Delorentos @ Cyprus Avenue (7.30pm, €15) Dublin indie lads give big single S.E.C.R.E.T. an entire national tour on its tenth birthday, including upstairs on Caroline Street.
Boa Morte + Laurie Shaw @ PLUGD/The Roundy (9pm, €10) A holiday set from ambient-indie veterans Boa Morte, after a 2019 that saw them release album #3, ‘Before There Was Air’, and singer-songwriter Laurie Shaw, after a 2019 that saw him release multiple albums.
Jimmy Crowley @ Nano Nagle Place (7pm, €10) The city’s great folk song collector presents ‘Songs from a Beautiful City’ in the Douglas Street convention centre’s Goldie Chapel venue.
Maria Somerville @ PLUGD/The Roundy (8.30pm, €10) Connemara post-folk songwriter (pictured) returns to PLUGD, with Sunshine Cult’s Mark Waldron-Hyden and Mantua in support, and DJ Cáit Fa ’til close.
Hope is Noise, Horse & God Alone @ The Kino (9.30pm, €15) It’s a triple bill of homegrown heft: Leeside post-hardcore godfathers Hope is Noise, death-punk four-piece Horse, and post-metallers God Alone. DJ set til late from the Ping Pong folks.
The Kates @ The Brú (11.30pm, free) A supergroup of West Cork women come together to celebrate their influences and woman-penned tunes: Liz Clark (gtr), Eve Clague (elec gtr), Mide Houlihan (drums), Roisin Kilgannon (keys) and Paula K O’Brien (bass).
SATURDAY DECEMBER 21ST
Vinyl Below @ Dali (8pm, €tbc) It’s the annual Xmas party for Dali’s resident house/techno evening, with the usual suspects keeping it going to the wee hours.
mynameisj0hn @ PLUGD/The Roundy (8pm, €8) County Vinyl are on the lash for the evening, and Rusangano beatman John is the man of the hour for their holiday jollies.
Faddak @ Edison (9pm, free) House collective Faddak round up their debut year with a gig on Washington Street, with Steven Forde shoring up the lineup.
Yenkee & Actualacid @ The Kino (9pm, €10)
Graham Cooney & company headline at the former arthouse on Washington Street, plus HAUSU project Actualacid present a live set.
Fleece @ The Kino (11.30pm, €5) The proceedings continue at the Kino, as the Fleece collective mark four years of house in Cork city.
Fragments @ Edison (8pm, free) NATMAC & REFLUX on deck duties at the Washington Street cocktail establishment, hosted by the Underground Ovation folks.
Backstory with Dónal Dineen @ The Kino (8pm, €15) A six-hour, globetrotting, storytelling DJ set from the man that brought a generation their alternative tunes via (This Ain’t) No Disco and a legendary radio show.
EndUp @ The Brú (2pm, free) What’s that? You want twelve c0ntinuous hours of house? To McCurtain Street with you. Jon Barry mans the decks alongside the residents.
Bongo Steve @ Cyprus Avenue (10pm, €10) After years of live-percussion DJ sets and the like, local drummer Bongo Steve unveils his debut tranche of original material, including live marimba and loop-station antics.
Paradox @ Crane Lane Theatre (11.30pm, free) Cork grunge loyalists play a special set of the genre standards for Stephens’ Night at the Crane, following their own recent singles releases.
The Tan Jackets & Friends @ The Kino (8pm, €10) Cork psych-rock worshippers kick out the jams that influenced them, with a heap of local guests getting involved. All proceeds to Cork Penny Dinners.
The Stunning @ Cyprus Avenue (7pm, SOLD OUT) ‘Paradise in the Picturehouse’ Galwegians continue fine-honing the eighties and nineties classics that made them part of daily life for a generation of Irish people.
CXNT @ PLUGD/The Roundy (9pm, €5) Hard-drum exponents and Flood collective members Syn and Doubt are joined for their second instalment this month by collaborator Capricorn.
R.Kitt & Dim the Lights @ The Kino (9pm, €10) Boiler Room-featured DJ and producer presents his full live show at the Kino. Dim the Lights selectors on hand for complementary selections.
TABOO @ Dali (10pm, €tbc)
Stevie, Chedder and Grillz make with the last turn-up of 2019, a night packed with Afrocentric beats and hip-hop smashes.
Fish Go Deep @ Cyprus Avenue (11pm, €10)
Greg and Shane’s first of two Xmas-season sessions takes place upstairs on Caroline Street, just off the duo’s 31st anniversary night (which makes their act the same age as your writer).
SUNDAY DECEMBER 29TH
And So I Watch You From Afar @ Cyprus Avenue (7.30pm, €17.50) North Shore post-rock/metal quartet play their 2009 self-titled debut from start to finish for its tenth anniversary. A limited 4LP box-set of the album, plus a live recording from last year, will also be on sale.
Brian Deady @ The Kino (8pm, €26.50)
Homegrown soul success story Deady plays an intimate session at the Washington Street venue to cap off a busy year.
Jerry Fish @ The Kino (8pm, €25)
A night for musical fish in Cork, it seems: Jerry Fish presents his theatrical ‘Songs and Tall Tales’ show to the Kino.
Bauld Lang Syne @ The Kino (7pm, €15) A big, bold session of alternative music from Cork City for the NYE proceedings at the Kino: Lowlek, Laurie Shaw, Arthur Itis and Elaine Malone are live, while Cathal & Elaine of The Altered Hours co-person the decks.
The Service @ Crane Lane Theatre (8pm, free) Cork ska veterans help the Crane Lane Theatre ring in the New Year with a helping of genre classics, alongside doses of reggae and two-tone.
TPM & The Mary Wallopers @ Connolly’s of Leap (8pm, €30) The brothers Hendy bring both their projects, hip-hop and trad alike, to a special session at Connolly’s, that also sees marauding Mams cleaning the gaff up and generally cramping your style around the venue, courtesy of the MyHouse DJs.
Evolution DnB @ An Spailpín Fánach (9pm, €tbc) The only game in town if its drum ‘n’ bass you’re after: Aussie selector/producer Tamen headlines the Evolution collective’s NYE proceedings.
New Jackson @ Dali (9pm, €12) David Kitt shores up the Carey’s Lane venue’s NYE celebrations with his first live set of electronica under the New Jackson name there, following previous deejaying appearances.
