Event of the week
Boyzlife
Wednesday, January 15th, Ulster Hall, Belfast, 7.30pm, £39.20; Friday, January 17th, Leisureland, Galway, 7pm, €39.20; Saturday January 18th, City Hall, Cork, 7pm, €39.20; Sunday, January 19th, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 8pm, €37.15, ticketmaster.ie
What happens when you lose your hold on the boy-band wagon train? For the former Boyzone and Westlife members Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden, it’s a case of dusting themselves off, readjusting the saddle and getting back on the horse. Fair play to the pair of them, we say. There remains an avid audience for each pop group and their songs (from Boyzone’s No Matter What and Picture of You to Westlife’s Flying Without Wings and World of Our Own), and the second or third bite of the cherry must taste even sweeter than the first.
Gigs
Joshua Bassett
Monday, January 13th, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 7pm, €39.90, ticketmaster.ie
From Disney Channel comedies and High School Musicals (in which he starred with the then-emerging Olivia Rodrigo) to signing with a major US record label, Joshua Bassett has graduated from niche teen star to mainstream performer without too much trouble. The music is tailor-made for Rodrigo fans in the audience: Bassett’s 2024 debut album, The Golden Years, features reliable, efficient lovelorn earworms that address vulnerabilities and insecurities. Expect to see smartphone searchlights from start to finish.
Ron Pope
Friday, January 17th, Workman’s Club, Dublin, 7pm, €25, ticketmaster.ie
Ron Pope is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter who has, over the past 15 years, garnered praise from peers and the public alike. Songs from his forthcoming album American Man, American Music will receive their Irish premieres but long-time admirers will also hear tracks from across his prolific back catalogue. Also, Saturday, January 18th, Black Box, Belfast, 7.30pm, £20, cqaf.com (as part of Belfast’s Out to Lunch Festival).
Jerry Fish
Friday, January 17th, Roscommon Arts Centre, Co Roscommon, 8pm, €25, roscommonartscentre.ie
Jerry Fish has been a stalwart of the Irish music scene since the early 1990s, when he was the frontman/singer of An Emotional Fish. That he has remained at the forefront of an industry that constantly looks for the next big thing is a testament to his staying power as a performer and classy act. This show forms part of Fish’s Dreaming of Daniel tour, which focuses on his recent album of the same name featuring cover versions of songs by the US art-brut songwriter Daniel Johnston. Also, Saturday, January 25th, Crescent Concert Hall, Drogheda, Co Louth; Sunday, January 26th, Grand Social, Dublin; and Friday, January 31st, Dolans, Limerick. The tour continues into February and March; see jerry-fish.com.
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Music event
Your Roots Are Showing
From Wednesday, January 15th, until Sunday, January 19th, Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney, Co Kerry, various times, €110/€30, showingroots.com
Now in its third year, Your Roots Are Showing has quickly earned its stripes as a conference committed to promoting Irish and global folk music and its numerous tributaries. During the day there will be professional-development sessions, hands-on workshops, trade and gigs fairs, and panel discussions. The evenings will see musicians from Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada perform at a series of showcase gigs where, no doubt, industry professionals will be watching, listening and taking notes. The keynote address will be given by the Limerick-based US singer-songwriter Rhiannon Giddens.
Podcast
Dermot Whelan’s Busy & Wrecked
Saturday, January 11th, Landmark Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, 7pm, €35, tickets.ie; Tuesday, January 14th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, 8pm, €37.70, ticketmaster.ie
“Serious transformation without being too serious” is how Dermot Whelan defines this nationwide tour. Blending signature smart comedy with tips and techniques that can help alleviate stress and anxiety (or, as Whelan says, anything that makes you feel “wound up, worn down, snowed under or bowled over”), the tour continues until March; see dermotwhelan.com.
Stage
Accents
From Thursday, January 16th, until Saturday, January 18th, Ambassador Theatre, Dublin, €54.90/€34.90, ticketmaster.ie
This confessional play inspired by the birth of the playwright Emmet Kirwan’s first son, which was first staged in 2022, returns with an even greater sense of rumbling power. Eight of Kirwan’s poems are delivered against a soundtrack (nominated for best soundscape at the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards) composed by the Cork musician Eoin French, who died last year. Crammed with life-affirming nerve and laugh-out-loud lines, the work has been tweaked by Kirwan to reference pivotal changes in his life. French’s score will be played by the classically trained musicians Ben Bix and Brian Dillon. Claire O’Reilly directs. (Accents tours Ireland from Friday, January 31st, until Friday, February 21st.)
Visual art
Steve Wickham: Tempest (Fifty Nights in a Dublin Hotel)
Until Friday, January 31st, Toradh Gallery 2, Kells Heritage Centre, Co Meath, meath.ie
“Small landscapes of the heart” is how the acclaimed violinist Steve Wickham describes his solo exhibition of paintings and diary extracts inspired by an extended stay in Dublin during rehearsals for and performances in Deirdre Kinahan’s play Tempesta. Back in the city where he was born after 30 years of living in the west of Ireland, Wickham used his downtime to create small acrylic pieces that, he says, “helped me through the journey as I negotiated my past”.
Still running
Lord of the Dance
From Wednesday, January 15th, until Saturday, January 18th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, €62.50/€57, ticketmaster.ie
Subtitled A Lifetime of Standing Ovations, Michael Flatley’s post-Riverdance show was first staged in 1996. This updated iteration – Flatley has long since retired from performing – features new choreography and state-of-the-art special effects and lighting. ’Tis a long way from dancing at the crossroads.
Book it this week
The Flying Dutchman, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, March 23rd-29th, ticketmaster.ie
Bernard Butler, Whelan’s, Dublin, May 15th, ticketmaster.ie
Louth Contemporary Music Festival, various venues, Dundalk, Co Louth, June 13th-14th, louthcms.org
Supergrass, Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, July 13th, ticketmaster.ie
