Event of the week
Dublin Dance Festival
From Thursday, April 30th, until Saturday, May 16th, various venues, times and prices, dublindancefestival.ie
This year’s Dublin Dance Festival opens with the boundary-breaking Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (from Thursday, April 30th, until Friday, May 1st, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre), the acclaimed US-based all-male ballet company that blends classical precision with humour. Other highlights include Catherine Young Dance’s Ciseach (Thursday, May 7th, Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire) and Luail’s The Fifth Sun (from Thursday, May 14th, until Saturday, May 16th, Samuel Beckett Theatre). World premieres include Junk Ensemble’s Storm 1.0 (from Wednesday, May 6th, until Friday, May 8th, Samuel Beckett Theatre) and Emma Martin’s Soft God (from Thursday, May 14th, until Saturday, May 16th, Abbey Theatre).
Gigs
Louis Tomlinson
Thursday, April 30th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €90.80/€46.35, ticketmaster.ie
It’s more than 15 years since Louis Tomlinson auditioned as a singer on The X Factor. Rejected as a solo act, he was placed with four other eliminated singers to form a group called One Direction. We know what happened next. Now with three solo albums to his name (including this year’s How Did I Get Here?), Tomlinson brings his star wattage to Ireland with, according to reviews (this arena tour began on March 23rd), a setlist that doesn’t include any 1D songs.
Heineken Greenlight
Thursday, April 30th, until Sunday, May 3rd, Dublin, Cork and Galway, various venues, times and prices, uncapped.heineken.ie/greenlight
The May bank-holiday weekend just got busier with this multicity spread of performances. Gigs in Dublin include a Mike Skinner DJ set (Saturday, May 2nd, Wigwam), Saoirse (Saturday, May 2nd, 4 Dame Lane) and Curtisy (Sunday, May 3rd, O’Regan’s). Highlights in Cork include Sprints (Friday, May 1st, Cyprus Avenue). The Galway gigs had yet to be announced when we were compiling The Guide.
The Big Star Quintet
Wednesday, April 29th, and Thursday, April 30th, Button Factory, Dublin, 7pm, €44.20 (sold out), ticketmaster.ie; Friday, May 1st, Set Theatre, Kilkenny, 7pm, sold out, set.ie
The 1970s US group Big Star are held in such high esteem that their first two albums – #1 Record, from 1972, and Radio City, from 1974 – are regarded as unsurpassed examples of power pop. The band’s genre-defining legacy includes classic songs such as September Gurls, Thirteen, Back of a Car, I’m in Love with a Girl and The Ballad of El Goodo. Each of these and more are presented with reverence by The Big Star Quintet. Did we mention the word “supergroup”? The quintet features the Big Star founding musician Jody Stephens, the former REM member Mike Mills, Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake, Jon Auer of The Posies and The dB’s Chris Stamey.
RM Block
Kilkenny Roots Festival
From Friday, May 1st, until Monday, May 4th, various venues, times and prices, kilkennyroots.com
Creeping up to its 30th birthday (it was founded in 1998), Kilkenny Roots Festival continues to service the thirst for real-deal Americana, US pop thrills and a shrewd homemade blend of the two. Highlights include the US country stalwart Rodney Crowell (Saturday, May 2nd, Set Theatre, 4pm, sold out), the Irish songwriter Seamus Fogarty (Sunday, May 3rd, Billy Byrne’s, 11pm, €20) and The Long Ryders (Monday, May 4th, Set Theatre, 9pm, €25). Equally, don’t miss Those Pretty Wrongs (Saturday, May 2nd, 7pm, €25) and the Nashville experimentalist Rich Ruth (Sunday, May 3rd, Cleere’s Bar, 11pm, €20).
Stage
Wilde Stages: Dublin’s Queer Theatre Festival
From Sunday, April 26th, until Sunday, May 17th, various venues, times and prices, gaytheatre.ie
Formerly known as the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, Wilde Stages: Dublin’s Queer Theatre Festival will continue to support gay artists with a programme of events created by established and emerging LGBTQ+ writers and artists. Productions include Blindr (Theatre@36, from Monday, May 4th, until Saturday, May 9th), Capitalism: The Musical (Teachers’ Club, from Monday, May 4th, until Saturday, May 9th), Yesterday Is Dead (Outhouse, from Monday, May 11th, until Saturday, May 16th) and II (Teachers’ Club, from Monday, May 11th, until Saturday, May 16th).
Arts festival
Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival
From Wednesday, April 29th, until Sunday, May 10th, Belfast, various venues, times and prices, cqaf.com
Another year, another jam-packed line-up? Something of a coup for the festival is the appearance of the documentary-maker Louis Theroux for its In Conversation event (Thursday, April 30th, Assembly Buildings Conference Centre, 8pm, £25, sold out). Other highlights include the Irish folk group Landless (Friday, May 1st, Carlisle Memorial Church, 8pm, £15) and Derek Mahon: A Celebration with Stephen Rea (Saturday, May 2nd, Carlisle Memorial Church, 6pm, £12). Throughout the festival, artist-in-residence Eve Belle will play a series of support gigs as well as a headline show (venue to be announced) on Thursday, May 10th.
Book festival
Rush Festival of Writing
Saturday, April 25th, Rush, Co Dublin, 10am-8pm, various venues, times and prices, rushfestivalofwriting.com
This new literary festival, devised by the arts journalist Lauren Murphy and the screenwriter Sean Smith, and supported by Fingal County Council, features Sinéad Gleeson, Anna Carey, Belinda McKeon, Andrea Mara, Catherine Ryan Howard and John Banville. Literary-leaning music fans are catered for with the former Horslips drummer Eamon Carr talking about last year’s excellent memoir collection, Pure Gold: Memorable Conversations with Remarkable People. Two days in 2027? Don’t bet against it.
Still running
Galway Theatre Festival
From Thursday, April 30th, until Saturday, May 9th, various venues, times and prices, galwaytheatrefestival.com
Showcasing emerging artists from the west of Ireland, this year’s Galway Theatre Festival features a boundary-nudging programme that revels in the merging of performative arts. Highlights include Sweat (Thursday, April 30th, and Friday, May 1st, Town Hall Studio, 1pm/8.30pm, €18), Is This Bathroom Haunted? (Tuesday, May 5th, Bank of Ireland Theatre, 5pm, €10) and Sheep! (Wednesday, May 6th, Mick Lally Theatre, 8.30pm, €18).
Book it this week
- Les Misérables, 3Arena, Dublin, May 29th-June 6th, ticketmaster.ie
- Sigur Rós, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, September 6th-7th, ticketmaster.ie
- Saint Etienne, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, September 22nd, ticketmaster.ie
- Sligo Live Festival, October 17th-November 1st, sligolive.ie
