The Guide: The events to see, the shows to book and the ones to catch before they end

Event of the week

MusicTown 2023

Thursday, July 27th, to Sunday, July 30th, The Complex, Dublin; various times; €15; musictown.ie

Fair play to MusicTown – it faced up to Covid for two years running with innovative line-ups, and now that zero restrictions apply it gathers a broad range of emerging music acts that dispense with exacting genre specifications. Guest curators for this year’s event are Crash Ensemble, Dublin Digital Radio and Improvised Music Company, while some of the 30-plus acts performing include Adrian Crowley, Tomike, Carole Nelson Trio, Izumi Kimura, Paddy Hanna, Moondiver, Ria Rua, and Junior Brother.

Gigs

Imelda May

Saturday, July 22nd, Iveagh Gardens, Dublin; 6pm; €49; ticketmaster.ie

Liberties bred and buttered, Dubliner Imelda May has throughout her career refused to kowtow to anyone. She caused a sudden shock to her fans some years ago when she ditched her leopard skins and rockabilly hairdo, but the change of visual style ably matched her music – a torch song/ballad hybrid with fingerprints inked by soul, blues, rock, and gospel. What are the odds that May will also read a poem or two from her recent collection, A Lick and a Promise? Reasonable, we’d bet.

When Next We Meet

Saturday, July 22nd, and Sunday, July 23rd, Raheen House Hotel, Clonmel, Co Tipperary; 4pm; €32.50/€60; whennextwemeet.ie

What would you rather have? The scrum of Electric Picnic or far smaller, more intimate gatherings where you can listen to music without getting elbowed out of the way to the front of the stage? When Next We Meet returns for two evenings of Irish music that includes performances by Talos, Lisa Hannigan, Daithí, Niamh Regan, Kyoto Love Hotel, and Smythy. The line-ups are compact, but the point of this micro-festival is more about quality than quantity. Both evenings also feature on-site DJs, bars, food, and (say the promoters) “posh portaloos” that are “probably the highlight of the night”. We doubt that, but good to know.

Mariza

Thursday, July 27th, NCH, Dublin; 8pm; €35-€45; nch.ie

From her early influences of gospel, jazz and soul, and her subsequent entry into the world of fado (a music genre specific to Portugal), singer Mariza has in the past 25 years become one of the world’s best-known proponents of the form. Following two reasonably successful albums (2001′s Fado em Mim, 2003′s Fado Curvo), Mariza stepped into the mainstream in 2004 when she duetted with Sting on a song (A Thousand Years) for the Olympic Games. From that point on, she has performed in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, yet she has rarely played in Ireland. In other words? Don’t pass up the opportunity.

Podcast

Live Wild with Hilary Rose – The Young Offenders

Saturday, July 22nd, Cork Opera House; 8pm; €35; corkoperahouse.ie

We can look forward to the fourth season of The Young Offenders being on our screens at some point in the near future but in the meantime, one of its lead actors, Hilary Rose (who plays Máiréad McSweeney, the long-suffering mother of the sweet but dim Conor), adds to her Live Wild podcast series with special guests from the show. Talking to as many of her co-stars that she can gather together, Rose will delve into the making of the series and the development of storylines and characters. Laughs? Not guaranteed but more than likely.

Comedy

Paddy Power Comedy Festival

Thursday, July 27th, until Sunday, July 30th, Iveagh Gardens, Dublin; various times; €15-€36; ticketmaster.ie

“Where sports meets comedy – like Man Utd” is one of the gags on the Paddy Power Comedy Festival website, but there will surely be much better ones than that across the four days of this all-encompassing entertainment extravaganza. Featuring some of Ireland’s best-known comedians (including Tommy Tiernan, Deirdre O’Kane, Dara Ó'Briain, Jason Byrne, Colm O’Regan), quite a few soon-to-be Ireland’s best-known comedians (including Justine Stafford, Michael Fry, Séan Burke), hot button US comics (Reggie Watts, Phoebe Robinson, Desiree Burch), and a bunch of UK gagsters (Milton Jones, Fern Brady, Helen Bauer), prepare for funny bones to be cracked, thighs to be slapped, and sides to be split.

Stage

Winnie the Pooh – The Musical

Friday, July 28th, until Sunday, July 30th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin; various times; prices €17-€35; ticketmaster.ie

It’s one for the youngsters as AA Milne’s cherished characters are brought to life in a fresh stage production with, we are informed, a “modern” narrative. The child-friendly musical features exceptional life-size puppetry (by Jake Bazel, who originated the role of Winnie the Pooh on Broadway) and the Grammy Award-winning songs (by Richard and Robert Sherman) from the original 1960s/’70s Walt Disney animated featurettes. At less than 60 minutes, it’s ideal entertainment (and distraction) for the little rascals, and a handy foot rest for the adults.

The Boomtown Rats are one of many acts set to perform at Cavan Calling

Arts festival

Cavan Calling 2023

Wednesday, July 26th, until Sunday, July 30th; Co Cavan; various venues/times/prices; cavancalling.com

Pitched as a homecoming festival as much for Cavan’s global diaspora and natives as for anyone that has an affinity for the county (the organisers are clearly refusing to miss a trick), Cavan Calling features a wide-ranging programme of events, not least being the sold out appearance of the Boomtown Rats. The Cavan connection with Bob Geldof’s bunch is that one of the original members, Pete Briquette (Patrick Cusack) is from Ballyjamesduff. Further details of other events are on the festival website.

The Man Who Saved the Word features on the Irish Film Institute's run if films about nuclear weapons

Still running

Fallout

Until Sunday, July 30th, IFI, Dublin; various times/prices; ifi.ie

Irish Film Institute’s Fallout season of film and documentaries that focus on the use of nuclear weapons continues with Dead Man’s Letters (Saturday, July 22nd), When the Wind Blows (Sunday, July 23rd), A Compassionate Spy (Saturday, July 29th), and The Man Who saved the World (Sunday, July 30th).

Book it this week

Keep her Lit Festival, Inistioge, Co Kilkenny; August 18th-20th; keepherlitfestival.ie
Jack Whitehall, SSE Arena, Belfast, October 6th; 3 Arena, Dublin, October 7th; ticketmaster.ie
Púca Festival, Trim/Athboy, Co Meath; October 27th-31st; pucafestival.com
Belters Only, 3 Arena, Dublin; October 29th; ticketmaster.ie