24th and 25th – Hong Kong, Xiqu Centre.
• February 27th and 28th (plus a matinee on the 28th) – Seoul, GS Arts Center.
• March 3rd – Taipei, TICC.
• March 21st and 22nd – Dublin, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.
• March 26th – Lisbon, Coliseu dos Recreios.
• March 30th – Madrid, Teatro Lope de Vega.
• April 4th – Rome, Auditorium Conciliazione.
• April 6th – Zurich, The Hall.
• April 9th – Berlin, Tempodrom.
• April 12th – Paris, Le Grand Rex.
• April 16th and 17th – Amsterdam, Royal Theatre Carré.
• April 19th – London, Lyceum Theatre.
• April 20th – London, Palladium.
• April 23rd and 24th – Manchester, Opera House.

More shows are still to be announced. Register for the presale here, which opens at 10am local time in each city on Wednesday October 21st.

Find out more at damienrice.com and aikenpromotions.com.

The Hartnoll brothers’ 11th studio Other album arrives on March 19th, with The Other Tour opening at Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre on April 8th.

Orbital will return in 2027 with a new studio album, Other, out on London Records on Friday March 19th 2027.

The Kent-born brothers Paul and Phil Hartnoll follow it with The Other Tour, which begins in Dublin at the 3Olympia Theatre on Thursday April 8th, then takes in Limerick and Belfast before heading around the UK and Europe.

The first single is ‘Mother, Maiden & Crone’ out now which features the English actor Maxine Peake. It draws on witchcraft and folklore, with gothic synth lines and séance-like vocals, and it is Orbital’s first new music since 2023’s Optical Delusion.

Thematically, Other is about otherness: neurodiversity, identity, outsiders and the freedom to exist outside society’s categories. The band say it moves through gothic folk, drum & bass, punk and ambient music alongside their trademark electronic sound.

Tickets for Orbital in Ireland

• Thursday April 8th – Dublin, 3Olympia Theatre.
• Friday April 9th – Limerick, Dolans.
• Saturday April 10th – Belfast, Limelight 1.
• A pre-sale starts at 10am on Wednesday October 21st, and general sale is at 10am on Friday October 23rd, with tickets here.

Fans who join the pre-sale can buy an exclusive 2LP + 1CD tour edition of Other, with alternative artwork featuring an unticked ‘Other’ box that Paul or Phil Hartnoll will hand-tick. It is only available to pre-order from 10am on October 15th until 11.59pm on October 22nd.

The Other Tour 2027

• April 8th – Dublin, 3Olympia Theatre.
• April 9th – Limerick, Dolans.
• April 10th – Belfast, Limelight 1.
• April 13th – Northampton, The Roadmender.
• April 14th – Liverpool, O2 Academy 1.
• April 15th – Glasgow, The Barrowland Ballroom.
• April 16th – Nottingham, Rock City.
• April 17th – Manchester, Academy 1.
• April 20th – Cardiff, The Tramshed.
• April 21st – Frome, Cheese and Grain.
• April 22nd – Birmingham, O2 Institute.
• April 23rd – Bournemouth, O2 Academy.
• April 24th – London, British Airways ARC.
• April 29th – Amsterdam, Gashouder.
• April 30th – Paris, Le Bataclan.
• May 1st – Brussels, Ancienne Belgique.
• May 3rd – Berlin, Festsaal Kreuzberg.
• May 4th – Copenhagen, Store Vega.

Find out more at orbitalofficial.com.

The Dublin six-piece return to the venue on Wednesday 14 April 2027 to celebrate the release of their debut album Gorta.

Madra Salach have announced a headline show at Vicar Street in Dublin on Wednesday 14 April 2027, as part of their Gorta Tour.

The date follows their December Vicar Street show, which sold out in minutes, and comes as part of a UK and Irish tour that is already completely sold out. It supports their debut album Gorta, announced last week and due on Island Records on January 15th. The record was produced in New York by Loren Humphrey, whose recent credits include Geese and Cameron Winter, and its first song was ‘Ribbon Factory’.

The title is the Irish word for hunger, and the band describe the album as being about inheritance: what we carry from earlier generations, what we leave behind and the many forms hunger can take. The sleeve, by Oscar Torrans, shows a Blemmyes, the headless figure of ancient legend whose face sits in its chest.

The band have also announced their biggest Belfast headline show to date, at The Telegraph Building on Sunday 11 April 2027, three days before Vicar Street. Tickets for that show go on sale on Friday 23 October at 10am via Ticketmaster.ie.

Tickets

• Madra Salach play Vicar Street, Dublin on Wednesday 14 April 2027.
• Tickets are €30 excluding booking fees.
• They go on sale on Friday 23 October at 10am via singularartists.ie and Ticketmaster.ie.

Follow the band on Instagram.

The Dublin showcase series, which last ran in 2020, comes back on November 9th, November 23rd and December 7th, with free entry to all three nights.

We-Bloom, the showcase night for new artists, is back after six years. The series returns with three free shows at Quinns of Drumcondra in Dublin on Monday November 9th, Monday November 23rd and Monday December 7th, its first since the last night in 2020.

Promoter Steven McCann says Quinns is the series’ new home, and that aim to put on more into 2027.

Monday November 9th

The first night features Will, Whisht, the Jordan Higgins Quartet and Cormac O’Driscoll.

Monday November 23rd

The second night features Ryan O’Shaughnessy, Zestra and Dave Barrett.

Monday December 7th

The December 7th night features Megan Nic Ruairí, Christian Cohle and Katie O’Connor, plus a “very special guest” still to be announced.

Where and when

• We-Bloom takes place at Quinns of Drumcondra, Dublin on Monday November 9th, Monday November 23rd and Monday December 7th.
• Entry is free.
• Doors are at 7.30pm.

The Copenhagen band play their first Irish show since 2018 at the seventh edition of the Dublin OV night on Sunday 8 November, with €10 tickets on sale on October 27th.

Other Voices: Home returns to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin on Sunday 8 November 2026, and the first acts announced are Iceage, Cormac Begley and Quiet Light, with MayKay back as host. More names will follow.

This year’s night kicks off the run to the 25th edition of Other Voices in Dingle, linking St. James’s Gate in the Liberties with St. James’ Church in Dingle. Tickets are €10 and all proceeds go to the Guinness Dublin 8 Community Fund.

Iceage

The Copenhagen five-piece lead the bill in their first Irish show since 2018. Formed by childhood friends in 2008, they have moved from punk beginnings through post-punk and noise rock into something broader and more melodic, with Elias Bender Rønnenfelt’s poetic vocals at the centre. Their latest album is For Love of Grace & the Hereafter, and they will be main support for Fontaines D.C. on their 2027 North American tour. See our review of Fontaines D.C.’s Dopamine Chamber.

Cormac Begley

The concertina player from the West Kerry Gaeltacht is one of the most exciting players in Irish music, drawing on the traditions of his family, Corca Dhuibhne and Clare. His solo album B was The Irish Times’ Album of the Year in 2022, and he won Best Folk Instrumentalist at that year’s RTÉ Folk Awards. He has recorded with Lisa O’Neill, Ye Vagabonds, Lankum, Brian Eno, U2 and Dermot Kennedy, and his latest album, Into the Loam, is a collaboration with fiddle and viola player Liam O’Connor. He is also founder and artistic director of the Airt arts centre in the West Kerry Gaeltacht.

Quiet Light

Quiet Light is the Texas-based producer and singer Riya Mahesh, who calls her songs “dream sequences” and makes ethereal, Lynchian electropop. Olivia Rodrigo invited her to play the inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival this year, and her mixtape Blue Angel, Sparkling Silver 2 won her an NME cover and praise from Pitchfork, The Guardian, The Line of Best Fit and Clash. She recently toured with Cameron Winter and Nilüfer Yanya.

Tickets

• Other Voices: Home takes place at the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin on Sunday 8 November at 8pm.
• A limited number of €10 tickets go on sale at 1pm on Tuesday 27 October via guinness-storehouse.com.
• All proceeds go to the Guinness Dublin 8 Community Fund.
• The event is strictly over 21s.

Ahead of the night, Other Voices and the Guinness Storehouse have launched Harping On, a four-part music and conversation series hosted by MayKay and recorded around last year’s event. It pairs chats with 2025 performers Lisa Hannigan, SPRINTS, Brògeal and Rachel Chinouriri with stripped-back performances, and the first episode, with Brògeal, is online now.

Find out more at othervoices.ie.