FRIDAY
Cork Jazz Festival
Various Venues Oct 28-31 guinnessjazzfestival.com
The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but the M7 is likely to be paved with plans of an altogether more disreputable sort this weekend. As usual, the bulk of this year's Cork Jazz Festival can be filed under the anything-but-jazz heading, but there's a three names at the top of the bill who are as unmissable as any musicians to hit Cork in the past decade.
London wunderkind Jacob Collier became an YouTube sensation four years ago with his multi-track adventures in sound and vision (if you haven’t seen them, do yourself a favour). Now, with a little help from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he has figured out how to do it live, and he will be unveiling his new, multi-instrument rig for the first time at the Everyman on Friday night.
Pianist Robert Glasper is a hip name to drop these days, a mercurial, entrepreneurial musician and producer who has tunnelled out of the jazz ghetto with his cred in tact. His high-powered quartet will blow the gilt off the Everyman’s stalls on Saturday night.
But for these ears, the most essential listening of the weekend will be guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel’s new Brazilian project, Caipi, at the Everyman on Sunday. There is hardly a jazz six-stringer under 40 who doesn’t have a little Rosenwinkel in their sound, and the guitarist’s new band, with Berlin pianist Olivia Trummer in tow, is a tantalizing prospect.
Elsewhere, the ever-reliable Triskel Arts Centre is your best bet for, you know, jazz. Beyond that, the programme falls off a steep cliff into a vast, tepid ocean of pop, rock, heavy metal, R&B and 'jazz' bands with stage costumes and silly names. Oh, the humanity.
Cormac Larkin
Bram Stoker Festival
Various Venues Oct 28-31 bramstokerfestival.com
Most people know the Dublin-born Bram Stoker as a diligent journalist and competent 19th-century theatre manager with an innovative enthusiasm for new gas lighting techniques, but did you know he also wrote horror stories? Inspired by this duality, one presumes, this annual Halloween celebration of all things gothic divides itself between day and night events ("living stories" and "deadly adventures", it cannily advises). Among the spooky evening offers are the ghoulish delights of a contemporary freakshow, Bleedin' Deadly (Pillar Rooms Oct 28th-31st), emceed by the redoubtable Space Cowboy, and an aerial performance, Behind the Dark (St Anne's Park, Oct 28th-30th) performed in Bram's old neighbourhood for the grateful children of the night.
Sligo Live
Various venues Oct 28-31 sligolive.ie
This West of Ireland folks/roots/indie festival celebrates its 12th year with another decent line-up that might well tempt city dwellers to its many doors. The major shows take place in Knocknarea Arena – Rodrigo y Gabriela (below) tonight, Little Green Cars perform tomorrow, Saturday, and The Saw Doctors (with special guests Orchid Collective), Sunday, but there are also many smaller venues with great music to investigate. Check out the event website for full details.
All Tvvins
Olympia Theatre Dublin 8pm €21 ticketmaster.ie Also Sat, Limerick; Sun, Belfast
When Irish musicians Lar Kaye and Conor Adams departed their bands (Adebisi Shank and The Cast of Cheers), little did they know that within a short space of time they would eclipse the combined sales and profile of their former acts. With a justifiably garlanded debut album (IIVV) to shop around, it's all systems go for All Tvvins as they headline their biggest Irish indoor show to date.
Patrick O'Keeffe Traditional Music Festival
Various venues Castleisland, Co Kerry, Fri-Sun patrickokeeffefestival.com
Reaching its 24th year, this most laid back of trad gatherings is only getting into its stride. Between the Saturday afternoon singing session with bean an tí, Aileen Roantree, and Sunday night's gala concert with Jackie Daly, Matt Cranitch, Seamus Begley, Paddy Jones and countless more, this year's celebration of the musical riches of Sliabh Luachra (and in particular, of the genius of O'Keeffe) promises much by way of dangerous diversion – and nothing by way of boredom or predictability.
Out to Lunch
Tengu Dublin 10pm €10 outtolunch.ie
Out to Lunch's first soiree since their summer weekender with Steve Davis and friends features a welcome return to Tengu for Norwegian groove wizard DJ Sotofett. He's best known for helming the Sex Tags Mania label for the last decade or so. When he's not overseeing its run of killer 12-inch releases, Sotofett's own work, such as the excellent, expansive Drippin' for a Tripp EP for Honest Jons, come highly recommended.
Achill International Harp Festival
Wavecrest Hotel, Dooagh 7.30pm €15 achillharpfestival.ie
Amid the numerous international harpists visiting this timely festival (celebrating our national instrument in our centenary year), tonight's concert, Sraith Oileán Achill, promises to be something very special. Scottish musician Allen MacDonald's newly commissioned Achill Island Suite explores the musical cross-currents that unite his home place and Achill Island itself. The sublime harpist, Laoise Kelly, will be joined by Gráinne Hambley, Kathleen MacInnes and many others. A mighty lure for anyone westward bound for the bank holiday weekend.
Sides DC
Button Factory Dublin 11pm €20 buttonfactory.ie
The boys are back in town again. A bunch of evergreen DJs, who manned the decks at the influential Sides DC back in the day, regroup for one more mission or another night out at last. Your spinners tonight are Billy Scurry, Liam Dollard, Pat Hyland, Warren K, Tonie Walsh and Martin McCann, all advocates of the eat-sleep-rave-repeat mantra.
SATURDAY
Shine
Belfast 9.30pm £22/£20 shine.net
The longest-running house and techno club on the island turns 21 in considerable style with three rooms of top-drawer action. Skream is the big draw in Room 1 where he's joined by Hot Flush bossSub:Stance main-man and Aus star Scuba and local dudes Psycatron. The Bunatee is headlined by German big-room specialist Butch with support from Jordan and Eddy Kennedy while Schmutz and Red Steve make merry in Room 3.
The Macalla Suite
The Garage Theatre, Monaghan 8pm €20/€18 thegaragetheatre.com Also Sun, Monaghan
Harpist Michael Rooney presents his interpretation of the events of 1916 in this newly composed suite. With the Comhaltas National Folk Orchestra.
SUNDAY
Winterparty
3Arena, Dublin 6pm €60.50 pod.ie
For promoters, bank holiday weekends remain tailor-made for punts like this all-star bash, which returns to the largest room in the capital for the first time in 12 years. It's wall to wall with quality electronic music names including Sven Vath, Jon Hopkins, Hot Since 82, Skream and Dan Stritch, plus a debut live set from local hero Gavin Lynch aka Matador. There's a rake of after-parties happening in clubs all over town for those who want more.
A Peening Sound
Kevin Cosgrove, Butler Gallery, The Castle, Kilkenny Until December 18 butler gallery.com
Peening is workshop nomenclature, from a superlative painter who has specialised in the bravura epresentation of the productive environments of workshops of various kinds, celebrating them as spaces of creativity. This show features new large-scale works, plus smaller pieces that draw on work by other painters who have engaged Cosgrove's attention including André Derain and Stephen McKenna.
Halloween At Powerscourt
Pygmalion Dublin 8.30pm €25 pyg.ie
It's a night for big names with a brace of underground stalwarts at large l. George Evelyn has been preaching the Nightmares On Wax gospel for some time, a man who is constantly redefining a slo-mo state of the art. He's joined tonight by house grandmaster Marshall Jefferson, a man who has been crafting bona fide house anthems all his working life. Support from Colin Perkins and Baba Robijn.
