Dublin Gig Guide: September 22nd to 28th. Highlights: Salmon Cat feat. Biig Piig, Madra Salach, Saint Etienne, Gurriers, Indie Sleaze Disco Club, Westside Cowboy, SIRENS (Lisa Hannigan, Angie McMahon, Loah, Anna Mieke), Max Cooper, Ye Vagabonds, Dead Calm, Lemoncello, Overhead, The Albatross; Ispíní na hÉireann, Mary In the Junkyard, Toshín, Outstraight Block Party, Ruf Dug, Leon Vynehall and Peach.

A big week for Dublin gigs. Saint Etienne bring their farewell tour to the Olympia on Tuesday, and NCH’s Tradition Now strand runs right through the back end of the week, taking in a sold-out Ye Vagabonds with the National Symphony Orchestra and Shovel Dance Collective among others. Gurriers take over the Grand Social twice on Thursday Madra Salach play a sold out Stay Human Collective fundraiser, followed by a DJ afterparty – while Salmon Cat, featuring Biig Piig, first Dublin show at Bello Bar the same night. SIRENS brings together Lisa Hannigan, Angie McMahon, Loah and Anna Mieke for a rare one-off at the NCH on Saturday, the same night Max Cooper closes out Button Factory’s BF30 anniversary series and Indie Sleaze Disco Club returns to the Grand Social with Nialler9 and Sally Cinnamon on the decks. Sign Crushes Motorist’s Dead Calm project lands two Dublin dates across Friday and Saturday, and the week ends with Musictown kicks off programme dedicated to Phil Lynott on Monday, running right through to October 4th.

Dublin venues, clubs and bars – A guide

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

Tuesday September 22nd

Bright Nights, Big City: Culture, Music and the Future of the Night-Time Economy @ National Concert Hall
A Dublin conference examining the future of the city’s night-time economy through the lens of culture and music.

Saint Etienne @ Olympia Theatre
Saint Etienne play the Olympia on their farewell tour. Three decades of impeccable, deeply English sample-pop and dance music – a genuinely significant show given the circumstances, and one of the more elegant bodies of work in British pop bowing out.

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Pauline Scanlon, Tom Morrow & John Doyle @ The Sugar Club
Music Network continues its 40th anniversary celebrations a foursome of outstanding traditional musicians.

Francis of Delirium @ The Workman’s Club (8pm)
Luxembourg-based Jana Bahrich plays indie-rock.

Mary In the Junkyard @ The Grand Social
London trio threading violin and folk touch-points through jagged, emotionally direct indie rock as heard on debut album Role Model Hermit.

Wednesday September 23rd

She Past Away @ Button Factory
Turkish darkwave duo She Past Away make their biggest Irish appearance to date. Volkan Caner and Doruk Ozturkcan bring their signature blend of brooding synths, driving guitars and minimalist poetry – like Robert Smith leading Joy Division.

Fizzy Orange @ The Workman’s Club
Sleepover Club Present the Dublin lo-fi power pop and blues-leaning Irish rock band.

BLAB003 feat. Bulbs, I Dreamed I Dream, Kippax, Pebbledash @ The Grand Social
A four-band bill at the Grand Social from BLAB whose gig is accompanied by the third edition of a cassette tape and magazine. BLAB003 features two exclusive Pebbledash tracks recorded at St Luke’s Church in Cork, as well as two BLAB exclusive Bulbs tracks, recorded and mixed by Madra Salach’s Jack Martin. 

Slowburn, MacSteady @ Thomas House
Slowburn are Phillip Long and David Hargadon, an Irish duo with an analogue sound palette that extends all the way to vintage Chicago, Detroit and New York with Mac Steady, a band Dublin & Kilkenny playing soul jazz indie.

Laura Veirs @ Whelans
Portland, Oregon-based indie and folk singer-songwriter.

KEEP DUBLIN WEIRD: VOL.001 @ Little Whelan’s
A monthly evening curated and hosted by M.W. Austin, bringing together original artists at all stages of their journey. St Cecelias plays.

Thursday September 24th

Salmon Cat feat. Biig Piig @ Bello Bar
Salmon Cat, featuring Biig Piig, play their first Dublin show at Bello Bar. The lineup includes Mac Wetha on production and vocals, Biig Piig on vocals, and NiNE8 Collective regulars Alfie Jackson and Harry Hayman on guitar and songwriting.

Madra Salach @ The Workman’s Club
The buzzing Irish trad-rock band are playing in the Workman’s Club to raise funds for Stay Human Collective. With special guests Whisht and Ryan Carrick on MC duties. Sold out.

Westside Cowboy @ Whelan’s
Manchester Britainicana four-piece Westside Cowboy play Whelan’s after the recent release of their debut album.

Gurriers @ The Grand Social
Spindizzy presents ‘Nobody’s Coming To Save You’ Outstore performance from Gurriers marking their new album Nobody’s Coming To Save You. Sold out. Afterparty in same venue as per below.

Overhead, The Albatross @ Button Factory
Irish post-rockers Overhead, The Albatross play Button Factory as part of the venue’s 30th anniversary series.

Ispíní na hÉireann @ NCH
Tradition Now. Dublin’s own feral alternative-folk collective.

6 Tracks with Efé @ Hen’s Teeth
A series of conversations, music and performance at Hen’s Teeth. Dublin-based artist Anita Ikharo makes dreamy indie-rock. Hosts Laura Twagirayezu (aka Big Cheeks) or Sally Cinnamon to talk through six tracks with a chosen artist – the songs that have shaped their sound, their life, the way they hear the world and how it impacted their craft, followed by a live performance into the evening.

Neil Ó Lochlainn’s Immram @ NCH (8:30pm)
Tradition Now. INeil Ó Lochlainn was commissioned to set Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill poems to music, which combines influences from Irish traditional music and the sean-nós singing tradition, jazz/improvised music, and contemporary classical music to create an innovative, post-genre style of contemporary Irish chamber music.

Natália Carreira, R V E, Jessie and The Veil & LadyFern @ Barebone
The Brazilian producer and songwriter explores heartbreak and representation through a blend of MPB, lo-fi, and pop-rock. Support bill: alternative folk-rock from Jessie & the Veil, the “bedroom indie with teeth” of RVE, and folk fusion by Ladyfern.

Nova Dream @ CURVEBALL
Dublin alternative rock trio Nova Dreamshowcasing tracks from their upcoming debut EP The Ideal Start, blending 90s alternative grit with dark post-punk textures.

SoFar Sounds @ Windmill Lane Studios
To be revealed live acts in an inconic Dublin recording studio. Previous events have featured Big Sleep and Lemoncello.

Harp Sessions @ The Sugar Club
Harper Tríona Marshall, singer Ályth McCormack & multi-instrumentalist Graham Henderson.

Gurriers REVOLVE Takeover ft. Black Nylon, Theatre & Gurriers DJ Set @ The Grand Social
Gurriers take over the Grand Social with Black Nylon and Theatre, closing with a DJ set.

All Folked Up #2 @ Chaplin’s
An unplugged acoustic night of music featuring performances from Isaac Jones and Jamie D’Arcy

Smithereens @ The Grand Social Ballroom
Cork jazz-rock boy band.

Red Line Jazz @ The Circular
A jazz band who play every Thursday with a collection of hard swinging and energetic Hard Bop and contemporary jazz.

Friday September 25th

Dead Calm (Sign Crushes Motorist) @ Whelan’s
Sign Crushes Motorist play Whelan’s as part of their Dead Calm project – part of a full Irish tour this week taking in Belfast, Galway and Derry too. A second date in Opium on Saturday.

Lemoncello @ Button Factory
Singer-songwriter Laura Quirke and cellist-arranger Claire Kinsella’s folk-soaked roots are in evidence on new album Perfect Place.

Ye Vagabonds with National Symphony Orchestra Ireland @ NCH
Tradition Now. Folk trio with a one-off concert with National Symphony Orchestra Ireland with arrangements by Bryce Dessner. Sold Out.

Jayne Pomplas @ DV8, James Street
Dublin-based fiddle player, vocalist and composer launches new album, support from A Clatter and Drone and a DJ set from DJackulate from midnight -2.30 AM, €5 pints all night. Jayne Pomplas will perform the album live with a full band, Patrick Stefan on guitar, Luke Coffey on banjo, Niall Hughes on bass and Diarmuid Goggins on drums with special guests Adrian Crowley, RVE, Jimmy Clarke, Eva Carroll, and Ben Strong.

The Psychs @ Sin É
The Psychs take the sonics of 90’s Industrial and 00’s Nu-Metal and combine them with contemporary rock. Support from Dogbless.

Murder Hole Beach @ Whelan’s Upstairs
Dublin alternative rock band. Support: The Bechamel Boys. ‘Fargo Wells’

David Murphy @ NCH
Tradition Now. Dublin pedal steel instrumentalist and the Ether Ensemble.

Mataio Austin Dean, Anna Rose Garvey @ Cleary’s
Mataio Austin Dean is best known as a member of experimental folk group, Shovel Dance Collective. Anna Rose Garvey is an Ireland-based musician exploring tensions between voice, perception, and technology.

Becca Colley, Second Cousin @ Marrowbone Books
The SHEER Ireland presents an intimate folk gig in a book shop.

Liana Flores @ The Workman’s Club
English-Brazilian folk singer-songwriter.

Party ANIMALS @ Abbey Theatre
Late Nights at the Abbey with R.Kitt and Gemma Dunleavy playing the afterparty of Dan Colley’s adaptation from the short stories of Blindboyboatclub.

Aoife Ní Bhriain and Cormac McCarthy @ NCH (9:30pm)
Tradition Now. Fiddle and piano duo.

Clubs and DJs

Leon Vynehall & Peach @ Fidelity Studio (10pm – 1am)
First of a 3-night residency with Vynehall. Special guests in the series Peach, Yu Su and Dr. Banana.

Marcellus Pittman @ Wigwam (11pm)
Detroit’s Marcellus Pittman returns after many years – Disco, House & Techno with soul at the core.

Bat’s Womb @ at Fibber Magees (11pm)
Goth Club Night. 80’s, post-punk, alt and darkwave.

Prozak’s Residency with Lorcan Kelly b2b DIEBYVEG, Benson @ Tengu (11pm)
The Garage Pride of Ireland.

Strictly Wax presents: Noizar @ Hang Dai Chinese (11pm)
House, techno and electro.

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

Saturday September 26th

Amano @ NCH Studio (6pm)
Tradition Now. Amano is a singer an artist with roots in Kerry and Kyūshū (Japan).

SIRENS feat. Lisa Hannigan, Angie McMahon, Loah, Anna Mieke @ National Concert Hall
SIRENS is a touring celebration of female voices features an evolving live ensemble including Amanda Bergman, Kate Stables, Angie McMahon, Loah, Anna Mieke, The Staves and more.

Max Cooper DJ set @ Button Factory (11pm)
Max Cooper plays Button Factory as part of the venue’s 30th anniversary series. One of the most consistently interesting live electronic artists working, marrying complex generative visuals with equally intricate techno and ambient production.

Dead Calm (Sign Crushes Motorist) @ Opium
Sign Crushes Motorist play Whelan’s as part of their Dead Calm project – part of a full Irish tour this week taking in Belfast, Galway and Derry too. A second date in Whelan’s on Friday.

Ian Prowse & Amsterdam, Harry Hudson Taylor @ The Sound House
English singer-songwriter, currently frontman of Amsterdam and previously of Pele.

Nasty By Nature – Skip Day @ Curveball
Music from seven Irish artists, plus drinks and tattoos, closing with a set from Catacombs’ own Omen. DJs Omen & Flacko. Acts from Breadzer, Going Green, OSA the Artist, Laylon, Flacko, Spellscasted & Finn Dynasty.

A.S. Fanning @ Whelan’s Upstairs
Dublin-born, Berlin-based alternative artist plays first Irish headline tour in nine years.

Shovel Dance Collective @ NCH Studio (9:30pm)
Tradition Now. Nine headed patchwork folk music.

Clubs and DJs

Beatyard presents Governess & Gang @ The Bernard Shaw (4pm – 10pm)
Daytime to evening dance with Reeta Cherie and friends  Aoife Ni Canna, Bentley, The Miseducation Of and Frankie Grimes.

Muggy & Pajo @ Fidelity Bar (8pm – 1am)
5hr vinyl set built on 30 years of friendship – Jazzy bits, Disco bits, House.

Indie Sleaze Disco Club! @ The Grand Social (11pm)
Indie Sleaze Disco Club returns with Sally Cinnamon and Nialler9 on the decks – four hours of the sweatiest, shoutiest tunes – indie rock anthems, blog house, electro, nu-rave and disco punk. 9 tracks you’re likely to hear on the dancefloor at Indie Sleaze Disco Club

Being Sarah’s Basement @ Sin E (11pm – 3am)
New weekly hardware electronic music club set in the cosy surroundings of Sin e’s basement on Ormond Quay. Each week is curated by Being Sarah and features the best producers Dublin performing. Guests lined up include Cablepercussion, Francesco Diruzzo, Gint, Analog, Unit2Zero and Hostipal. This week kicks off with featured producer Jay Riordan.

Ruf Dug + Kenji Ikeda @ Hang Dai Chinese (11pm)
Balearic, house, disco, and underground dance.

Kepler @ Index (10:30pm)
DJ and producer based in the North of England specialising in house and garage.

Sonja Moonear @ Tengu (11pm)
Minimal house.

Face 2 Face with ISR @ The Sound House (11pm)
Techno. A full local lineup taking over the Main Room & Terrace, with DJs going face-to-face across the night.

Frame Dublin Season 2 Opening Night @ The Grand Social Loft (11pm)
House/techno. All-Irish lineup including Belfast DJs Hannah and Sophie.

The Sunroom with Breaka @ Daylight (11pm)
Reasons To Dance present Breaka, Dåser b2b Lúnasa, brawni b2b Laurence Kapinga. UK bass, breaks, funky and techno.

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

Sunday September 27th

Sunday September 27th

Outstraight Presents: End of Summer Block Party @ Hen’s Teeth (2pm – 9pm)
Dublin rap collective host a daytime block party. DJ sets spanning from dub, disco, soul & funk, alongside a live hip-hop showcase from the Outstraight roster, including Beano, Don Kobz, Panda Drey, Conkan, No Venom, Lú Ke, The Wiizard & a number of special guests throughout the day.

Toshín @ The Cobblestone (3pm – 5:30pm)
The Dublin Jazz Co-op Presents a big voice vocalist.

Panamanian Folk Day @ Curveball (3pm)
The first edition of Panamanian Folk Day Dublin 2026, a celebration of Panamanian culture, folklore and traditions organised by the Panamanian Folk Dance Group.

Organ Freeman @ The Big Romance (6pm)
Live jazz every Sunday. Breffini (DJ) from 9pm.

Lifts & Sw1nHunter @ Anseo
Gem Beag experimental music series.

Curiosity Shop @ Whelan’s Upstairs
Scottish five piece alt-folk band.

Tom Robinson @ Whelan’s
An evening of tall tales and tunes from the songwriter with Adam Phillips who has sent a half century on the wilder fringes of the Music Industry. Expect encounters with Alexis Korner, Ray Davies, Elton John, Peter Gabriel, Todd Rundgren, Eddy Grant and Brian Eno. Support Sister Ghost.

Lucy Bedroque @ Opium Rooms
American hyperpop rage rapper, singer, and producer. ‘Speed Demon’

Holy Holy: the Final Tour – a Celebration of Bowie @ The Academy
David Bowie’s former producer / bassist Tony Visconti and drummer Woody Woodmansey and friends play Bowie. Two nights.

Big Fat Slut @ Pawn Shop (10pm)
Free entry all night 🪩 for t-girls, dykes, queers, gays, fats, femmes, t-boys, theys, sluts, trade & allies 🫦 21+

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

Monday September 28th

Musictown 2026: Celebrating Phil Lynott @ Various Venues, Dublin
Musictown dedicates its full 2026 programme to Phil Lynott for the 40th anniversary of his death. Young, Gifted, Gorm & Gaelach, featuring Emma Dabiri and Maureen Onwunali, on Lynott’s life as a mixed-race man in 1960s Dublin and his influence on Irish artists of colour since

Lilyisthatyou @ The Academy
Toronto electronic pop artist.

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

Jazz Jam @ Arthur’s
A dedicated weekly jazz jam. Every week features an opening set by a different band, made up of invited professional musicians from the Irish jazz scene followed by a jam session.

Holy Holy: the Final Tour – a Celebration of Bowie @ The Academy
David Bowie’s former producer / bassist Tony Visconti and drummer Woody Woodmansey and friends play Bowie. Two nights.

Dublin venues, clubs and bars – A guide

The Nialler9 club night is back on Saturday September 26th, with four hours of indie rock anthems, blog house, nu-rave and disco punk.

The Indie Sleaze Disco Club has been running since 2023, and in that time it has taken over The Workman’s Cellar, The Grand Social, Galway and All Together Now, plus a Christmas party and a New Year’s Eve edition along the way.

There was a stretch in the late 2000s when the guitar bands and the dance producers cross pollinated from their own lanes. You could hear The Rapture and Justice in the same set and nobody blinked. Blogs were the distribution system, the flash was on, and everything sounded a bit sweaty.

That era has had a full second life over the past few years, partly through nostalgia and partly because a new generation of artists never stopped mining it. Either way, it still works on a dancefloor, and is a welcome contrast to the doof doof house and techno that dominates the city’s dwindling dancefloors. So come party with us like it’s 2009.

Indie Sleaze Disco Club returns to The Grand Social on Saturday September 26th, running from 11pm until 3am.

Joining Nialler9 on the night is Dublin DJ legend Sally Cinnamon.

The remit is broad: indie rock, nu-rave, alternative, electro-pop, electronic, disco punk and indie classics, run through as anthems and deep cuts rather than a straight greatest hits set though sometimes these tracks feel like it to me.

10 tracks you’re likely to hear on the dancefloor at Indie Sleaze Disco Club

1. M83 – Midnight City
2. Soulwax – NY Lipps
3. La Roux – Bulletproof
4. The Strokes – Hard To Explain
5. Vampire Weekend – A-Punk
6. Mr Oizo – Flat Beat
7. CSS – Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above
8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps
9. Jape – Floating (D.I.M. Remix)
10. Justice vs. Simian – We Are Your Friends

Expect a night built around records like these.

Indie and rock

• The Strokes
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Franz Ferdinand
• Bloc Party
• Interpol
• Arctic Monkeys
• The Libertines
• Foals
• Two Door Cinema Club
• The Rapture
• TV On The Radio
• The Hives
• Phoenix

Electro, blog house and dance

• LCD Soundsystem
• Justice
• Soulwax
• MGMT
• Hot Chip
• Daft Punk
• CSS
• Crystal Castles
• Simian Mobile Disco
• The Chemical Brothers
• Boys Noize
• Bag Raiders
• Friendly Fires
• Hercules & Love Affair
• Chromeo
• Cut Copy
• Mr Oizo
• MSTRKRFT
• Tiga
• Charli XCX
• Uffie
• DJ Mehdi
• Busy P
• Tiga
• Fake Blood
• Kavinsky

Nu-rave, indie dance

• Klaxons
• New Young Pony Club
• Yelle
• Feist
• Santigold
• M.I.A.
• Gossip
• Digitalism
• Metronomy
• Grimes
• Ratatat
• Breakbot

From the blogosphere bangers you obsessed over in your bedroom to the tracks still carrying the sleaze torch now.

There is a YouTube playlist if you want a sense of the shape of it.

If you want the longer argument about why this era keeps coming back around, we got into it on a Nialler9 Podcast episode with Louise McSharry.

Indie Sleaze Disco Club with Sally Cinnamon
The Grand Social, 35 Liffey Street Lower, Dublin 1
Saturday September 26th, 11pm to 3am
Tickets are on sale now plus fees

The fallout from the Ed Sheeran Loop tour continued on Saturday night when Ed Sheeran took to the stage in Philadelphia.

After all his support acts and his Irish backing band Beoga dropped out of the tour in solidarity with Macklemore’s removal from the tour, at the insistence of Zionist billionaire Robert Kraft, Ed Sheeran opened the show by addressing the events of the recent week.

Unfortunately, Sheeran couldn’t meet the moment. Macklemore had shown him the way to communicate and frame a statement without making it about himself last week. But Ed did none of that.

Macklemore said he and Ed are not victims in his opening remarks on Instagram after being removed from the tour, but Sheeran chose to centre his own thoughts and feelings and make vague statements about “making mistakes” and being sorry without specifying what mistake he had made or what he was sorry for.

Sheeran wishes he didn’t have to talk about this

In fact, the entire address was a missed opportunity that seemed to make things worse – couched in Ed Sheeran’s clear discomfort with wanting to address any of this, amplified by his use of a teleprompter. Unfortunately for him, he had to address it because he was brought into the conversation by Robert Kraft.

By contrast, Kraft’s successful silencing of Macklemore’s free speech has resulted in Gorillaz, Jack Antonoff and Phoebe Bridgers all saying “Free Palestine” at shows in response in recent days.

Sheeran says he didn’t want to be an activist musician, and acknowledges that he was in a situation because his billionaire friend Robert Kraft, (whose wedding it transpired, Ed played at in 2022) in trying to suppress the free speech of Macklemore dragged him into it. Ed then didn’t ultimately show support for his support act, and sided with the powerful billionaire – prompting backlash.

Ed centres himself

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BuzzFeed UK (@buzzfeeduk)

Introducing the band who replaced Beoga on stage, Ed placed everything through the prism of his own experience and the criticism of his own actions lauding these other musicians including Alicia Enstrom who he described in brave terms for joining him, while refusing to even acknowledge the difficult and brave decisions of Aaron Rowe, Beoga, Finneas and Lukas Graham to cancel their involvement in Ed’s lucrative stadium tour.

“They said yes to being on stage with the knowledge that the world thought I was a certain type of person,” Sheeran said. “They said yes with the knowledge that the world may hate them too for standing onstage with me.”

In his opening remarks, Sheeran said he was deeply concerned about censorship of artists on stages around the world but when he was faced with this in his own professional life, he abandoned his friend and refused to meet the issue head on.

“But I am deeply worried about the idea of venues pre-approving content of performers. This happens in so many places I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.”

The disappointment that many are feeling around Sheeran’s actions in the past week is because he does have the power to change that or at least challenge it, but he didn’t. So you can say all you like how you are worried but as the old adage goes – actions speak louder than words.

Ed doesn’t meet the humanity

Sheeran while saying he doesn’t want to be an activist, or political commentator then acknowledges what is happening in Palestine is a humanitarian issue, but again, refuses to meet that humanity.

When it came to addressing the genocide in Palestine by Israel, Ed put his head back in the sand where 2023’s level of discourse has been buried and again, refused to call what’s happening a genocide despite the evidence.

Spouting both-sides arguments, while dehumanising the Palestinian suffering with impersonal clinical words like “catastrophic”, “unjustifiable” and “disproportionate,” Sheeran puts equal weight on the tragedy of October 7th, By starting with it Sheeran ignores the oppression of the Palestinian people that dates back to 1948.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, approximately 134,000 Palestinians have been killed since the 1948 Nakba, an estimated 74,000 since October 7th.

As I said last week, it isn’t controversial to say there is a genocide happening and It’s widely understood, it’s not a conflict. Israel and the US reject that it’s a genocide but the weight of international human rights bodies says otherwise – the UN Commission says Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, The International Criminal Court (ICC) have issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity and Amnesty International’s investigation concluded Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The understanding of what’s happening in Gaza has evolved but Ed’s understanding hasn’t

Look around the comments sections in the last few days and you’ll notice how many more people have educated themselves about the history of Israel and Palestine in the last three years. There is a stark and burgeoning understanding that what is happening in Gaza is not “the most complex political issue on the planet,” as Ed puts it. Those “it’s complicated” arguments worked on people in the aftermath of October 7th, but not anymore. People have read and learned but Ed Sheeran has not.

Calling what’s happening in the West Bank a “systemic injustice” attributes abstract blame without naming who is responsible. The Israeli settlers have for many years now, been purposefully and violently robbing Palestinians of their land and homes without consequence.

During his speech, Sheeran acknowledges he does not know enough, and that he is working with “people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times”, but in this current moment, he has completely missed the mark.

“Get in there and make it about you”

Sheeran was visibly emotional and teary-eyed throughout his opening remarks but not for reasons of free speech or people who are being killed, but because of his own experiences of the last week.

Sheeran removed the B-stage from the tour production on Saturday saying he was afraid of what would happen. “I didn’t know if I would have things thrown at me I didn’t know if people would be angry at me.”

“In these situations you really find out who your friends are”

It was a familiar pattern in his words. He made it about his feelings while speaking of unity, a value he absconded from when it came to the people who were on stage with him.

“In these situations you really find out who your friends are,” said Sheeran. Yes, the support acts certainly did when you didn’t show any solidarity with their predicament but at least you had 50,000 people to cheer you up as you say.

“I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me,” he said. Because in Sheeran’s mind that’s what it’s about – how people view him because of this – not the issues at hand.

Sorry, not sorry

Sheeran then goes on to apologise for having to make the opening remarks at all – won’t someone think of the children? God forbid a child in the audience has a conversation that a parent might find difficult or necessary to navigate about how children are being killed in another part of the world. Miss Rachel would never right?.

Ultimately, Ed’s statements don’t explain or justify his worrying actions of not supporting his friend, his touring band and his support acts – they stood up when he didn’t.

His statements don’t justify the decisions he made regarding the pressure on free speech – other than saying isn’t it terrible? Sheeran went on to play the show and enlisted replacements for his backing band (no support band replacement played on Saturday) and it appears he intends to play the Kraft-owned Gillette stadium next weekend where his two concerts are due to take place.

It just highlights how all of this is such an inconvenient bother to Sheeran – he wishes he didn’t have to address how the world works and he could go back to his privileged position of singing ‘Shape Of You’ to people who won’t question his words or actions.

Ed doesn’t want to feel uncomfortable anymore.

Ed Sheeran’s opening remarks – Philadelphia concert – Saturday September 19th.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos)

“This is not usually how I open a show, but before I play some songs tonight I hope it’s OK if I say a few words about this last week. I’m used to my music being criticised, and I’m always happy to take that because I’m lucky a lot of you like my stuff, and to be honest, I’m surprised. I’m not surprised that other people don’t. It’s normal.”

“But this week the criticism was about something much more important. And I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I’m so sorry.

“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.

“My concerts have always been a safe space for everyone and that matters hugely to me. Honoring my commitment to my fans is also completely central to who I am, and that is why I’m here tonight on my own and continuing my current tour.

“But I am deeply worried about the idea of venues pre-approving content of performers. This happens in so many places I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.

“Now, I want to address the question of where I stand in the situation in Israel and Palestine and whether my doing this concert here tonight implies where I stand. I’ve tried in my career not be a political commentator of any kind because I want my music and shows to be about unity not division, about humanity not politics.

“But this is a humanitarian issue and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore. What happened in Israel at the [Nova] Music Festival  on Oct. 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.

“My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives and the systemic injustice we’re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.

“I am already speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times, and listening and learning because I do not know enough.

“I honestly am so grateful that you’re here tonight with me.

“This concert is still a place where everyone is welcome, and everyone here can stand beside people who have opposing views, and everyone here can stand by people that they don’t agree with on everything, but they can all agree I’m singing these songs.

“And these songs are about love, hope and unity.”

At the end of the show, Ed also made a statement apologising for having to make a statement:

“Last week I saw people I’ve known for years, friends abandoned me and today I saw 50.000 people who haven’t abandoned me“

— Ed during his final speech last night in Philadelphia

Cr: bridgetgoes on TikTok pic.twitter.com/67UATXAvbk

— Ed Sheeran Access (@AccessEdSheeran) September 21, 2026

“The last week of my life has been one of the worst weeks of my life. Today has been one of the weirdest days of my life. Tonight, has been honestly the best show of my life, the best show.

“I really didn’t know whether this tour would be carrying on, whether I’d be getting on stage again whether I was even going to be an artist at all.

“In these situations you really find out who your friends are. It’s been a weird week. It happened very quickly. The whole time, I had so many people telling me to cancel this tour and so many people I’ve known for years and years and years they’re kind of backing away.

“In the back of my mind, I saw the ticket sales for this gig and I didn’t see cancellations, I saw people buying tickets for this gig. Everyone’s telling me to cancel and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me.” I look at the end of the week and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me. People will say what they want, but I am doing this for you. I love you. I love this.

“I love the unity, I love the feeling that this concert brings. I love bringing people together of all races, all religions, all political ideas.

“A lot of people here have differing opinions, and we’ve had a great night. And you are standing next to people and dancing with people who you may disagree with. And you probably understand them better by being, you know, one and love. I have had so many opinions on this. But the root of it is love. And if this tour ends, love doesn’t win. Love doesn’t win. You know? I can’t let you guys down. That’s why I’m here tonight, on my own, for you guys.

“I know how much effort it takes for you guys to get here. It’s not just a ticket that you buy. It’s hotels, it’s flights, it’s buses, it’s babysitters, it’s restaurants that you’ve booked in town before you’ve come here, it’s people staying with you that you’re going to the gig with, it’s having your grandmother come to stay. It’s a hell of a lot of effort. There’s a hell of a lot of stories here, a hell of a lot of families, a hell of a lot of love. And I can’t just bury my head and go, ‘Oh, that doesn’t matter anymore.’

“This wasn’t the easy option tonight. I didn’t know what was going to happen; I heard all sorts of things were going to happen. I didn’t know whether I’d be safe, or you’d be safe, or things would be thrown at me, or people would boo. And I’ve walked out, and I’ve felt so much love from you guys, and I’m so grateful.

“The world is a scary place right now. America is a scary place right now. This gives hope. This gives hope. Thank you so much, Philadelphia. I hope you all have had fun.

“The one thing that I would like to apologise for is the first bit of the show where it wasn’t about music and I had to talk. I understand that people have children here and I understand that families did not buy a ticket to hear that first bit of the show. But that was something I felt like I needed to say. I felt that there were a lot of questions that I needed to answer. So to all the parents who brought their kids here tonight, thank you so much for bringing them and I do apologise for the first bit of the show.

“My shows are about this. They’re about unity, they’re about love, they’re about family. They’re about people coming together that don’t know each other that have different beliefs. You’re jumping around like maniacs with each other and having fun. And I will never stop doing this. I love doing this so much.”

The Dublin quartet play Vicar Street on Saturday February 27th 2027, celebrating the release of their new album Pugnello, out this Friday

Gilla Band play Vicar Street, Dublin on Saturday February 27th 2027, presented by Singular Artists, celebrating the release of new album Pugnello, out this Friday.

Gilla Band play Vicar Street, Dublin on Saturday February 27th 2027, presented by Singular Artists, extending their previously announced EU/UK tour with a Dublin date that wasn’t part of the original run.

Gilla Band will be joined by special guests SILVERWINGKILLER on the night.

Pugnello has arrived across three singles so far.

On ‘Placeholder’, Kiely explored his own comfort distractions and childhood nostalgia as an escape from adult life, referencing Davina McCall’s Big Brother eviction pauses, Harold Lloyd’s clock-dangling stunt, and a formative Power Rangers memory from Christian summer camp: “In this track I try to analyse my mental quirks by exploring my comfort distractions. Reverting back to childhood nostalgia, as an escape. The memories seeping into my day-to-day adult life.”

Most recently, third single ‘Alogia’ took its title from the clinical term for poverty of speech associated with certain mental health conditions. Kiely was diagnosed with schizophrenia while writing the album’s lyrics, and his words on the track are blunt and darkly funny: “I thought I could just walk off the old mental illness but alas!” He’s described Pugnello as an attempt to document everything that’s happened in his life since 2022’s Most Normal, taking in childhood distractions bleeding into adult routine, grief, obscure footballers, Bible references, and general silliness.

For over ten years, the Dublin quartet, vocalist Dara Kiely, guitarist Alan Duggan Borges, bassist Daniel Fox and drummer Adam Faulkner, have spent over a decade redefining what guitar music can sound like in the 21st century – a truly original form of noise-rock all their own.

After a strong set at All Together Now this year, the band are finally back, and the album is there most abrasive and sonically boundary-pushing yet.

Tickets are €35 plus fees, on sale Thursday September 24th at 10am via singularartists.ie and Ticketmaster.ie.

ESNS returns to Groningen from January 13th to 16th, with Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Bleech 9:3 among the first names confirmed, plus a new delegates-only Wednesday programme.

Eurosonic Noorderslag has announced its first wave of artists for the 2027 edition, running Wednesday January 13th to Saturday January 16th in Groningen, the Netherlands. The selection follows a record-breaking response to this year’s application process, with almost 6,000 artists submitting before the September 1st deadline.

The first 42 acts were nominated by 28 EBU member radio stations, representing 31 European countries in total. Confirmed names include Aaron Rowe (IE), Bleech 9:3 (IE), Gildaa (FR), Gwenifer Raymond (UK-WAL), HVNDS (RO), Ida The Young (CZ), Isabel van Gelder (NL), Little Grandad (UK-ENG), Mischa and The Bear (IE), MICHA (NL), Olga Myko (SE), Osayuki (BE), panicbaby (DE), Pigeon (UK-ENG) and TeddyBear (BE), among others still to be revealed.

The first 42 acts were nominated by 28 EBU member radio stations, representing 31 European countries in total.

Eurosonic 2027 first wave lineup:

• Aaron Rowe (IE)
• ABOP (HR)
• Alice Mae (BE)
• Alonette (EE)
• Bleech 9:3 (IE)
• Brokenchord (LI)
• Cerys Hafana (UK-WAL)
• Curiosity Shop (UK-SCO)
• Eaves Wilder (UK-ENG)
• Erika Vikman (FI)
• Fresh Mula (IT)
• gala dragot (BE)
• Gildaa (FR)
• Gwenifer Raymond (UK-WAL)
• Hana Fatur (SI)
• HVNDS (RO)
• Ida The Young (CZ)
• Isabel van Gelder (NL)
• Jambal & Kenai Shogun (LU)
• Jersey (FR)
• Kelly Isaiah (ES)
• Lene 3000 (NO)
• Lisa Sereno (PT)
• Little Grandad (UK-ENG)
• Lone Assembly (CH)
• Malummí (CH)
• Marlon Magnée (FR)
• Marta (LT)
• MICHA (NL)
• mischa and the bear (IE)
• Mono and the Stereos (BG)
• NENDA (AT)
• Olga Myko (SE)
• Osayuki (BE)
• OSWALD (DE)
• panicbaby (DE)
• Pigeon (UK-ENG)
• SJU (SK)
• Spacestation (IS)
• TeddyBear (BE)
• uwase (BE)
• VASSIŁINA (GR)

Oskar Stajn, Head of Music at ESNS, said this first wave reflects both the record number of applications and the diversity of Europe’s current music scene.

“From a record number of applications to an incredibly diverse and high-quality selection, this first wave is a great reflection of Europe’s music scene. We are delighted to make this selection together with 28 EBU radio stations from across Europe and excited to bring these artists to ESNS 2027” .

Oskar Stajn, Head of Music at ESNS

New for 2027, ESNS is introducing a delegates-only programme on the Wednesday at De Oosterpoort, before opening up to the wider festival crowd across the city’s venues for the rest of the weekend. Managing Director Anna van Nunen said the new Wednesday programme gives music professionals and fans a way to discover new music and the city of Groningen at the same time, with further details on that day’s programme still to come.

The full first-wave lineup is available on ESNS’s website.

Mike Hadreas and choreographer Kate Wallich bring their new music and dance collaboration to the National Concert Hall on March 27th 2027.

Perfume Genius has shared new song ‘Natural High’, taken from The Lesson, a new evening-length music and dance work made with choreographer Kate Wallich, commissioned by Seattle Theatre Group that will show at the National Concert Hall, Dublin on Saturday March 27th 2027.

‘Natural High’ is Mike Hadreas’ first new music since his Grammy-nominated seventh album Glory, co-produced with Pascal Stevenson of Fashion Club. The six-minute track builds from moody ’80s keyboard notes through sustained organs into a full-on twinkling ravey outro.

The Lesson draws on The Piano Teacher, Elfriede Jelinek’s novel later adapted into Michael Haneke’s film, a touchstone Hadreas has cited before. The work moves through repression, longing, authority and submission, exploring what happens when desire has nowhere to go and what’s being rehearsed when we practice “good behaviour.” It’s a follow-up of sorts to Hadreas and Wallich’s acclaimed 2019 collaboration The Sun Still Burns Here, which later fed into Perfume Genius album Ugly Season.

“I’ve always thought of my albums as soundtracks to films that do not exist,” Hadreas says. “There is a freedom to inhabiting something imagined and purely sonic… That doesn’t change when creating a performance with Kate, all the mystery and thrill of going somewhere lawless and dreamlike stays intact, but I’m not alone in building the world and it literally fleshes out in real time.”

Wallich added: “Mike and I learned during the last piece that we are interested in the same kinds of tensions and contradictions in the work we make. When we started searching for a framework for this new piece, we kept coming back to The Piano Teacher… it feels right to come back into a room together, ask new questions and create stakes together again.”

The Lesson is created and performed by Hadreas, Wallich, longtime collaborator Alan Wyffels and Tate Justus, with scenography by Amiya Brown. It premieres at REDCAT in Los Angeles from February 18th, following a work-in-progress showing at MASS MoCA on February 6th.

Perfume Genius also brings his ‘Duo Tour’ to Union Chapel, London for two shows on October 27th and 28th (sold out), featuring Hadreas and Wyffels performing songs from across the catalogue.

The Lesson: World premiere and 2027 tour dates:

• February 6th – MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA (work-in-progress showing)
• February 18th-20th & 25th-27th – REDCAT, Los Angeles, CA (world premiere)
• March 4th-6th – Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York, NY
• March 17th-18th – Philharmonie de Paris, Paris, France
• March 21st – Barbican Centre, London, UK
• March 24th – Birds of Paradise Festival, Utrecht, Netherlands
• March 27th – National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland
• April 1st – Liquid Music/Northrop, Minneapolis, MN
• April 9th – The 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle, WA

The Dublin-based Irish-Japanese trio’s latest single arrives ahead of debut album KiiKO Forever, out October 9th.

KiiKO are back with ‘Dance World’, a track that barely sits still for its whole runtime, jumping between electronic pop, live instrumentation and the kind of left-turn songwriting the Dublin trio have made their calling card.

Made up of Emmy Shigeta, John McDowell and Dave Rogers, the band pull from both Irish and Japanese music worlds, and ‘Dance World’ is arguably the clearest example yet of how naturally those influences sit together in their hands.

The song follows a night out that never quite has a destination, that stretch of time once plans dissolve and the rest of the world starts to feel far away. Musically it plays out the same way: hushed, echoing stretches give way suddenly to loud, distorted rushes, capturing that specific feeling of losing yourself in a crowd and forgetting there’s anything beyond the room you’re in. It never really settles into one groove, veering constantly between held-back and let-loose.

Reference points like Cornelius, Towa Tei and Kero Kero Bonito are easy to hear in the DNA here, but KiiKO’s own mix, drums and bass sitting alongside strings, glockenspiel and synths, gives the song its own unique identity.

Melodies keep slipping in and out of the arrangement, instruments surface and vanish again, and the whole thing resists sitting still long enough to be pinned down, which is very much the point. It’s built for dancing, but there’s enough going on underneath to reward paying closer attention too.

‘Dance World’ arrives ahead of KiiKO’s debut album, KiiKO Forever, out Friday October 9th, with more music and details still to come.

Previous single ‘July’:

Kate Stables plays three shows in Ireland next year.

This Is The Kit, the project of Kate Stables, has announced a headline tour stopping at Button Factory, Dublin on Friday September 24th 2027, Róisín Dubh, Galway on Saturday September 25th 2027 and Live at St. Luke’s, Cork on Sunday September 26th 2027,

Stables, a Winchester-born, Paris-based songwriter, banjo player and pinhole camera enthusiast, continues to make records of striking honesty and warmth, and continues to grow with each one, which might be the only sensible way to move through time at all.

Live, she’s joined by supporting players cast of Rozi Plain (bass), Jamie Whitby-Coles (drums) and Neil Smith (guitar), a band that places companionship at the centre of everything they do.

Stables is currently in Ireland on tour with Sirens, touring celebration of female voices features an evolving live ensemble including Amanda Bergman, Kate Stables, Angie McMahon, Loah, Anna Mieke, The Staves and more.

Tickets go on sale Friday September 25th at 10am via singularartists.ie for Cork and Dublin and Ticketmaster.ie. Galway tickets from the venue.

Released in May, the debut album from composer, multimedia artist and producer Mac Giolla Ghunna (Paul Gilgunn) is a serotin-bursting collection of liminal otherworldly electronic music.

Drawing on ambient sounds, viscerally startling samples, no wave discordance, IDM percussive breaks, avant composition and voices from traditional Irish folk, MAC GIOLLA GHUNNA is an album that has a genuine experimental edge in its unconventional sonic moments.

It was made over a few years between Dublin and the Ox Mountains in the West of Ireland.

On no track is this teeming-of-life energy more apparent than ‘Gwan’ the third song from the album, which today gets a video first-watch on Nialler9.

The video is a collaboration with dancer Corey Scott-Gilbert (Modeselektor, Jlin) and the cinematographer Nestor Romero-Clemente that “explores the Other/World in all its wonder, strangeness, and terror. “

The artist MAC GIOLLA GHUNNA says:

GWAN is a radical beat-driven opus that foregrounds black and Irish working-class voices in electronic rí-rá agus ruaile buaile. This otherworldly video piece features original work from outstanding fashion designers Sadak and Karen Hegarty as well. 

All sales from digital downloads of the song on Bandcamp go to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

Video Credits:

Choreography and Performance: COREY SCOTT-GILBERT /// @coreygilbertscott
Music: MAC GIOLLA GHUNNA /// @mac_giolla_ghunna
Cinematography & Editing: NÉSTOR ROMERO CLEMENTE /// @nestor.tillas
Costume: SADAK /// @_sadak_
Mantle: SPERRIN DESIGN /// @sperrindesign
Production Assistance: ROISÍN GERAGHTY /// @littlerosefilms.ie
Post: LIGHTJAR /// @lightjar.ie

Filmed on location in Maigh Eo in July 2026
All proceeds from sales of digital downloads go to Medical Aid for Palestinians ///@medicalaidpal

An tAon Fhuil Dhearg /// (((One Red Blood)))

Rosalía is the guest artist on a Fontaines D.C. album, appearing on ‘Where Is Gone?’ from Dopamine Chamber, which is out on Friday October 16th.

Fontaines D.C. have a big name on their fifth album.

The Dublin band have revealed the full tracklist for Dopamine Chamber, and it includes a collaboration with Rosalía on ‘Where Is Gone?’, track eight of eleven.

It’s the first time Grian Chatten, Carlos O’Connell, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan and Tom Coll have brought a guest artist onto one of their records.

The album is produced by James Ford, who also worked on 2024’s Romance, and was recorded between London, the English countryside and Palermo. In Sicily, Chatten sang his vocals in a makeshift booth built out of mattresses and cushions.

The band are pitching it as their furthest move yet from the guitar sound of their early records, with the lyrics looking at how pleasure changes shape when the world feels like it’s on the brink.

“The album itself is a dopamine chamber. You step inside and we test these different mind- or mood-altering pieces of music on you.”

Grian Chatten

Lead single ‘Marianne’ is out now, and ‘Six Shot Morning’ opens the record.

Dopamine Chamber is out on XL Recordings on LP, deluxe LP, CD, cassette and digital. Pre-order it here.

Next summer, the band play their biggest shows yet, including two nights at Slane Castle on Saturday June 26th and Sunday June 27th 2027.

Dopamine Chamber tracklist

1. Six Shot Morning
2. Marianne
3. Mimesis
4. Happy For You
5. Demolition
6. Tongue
7. One Man
8. Where Is Gone? (with Rosalía)
9. You Miss Me
10. Japan
11. Intimate