Galway is to play host to what is likely to be one of the gigs of the summer, it was announced today.
Spiritualized, Primal Scream, and Belfast-born DJ David Holmes are to share the same bill at the Galway Arts Festival Big Top on July 24th with tickets priced at €45 going on sale at 9am on Friday.
Spiritualized are well-known to Irish gig-goers having played three times in 2008 alone including a concert at St Canice’s Cathedral last August as part of the Kilkenny Arts Festival.
Last year, the group, which is headed by Jason Pierce (also known as J. Spaceman), released their sixth studio album Songs in A&E, which featured on many critics' top albums of 2008.
Primal Scream are also frequent visitors to Ireland. Winners of the first ever Mercury Music Prize for 1991's Screamadelica, which fused dance, dub, techno, acid house and rock, their latest album Beautiful Futurewas released last July.
David Holmes started out life as a DJ but these days is as well-known for the film soundtracks he has created as for his mixing talents. In addition to a longstanding relationship with director Stephen Soderbergh which led to Holmes compiling the score for Out of Sightand Oceans Elevenand Oceans Twelve, he recently composed the score for Hunger, the debut feature film from Turner Prize-winning artist Steve McQueen that was awarded the prestigious Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
As a remixer he has reworked tracks by artists including U2, Doves, The Manic Street Preachers, Primal Scream and Ice Cube and in April, he topped the Irish Times' "50 Best Irish Acts Right Now".
Nigerian musician Femi Kuti will be bringing his afrobeat sound to the Big Top stage two days before the triple-bill. Kuti, who returned to the world stage late last year with the Day by Dayalbum is son of African music legend Fela Kui. Tickets for the show, priced at €30 are also on sale from Friday.
The Galway Arts Festival takes place from July 13th -26th. Other musical acts confirmed so far include Bon Iver, David Gray, David Kitt and The Kronos Quartet.
The full programme of events is to be announced on June 3rd.
