Selected highlights chosen by Michael Dervan, Jim Carroll, Rosita Boland, Tony Clayton-Lea, Siobhán Long, Aidan Dunne, and Cormac Larkin
FRIDAY
STORYTELLER
Rebekka Karijord
Unitarian Church, Dublin €17 ticketmaster.ie
No matter how much we think we can distance ourselves from our past, it proves impossible. Ask Norwegian songwriter, playwright, author, soundtrack composer and performer Rebekka Karijord about her primary influences and she will tell you that – apart from various female songwriters, including Buffy Saint-Marie and Patti Smith – what set her off on a lifetime adventure of creativity was listening to, and absorbing, her mother's storytelling. All things come to pass, then, as Karijord's latest album, Mother Tongue, passes on to her own child lessons learned and values gained. Performances in Dublin by Karijord are rare (she last appeared on a Dublin stage in 2013), so this will be a treat; musicians Linnea Olsson and Mariam Wallentin will accompany, while the stage will boast a special set design by Anna Heymowska. TCL
SONGWRITER
Angel Olsen
Vicar St Dublin 8pm €22.90 ticketmaster.ie Also Sat Opera House Cork 8pm €22 corkoperahouse.ie; Sun Empire Music Hall, Belfast 8pm £17 thebelfastempire.com
'Rising artist.' 'One to watch.' 'Hotly tipped.' Over the past five years, US indie/folk singer-songwriter Angel Olsen has seen the clichés come and go, yet she has wisely carried on as if such trumpeting meant nothing to her. In other words, she has allowed her music to do the work.
Another wise move, as her three studio albums have proved; across Half Way Home (2012), Burn your Fire for no Witness (2014) and My Woman (2016), Olsen presents music that is linked to Americana as much as it is to punk rock, that references Loretta Lynn as much as Courtney Love. Olsen started off her music career collaborating with (among others) Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, but these past several years has travelled solo. To say it suits her is an understatement. TCL
YES TO LOVE
Yestival
Tivoli Dublin 9pm €25 twitter.com/MotherDublin
A bash to mark Ireland saying yes to marriage equality two years ago, Yestival is pulling out all the stops with this extravaganza. Dimitri From Paris (left) is the headliner, a DJ who mines a rich and deep seam of house and disco to turn any dancefloor insideout. The other big draw is eye-catching theatre and events production crew THISISPOPBABY who bring the End of the World Tea Dance and its array of fabulousness to the heart of the Liberties. Performers giving a twirl in and around all of the above include Le Galaxie, the Mother DJs, Scotty the Blue Bunny, Bourgeois & Maurice, Lucy McCormick: Triple Threat, Lockie Chapman & Timmy Matley (The Overtones) and The She. JC
CLASSICAL
RTÉ NSO/Gerhard Markson
NCH, Dublin 8pm €17-€38 nch.ie
The first performance of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius, at the Birmingham Music Festival of 1900, was a disaster. It propelled the Catholic Elgar into despair. He wrote to a friend, "I have worked hard for forty years & at the last, Providence denies me a decent hearing of my work: so I submit—I always said God was against art & I still believe it. anything obscene or trivial is blessed in this world & has a reward…I have allowed my heart to open once—it is now shut against every religious feeling & every soft, gentle impulse for ever." The work triumphed over the performance although, in spite of early success in Germany, it has remained largely the preserve of British conductors. The NSO offer a rare opportunity to hear it conducted by a German, Gerhard Markson, with the RTÉ Philharmonic Choir and soloists Anna Stéphany, Marc Le Brocq and Neal Davies. MD
CLASSICAL
Galway Early Music Festival
Galway, various venues, until Sun galwayearlymusic.com
"Something Old, Something New" is the theme of this year's Galway Early Music Festival, which ranges from the medieval to the modern, and embraces jazz, contemporary and traditional music. Performers include the recorder and clarinet duo Temenos, the Crux Vocal Ensemble, Micrologus (exploring musical innovation in 14th-century Italy), and the Gregory Walkers (in a programme called Haste to the Wedding that celebrates love and marriage and draws in young performers from around Co. Galway). The festival programme also includes free events, indoors and outdoors, workshops, and events for all the family. MD
CLASSICAL
West Wicklow Festival
Russborough House, Blessington, until Sun westwicklowfestival.com
Pianist Fiachra Garvey grew up in Co. Wicklow, "as a farmer and pianist in Ballyknockan, on the glistening Blessington lakes". He's been based in Britain since 2011, but has now decided to deepen his roots in Wicklow, by establishing the West Wicklow Festival. It's based it in the intimate surroundings of Russborough House in Blessington, a venue that's sadly been off the radar for concerts in recent years. The performers are his own Ducasse Trio (clarinet, violin and piano), the Zaïde String Quartet (playing Mozart and, with Garvey on piano, the Brahms Piano Quintet), and mezzo soprano Rachel Kelly, with Garvey at the keyboard. MD
CLUB
Dialog:ue
White's Tavern Belfast 9.30pm £7/£5
The Belfast art collective behind this monthly event welcome Italian selector Quest to town tonight. The man known as Marco Maranza has seen his profile rise significantly in recent times thanks to both his residency at Loft in Brescia and appearances at such clubs as Hoppetosse in Berlin, Closer in Kiev and Undersound in London. What sets Maranza apart from his peers is a sublime agility to cross the tracks when it comes to electronic music from electro to techno, an eclectic policy which is probably a hat tip to his roots in hip-hop. Support for Quest from Seb Munroe, Kev Coll, Conal Mc and Thomas Faulkner. JC
FOUK OFF
UFO
Index Dublin 10.30pm €15/€12/€10 soundcloud.com/justsayfouk
Fouk is the handiwork of Dutch partners in crime and former Nijmegen school pals Daniel Leseman and Hans Peeman. While both have made great strides with other projects – Leseman as the co-founder of the Outplay label and the producer of much admired Motor City-influenced deep house and Peeman as a graphic designer – their collaborations as Fouk have also attracted attention. To date, the pair's work has appeared on such tastemaker imprints as Heist (the label operated by Detroit Swindle), The House of Disco and Razor-N-Tape. If you're a fan of grooves which comes with a serious blast of innovative disco and funk, this is the duo for you. JC
COASTAL TRAD
Skerries Traditional Music Weekend
Various venues, all weekend. skerriestraditionalmusic.com
Music students and listeners, and hurlers on the ditch are all likely to find something of note at this year's festival. Music workshops for pipes fiddle, whistle, flute, concertina, accordion, banjo, harp, set and sean nós dancing will keep early birds on high alert, while night owls will be spoilt for choice with Altan, The Kilfenora Céilí Band, John Carty, Frankie Gavin and De Danann burning the (not quite midnight) oil. Skerries' location adds a certain tincture of summer to the mix, independent of matters meteorological. Lectures and Irish language conversation classes add further dimensions to what is an impressive three day programme. SL
FOLK
Mick Hanley
Glenville Pitch & Putt Club, Kiltipper Road, Tallaght 9pm €17/€15 musiclee.ie
Refreshing to see this troubadour willing to test drive a new venue, bringing the mountain to Mohammed, so to speak. Hanly's repertoire is packed with a lot more little gems than just his gargantuan Past The Point Of Rescue. Emotionally complex, thematically diverse and musically rich, Hanly's appetite for steering himself deep into the fabric of a song is as powerful as it was back in his Rusty Ol' Halo days. SL
IMPROV
Sirene 1009
Stack Theatre, Cork School of Music, 8pm, €16/€10/€5, busterandfriends.com
The sonic anarchy of free improvisation may not be everyone's idea of a fun night out, but for those of an aurally adventurous disposition, Sirene1009 will be an antidote to musical orthodoxy. Led by Cork-based Korean guitarist Han Earl Park, the group features a trio of experienced British improvisers, bassist Dominic Lash, drummer Mark Sanders and vocalist Caroline Pugh. Park has taught improvisation at UCC and played with some of the titans of free music, including Wadada Leo Smith and Evan Parker. His own biog notes that he "engages a radical, liminal, cyborg virtuosity in which mind, body and artifact collide", and there's really only one way to find out what that means. With support from US saxophonist Catherine Sikora and Cork-based drummer Dan Walsh. CL
SATURDAY
POP
Ariana Grande
3Arena Dublin €70.50/€60.50 (sold out) 8pm ticketmaster.ie
We have been here before – a hugely successful twentysomething who started life in showbiz as a child. In Ariana Grande's case, it was stints in musicals (Annie, The Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast) and, at eight years of age, performing in a cruise ship karaoke lounge. From there, it was teen idol status via the Nickelodeon TV show Victorious.
Now approaching the grand (or, if you will, Grande) old age of 24, the Florida-born singer has effortlessly bridged the gap between puppet and star. She commands a fan base that has not only made her one of the most successful pop/R&B singers on the planet but also one of the highest ranking on various social media platforms - Grande's music videos have been viewed almost seven billion times, she has 104m followers on Instagram, and more than 45m on Twitter. No wonder this show is sold out. TCL
GOOD TIMES
Daniel Wang
Wigwam Dublin 11pm €12/€5 wigwamdublin.com
Daniel Wang is back in town again. A regular and welcome visitor to the city – he was around the houses at the Beatyard festival in Dun Laoghaire last summer – Wang is someone who has consistently proven to be ahead of the pack with his outlook and work. Wang established the Balihu label back in 1993 which went on to release a slew of great tracks full of heart and soul. In more recent times, Wang has put out tracks on Eskimo and Rush Hour and has kept putting in the happy hours behind the decks. He's joined for this trip to the city by Bodytonic legend Conor L and the Wigwam residents. JC
FIDDLE EXTRAVAGANZA
World Fiddle Day
Various venues, Scartaglen, Co Kerry, worldfiddledayscartaglin.ie
The rich musical history and landscape of Sliabh Luachra is writ large in this now annual gathering, where the spirit of Patrick O'Keeffe, peerless fiddle player and teacher, is stitched into its fabric. For the first time, poetry features in Scartaglen's World Fiddle Day programme, with local poets Eileen Sheehan, John W. Sexton and Breda Joy reading from their work on Saturday. The sublime Matt Cranitch will open a photo exhibition on the late fiddler Seamus Creagh, while Gerry Harrington and a host of other players will join in the many sessions throughout the day, culminating in a concert in Scartaglen's Heritage Centre. SL
CATALAN CREAM
Summer Haze #1
Tara Building, Dublin 7pm €20/€16
It's always good to see new spaces throwing shapes and the co-working gallery on Tara St is the venue for this party. It's headlined by Marc Piñol, the Barcelona veteran DJ and music journalist who is closely involved with John Talabot's Hivern Discs label. Indeed, both Catalans have worked together as Quentin (see Mirage from the duo from last year). It's not Piñol's only collaborative project and he's also produced deep experimental tech as CPI with Casablanca. Support from Reevs and Jus Damien, with visuals from Patricio Cassinoni and Hector Castells. JC
BIRTHDAY
Culture Shock - Martinez
Pgymalion Dublin 6pm €10 pyg.ie
Culture Shock mark four years of parties with a visit from Martinez, the Swedish-born and Copenhagen-based DJ and producer responsible for many epic nights at the South William Street venue.
The man born Martin Swanstein (above) has had a hand in many superbly tracks over the years for such labels as Guidance, Get Physical!, Minibar, Dessous, NervMusic, Cadenza and his own Concealed Sounds and Re:connected set-ups. Along the way, there have been remixes for folks like Underworld and Nathan Fake as well as regular appearances at such A-list clubs as Space, Nitsa, Panorama Bar and Cocoon as his sound has changed from deep dubby house to minimal tech and back again. Support from Aaron Nolan and Gideon Hill. JC
SUNDAY
FREE TRAD
Fleadh Nua
Various venues, Ennis, Co Clare fleadhnua.com
This Fleadh, founded in Dublin in 1970 was the first gathering to bring together concerts, céilidhe, music, song and dance workshops and street entertainment: quite a revolutionary concept at the time.
This year's raft of free events will be further enriched by appearances from the redoubtable west Kerry accordion player Seamus Begley along with Téada's Oisín MacDiarmada, as well as singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (above), Sliabh Luachra duo Matt Cranitch and Jackie Daly and Donal O'Connor and Gerry O'Beirne. Feels like summer must be here now that Fleadh Nua's broken out of its traps. SL
