The Guide: The events to see, the shows to book, and the ones to catch before they end

Event of the week

Lucinda Williams

Wednesday, January 25th, Vicar Street, Dublin; 6.30pm; €56; ticketmaster.ie

Performing in Dublin one day before her 70th birthday, surely no one needs to be informed at this point that Lucinda Williams is one of the most distinguished songwriters of her generation. From early albums (1988′s self-titled, her third, is regarded as a roots/rock landmark) to her most recent (2020′s Good Souls Better Angels – “her voice, her phrasing, her timing are her own… This is a singer in tune with her mission…” noted this paper’s album review), Williams has righteously secured her place. You’re going to sing Happy Birthday to her, right?

Gigs

Hi, How Are You Day!

Sunday, January 22nd, Whelan’s, Dublin; 8pm; €28; whelanslive.com

On the basis of being asked “how are you?” now and again, and how such a question can connect with mental health and wellbeing, a group of Irish musicians/songwriters/singers (corralled by the supreme dream team of Jerry Fish and MayKay) are gathered here to celebrate the music and legacy of US songwriter Daniel Johnston. We have been informed that “very special guests” will feature on the night, so you know what to do. Proceeds from the show go to the Irish Youth Foundation and the Hi, How Are You Project.

Overhead, the Albatross

Thursday, January 26th, Roisín Dubh, Galway; 8pm; €21/€19; roisindubh.net;

Friday, January 27th, Cyprus Avenue, Cork; 7pm; €21.40; cyprusavenue.ie;

Saturday, January 28th, Dolan’s Warehouse, Limerick; 9pm; €20; dolans.ie

It has been some time since Dublin’s (mostly) instrumental band Overhead, the Albatross released new music, but a few months ago a lengthy track, L’Appel Du Vide (Call of the Void) arrived, heralding in a cautious thought that – maybe, just maybe – more new music would be on the way in 2023. If that is going to happen, it certainly wouldn’t be for want of waiting – the band’s most recent album is 2016′s Learning to Growl, which is most definitely (oh, go on, then, let’s steal our own quotes) “an intuitive blend of psych-influenced rock and numerous staggering sonic declarations”. Two words: dive in.

Festival

TradFest Temple Bar

Wednesday, January 25th, to Sunday, January 29th; various venues/ticket prices; tradfesttemplebar.com

Back with a bang of the bodhrán after two years in the diddle-eye doldrums, TradFest Temple Bar is (as they say in non-urban areas) a mighty display of established and emerging music talent. This year, the organisers go all out with more than 50 shows, gigs and jigs, featuring major international names (including Judy Collins, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kate Rusby, Ralph McTell, Eddie Reader Martin and Eliza Carthy), the cream of Irish musicians/performers (including Kila, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Cara Dillon, Matt Molloy, Clare Sands, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Frankie Gavin and Louise Mulcahy), and spoken word (Stephen Rea, Sasha Terfous, Felis Speaks and Natalya O’Flaherty).

Charlene McKenna: ‘Within three weeks, I turned 40, had my first baby and lost my father’

Restaurateur Gráinne O’Keefe: I cut out sugar from my diet and here’s how it went

Ireland’s new dating scene: Finding love the old-fashioned way

Comedy

Deirdre O’Kane

Saturday, January 21st, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin; 7pm; €27 (sold out); ticketmaster.ie

Funny? Pitch-perfect delivery? Knows how to balance shrewd observation with a killer punchline? It’s a hat-trick of affirmatives. Deirdre O’Kane may be one of Ireland’s most recognisable comedians through her presence on various television shows, but it is in a live setting that she seems to enjoy herself (and be herself?) the most. O’Kane’s new show, Demented (which she road-tested around Ireland’s smaller venues late last year) promises “a box-fresh hour of side-splitting laughs”. Don’t doubt it for a second.

Al Porter is back in the comedy scene after five years

Al Porter: A Work in Progress

Saturday, January 21st, Roisín Dubh, Galway; 8pm; €11 (sold out); roisindubh.net

“Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. Mine starts now.” So writes, contritely, Al Porter on his website (alporter.ie), and if you know why this once very successful Irish comedian retreated from public view in late 2017, then you won’t need any further details (if you don’t, visit his website). Suffice to say that “the steamroller crowd-pleasing talent” (The Guardian) is playing soft-return gigs after five years of silence. The idea is to try out new material – about which we know nothing, although we’d bet that cancel culture and social media trolling might just get a look-in.

Podcast

The Guilty Feminist

Tuesday, January 24th, Sugar Club, Dublin; 6.30pm; €29; ticketmaster.ie

As created in 2015, and hosted by London-based, Australian-born comedian Deborah Frances-White, The Guilty Feminist podcast (which is always recorded live) has been downloaded more than 70 million times, and as anyone who has listened to it will know, the conversational arc sometimes perilously veers from extremely amusing to seriously thought-provoking. Audience contribution is casual if apparently mandatory, and special guests (comedians, singers, but no names as yet are available for this particular edition) are invited to share a personal story that begins with the podcast’s signature line, “I’m a feminist, but…”

Exhibition

The Coiffured

Until Friday, February 24th, Irish Architectural Archive, 45 Merrion Square, Dublin; admission free; iarc.ie

Leitrim-based artist Amanda Jane Graham has done all of a service with her exhibition, The Coiffured, which investigates and re-examines important historical milestones through the history of hairdressing. The exhibition features 20 drawings, four 3D printed sculptures, a sound installation, and a series of recorded interviews that illustrate the working experience of hairdressers. Historically authentic and humorously devised, the exhibition has, one might say, a fringe benefit: a titular book featuring contextual essays.

Magic Carpet Painting by Orla Whelan at the RHA Atrium

Still running

Orla Whelan – I Don’t Need Anything From Here

Until Sunday, January 29th, RHA Atrium, Dublin; admission free

Dublin-based Orla Whelan’s site-responsive artwork, Magic Carpet Painting, comprises over 200 hand-painted wooden wedges that blend into a multi-hued floor covering. The work functions, notes the programme, “for the artist as a vehicle to transport colour into a space”.

Book it this week

Dublin International Film Festival, various venues; February 23rd-March 4th; diff.ie
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin; March 28th-April 1st; bordgaisenergytheatre.ie
Waxahatchee, Pepper Canister Church, Dublin; April 22nd-23rd; events.ticketbooth.eu
BellX1, Iveagh Gardens, Dublin; July 21st; ticketmaster.ie