Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Cormac Begley
Live at St Luke's 8pm €17.50 liveatstlukes.com
If it's free-thinking trad you're hankering after, look no further than this pair of lofty thinkers who bring more to their respective instruments of fiddle and concertina than an orchestra on steroids. The devil promises to be in the glorious detail of the tunes that they'll lure from their instruments.
The Orb
Button Factory Dublin 11pm €23 buttonfactory.ie
Almost 30 years of ambient house and electronic music, and still original co-founding member, Alex Paterson, shows little sign of pressing the "off" button. In what is quite a special show, Paterson and friends perform in its entirety The Orb's 1991 debut album, Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld. Happy Blissmas.
Tw!tch
Queen's Students Union 10pm £14.60 twitchbelfast.com
A festive screamer with one of the most popular DJs on the circuit. Birmingham's Anthony Childs built his reputation as a DJ and producer back in the early 1990s with a series of sparse and spacey productions, and has become one of techno's finest players. Support from Australian producer Mall Grab, Or:la and Kapoor.
Bastardo Electrico
Cyprus Avenue Cork 10pm €17.50 facebook.com/ bastardoelectricorecordings/
A big night for Leeside techno feens with the visit of Jamie Roberts to the city. He's the producer behind a ton of sublime, racuous, giddy electronic music tracks such as Getting Me Down and What You Do With What You Have. Aside from releases for labels like R&S, Clone and Hessle, Roberts is also a good man to send a dance- floor to another dimension. Support from Jamie Behan.
Badly Drawn Boy
St Luke's Church 8pm €22.90 liveatstlukes.com
Damon Gough has experienced something of a rollercoaster ride through the past 15 years. He was up from 2000, the year that hid debut album, The Hour of Bewilderbeast, won that year's Mercury Music Prize; then came his superb 2002 soundtrack for the film, About a Boy. Thereafter, Gough (right) was down, but he resurfaced last year with an appearance on Celebrity Mastermind (his chosen topic was Bruce Springsteen), and then this summer as the headline act on the Vantastival line-up. All of these intimate gigs sold out ages ago, which is no surprise considering Gough's often excellent back catalogue of songs. Whether 2017 will see a further rise in his profile is open to debate, but for the moment, he's here and he's good to go. Special guest is Cork singer- songwriter, Jack O'Rourke.
2 Many DJs
Opium Rooms Dublin 11pm €20
One of the last times Stephen and David Dewaele were in Ireland was for last year's Electric Picnic with their bespoke Despacio hoohah. When they're not knocking out the tunes as part of Soulwax, you'll find the Dewaele siblings creating sets which blend a whole range of sounds and genres into one exciting, mesmerising jam. They're usually to be found on the festival circuit when they visit Ireland, so this club set should be rather special.
Mary Coughlan
JJ Smyths, Aungier St, 5pm,€20 jjsmyths.com
Rumours of the demise of JJ Smyths have been, if not exaggerated, then perhaps a little premature. The axe still hovers over the legendary upstairs venue, but until it falls, Brian Smyth is continuing to programme some of his all-time favourites, including Mary Coughlan (Sunday 18th), Isotope (Thursday 22nd), Richie Buckley Quintet (Friday 23rd) and Nigel Mooney's Organ Failure (Thursday 29th). A long goodbye from a venerable Dublin institution. See listings for individual details.
Out to Lunch
Tengu Dublin 10pm €12.50 outtolunch.ie
Mr Ties is coming to town for a pre-Christmas pick-me-up. The Italian-born spinner brings the vibes from Berlin's Homopatik club where it's hedonistic good times all the way. Mr Ties is in situ for a five- hour set so plenty of time for him to throw down quality disco, house, techno, jazz and soul. You'll find Major Problems DJs Lumgraphy, Apres Ski and label boss Barry Redsetta in Ping Pong.
Simian Mobile Disco
Pyg Dublin 9pm €10 pyg.ie
Simian Mobile Disco's Jas Shaw and James Ford have produced plenty of emotive dancefloor fuel over the years. Collectively and individually, they've worked as producers, engineers, remixers and DJs with acts from Arctic Monkeys and Florence & the Machine to Beth Ditto and Alexis Taylor, as well as running the Delicacies label. Their own work, such as the acclaimed Unpatterns album, is full of gorgeously sculpted techno blasts, full of both detailed technical prowess and powerful grooves.
Fionnuala Doran/Alan Phelan
Roger, Roger, The Great Hall, Queen's University, Belfast December 18, 4pm-6pm naughtongallery.org
A screening of Alan Phelan's Our Kind, which imagines a possible future for Roger Casement had he not been executed in 1916, set in Norway 25 years on from his death. Plus a discussion, led by the Naughton Gallery's Ben Crothers, with Phelan and Doran, whose graphic novel, The Trial of Roger Casement, follows the final years of his life.
Siobhán Hapaska: "Freedom versus constraint, movement versus stagnation, nurture versus neglect" in new sculptures
Kerlin Gallery, Anne's Lane, South Anne St Until February 4 (Closed December 24-January 2) kerlin.ie
A pattern of contrasts and oppositions dominate in Siobhán Hapaska's new wall mounted and sculptural pieces. Concrete canvas and poly- carbonate wall sheeting, both relatively new materials symbolically replacing stone and glass, displace the traditional and familiar in works that impart a sense of urgency and unease. But also, paradox- ically, a certain poise and elegance. Hapaska, a poet of materials, is in her element.
Roamer
Tivoli Backstage, 8.30pm, €10 tivolibackstage.ie
Roamer sold out two nights at Arthurs during the summer – an unprecedented feat for an Irish jazz group – and the members of this powerfully creative quartet are back home for Christmas: vocalist Lauren Kinsella from London, where she is one of the rising stars of the younger generation; bassist Simon Jermyn from Brooklyn, fresh from a recent appearance at the Village Vanguard; saxophonist Matthew Halpin from Cologne, where he is rapidly gaining a reputation as a fearlessly inventive improviser; and drummer Matthew Jacobson, the only Dublin- based musician among them, who nevertheless is usually on the road with one of his many projects. A rare opportunity, not to be missed.
I Heart Xmas
Whelan's Dublin 8pm €10 whelanslive.com
The third I Heart Xmas shindig takes itself to the movies – Walt Disney movies, in fact. Which means that this year quite a few Irish rock/pop/funk/ song- writers, musicians and bands, dressed appropriately, will arrive on stage to perform classic songs from classic Disney films. Will anyone dare to dress up as Elsa and Anna? Baloo the Bear? Snow White? You bet your life they will. All proceeds to the Laura Lynn Children's Hospice.
Jack O'Rourke
Coughlans Cork 9pm €15 (sold out) coughlans.ie
It has been a very good year for this emerging Cork singer- songwriter, what with his debut album, Dreamcatcher, collecting good reviews. Another plus was highlighted during the recent Other Voices festival, when O'Rourke joined UK singer Hattie Webb for an astonishing gig in Dingle's An Diseart. Next year looks good for him already, and the "sold out"sign on this gig looks set to be an indicator for future reference.
Mick Pyro
Sugar Club Dublin 8pm €12.50 thesugarclub.com
The former frontman of Republic of Loose, MiCk Pyro, releases his solo debut album next year, and in the lead-up will be delivering a batch of road-testing shows, of which this is the first. Pyro will perform the new album in full, as well as throwing in several choice Republic of Loose hits and near misses. Support is Too Fools, multi-instrumentalists Steven McCann & Lorcán O'Dwyer. Dancing shoes recommended, people.
Barbara Knezevic - Exquisite Tempor Sector
Temple Bar Gallery, 5-9 Temple Bar until January 28 templebargallery.com
An installation on the edge, Barbara Knezevic's Exquisite Tempor Sector is a kind of contemporary still life, a momento mori, packed with intimations of transience and mortality, employing living plants and ephemeral inorganic elements to "evoke the passage of time both geological and experiential". Things fall apart, but that does not mean, one infers, that human beings are free from responsibility to the world around them.
Friday, December 23rd
Jeff Mills
District 8 Dublin 11pm €20
This is Jeff Mills' second visit to the capital in the space of two months. Last time around, he was in classical mode with the RTE National Concert Orchestra. This time, it's Mills as techno ramraider who'll be front and centre. The Detroit DJ and producer, who was a co-founder of Underground Resistance, continues to be one of the most important and exciting figures in techno with fierce, uncompromising, industrial-like DJ sets defining his influence.
Sahasrara
Michael Beirne (Until January 31) 1000/100: 100 works under €1000 (Until December 23) Molesworth Gallery, 16 Molesworth St, Dublin (Closed December 24-January 9) molesworthgallery.com
"In these paintings the natural world is staging a riot", Austin McQuinn writes in his introduction to the buzzing, heightened, richly coloured domain detailed by Michael Beirne in his intricately detailed paintings. They embody, McQuinn suggests, a kind of animism, "where everything has equal and eternal consciousness, (plant, machine, baby, rock, moon) and so everything is at once in a state of becoming itself, sometimes joyously, sometimes painfully but always honestly."
Monday, December 26th
FeelMyBicep
Queens University Students Union Belfast 9.30pm £24.50 shine.net
One of a few blockbuster bills this week up north to mark the festive season, FeelMyBicep is hosted by Bicep's Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson. As has become the norm, the duo have assembled an all-star cast for this post-Christmas bash. You'll find the Bicep boys in Room 1 alongside Fabric's Craig Richards and Swoose and Cromby, while Scottish DJs Clouds join Phil Kieran in Room 2. Berghain and Panorama Bar regular ND_Baumecker headlines Room 3 with Brassica and Hammer, while Schmitz and Holly Lester are the Room 4 party people.
Abstract X Subject
District 8 Dublin 11pm €17.50/€15
A fine double bill in the Liberties with homeboy Sunil Sharpe and producer DVS1 in the frame. Sharpe probably doesn't need an introduction to any Irish techno fans at this stage, the Dublin producer being one of the most popular DJs here in recent times and continuing to embellish his rep overseas. He's joined by Zak Khutoretsky, the St Petersburg-born and Minneapolis–based producer known as DVS1 who has had well received tracks released on Hush Sounds, Rush, Transmat and Klockworks over the last few years.
Weather Gauge
Oil paintings and works on paper inspired by the West of Ireland by Donald Teskey. The Hunt Museum, The Custom House, Rutland St , Limerick Until February 19 huntmuseum.com
Next best thing to a bracing walk by the sea. Donald Teskey, close to home ground at the Hunt Museum, started out as an essentially urban artist, but gradually worked his way out of town, exploring especially a large part of the West coast. This show offers a survey of his Atlantic Seaboard works.
Ben Klock
District 8 Dublin 11pm €20
You can't beat a blast of the hard stuff at this time of year and that's what you'll get when Ben Klock comes to town. A regular at Berlin's Berghain, Klock's run of raw, rough and evocative tracks on Ostgut Ton, Bpitch Control and his own Klockworks have spread the word about the German DJ's prowess as a techno spinner, ensuring full houses when he heads this way.
Met Arena
T13 Belfast 6pm £35/£30/£25
Northern clubbers will fondly recall Armagh clubs The Arena and its later reincarnation The Met. Based in the Drumsill Hotel (which was demolished earlier this year), the club regularly drew thousands during the 1990s. This reunion will feature Chicane on his 20th anniversity tour, Larne legend Fergie and Westbam, alongside residents and mainstays Robbie Nelson, Mal Black, Mandy Reid, Chris Davis and Gleave Dobbin.
Scoil Gheimhridh Gaoth Dobhair
Various venues, Bunbeg and Dunlewey scoilgheimhridh.com
What once was The Frankie Kennedy Winter School has now evolved into Scoil Gheimhridh Gaoth Dobhair, with a combination of style and substance. A boutique gathering where beginners wrestle with fiddle bows alongside weathered veterans, each commanding equal billing. Visitors include Frankie Gavin, Ye Vagabonds, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Na Mooneys. And that's just the warmer uppers before it all builds to a steaming head for new year's eve and day.
Wednesday December 28th
Ann Scott
Whelan's Upstairs Dublin 8pm €14 whelanslive.com
This Dublin singer-songwriter has four albums to her name (the most recent is 2013's Venus to the Sky), yet still she remains as under the radar as makes no difference. New material will be previewed here, which is a good indication that album number five is on the way next year.
Gut Instinct
The Lewis Glucksman Gallery, UCC, Cork Until March 19 glucksman.org
Perfect post-Christmas fare: Research at the APC Microbiome Institute confirms that the well-being of your gut does much to determine mental well-being. Gut Instinct show takes that as its starting point in presenting works by Marina Abramovic, Sonja Alhäuser, Domestic Godless, Elif Erkan, Fiona Hallinan, Siobhan McGibbon, Abigail O'Brien, Thomas Rentmeister, and Neil Shawcross. Scientist John Cryan cruated with Chris Clarke and Fiona Kearney. AD
Thursday December 29th
Micheál, Owen and Moley Ó Suilleabháin
Ballymaloe Grainstore 8pm €25 ballymaloegrainstore.com
Now that Professor Ó S. has taken his leave of the helm of UL's Irish World Academy, he has a little more time to devote to his own music. A widely admired pianist and composer, with a turn of phrase that'd be the envy of the entire cast of Saturday Night Live, Micheál is joined by his two U.S. based sons, Owen and Moley, whose harmony singing has already garnered much attention, since they recorded their album, Size2Shoes. Wit, a tincture of wisdom may accompany the rich musical pickings.
