The Guide: Galway International Arts Festival, Pillow Queens and other events to see, shows to book and ones to catch before they end

EVENT OF THE WEEK

Galway International Arts Festival

From Monday July 15th to Sunday July 28th, various venues/times/prices giaf.ie

The Big Kahuna of Ireland’s arts festivals arrives with two weeks of (assures the programme notes) “a celebration of the wonderful, the sublime and the intriguing”. True to that promise, there are far too many events to list here, but some of the do-not-miss ones include the world premiere of Mark O’Rowe’s new play Reunion, the circus/aerial show West Wind, Irish hip-hop act Kneecap, Stewart Copeland’s Police Deranged for Orchestra, Australian visual artist Patricia Piccinini’s We Travel Together, Irish visual artist Yvonne McGuinness’s What’s Left Us Then, and numerous enlightening First Thought talks. Full details are on the festival website.

GIGS

Pillow Queens

Saturday July 13th, Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, 6pm, €40 ticketmaster.ie

Almost four years after they released their debut album, In Waiting, Dublin’s Pillow Queens have graduated from playing in small indoor venues such as Bello Bar, Dolan’s, Spirit Store and Whelan’s to sizeable outdoor venues such as Iveagh Gardens and (from August) festivals across Europe, the US and Canada. Such a rise in profile and popularity matches the band’s creative reach, which has to date been realised brilliantly on two subsequent albums, 2022′s Leave the Light On, and this year’s Name Your Sorrow. The must-see special guest is Morgana, who is taking time out from the duo music act Saint Sister to focus on notably gorgeous solo work.

Phoenix

Thursday July 18th, Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, 6pm, €54.65 ticketmaster.ie

Ah, those French boyos – they certainly know how to charm the birds from the trees, don’t they? Just to make you feel old, Phoenix have been around since 1995, formed in Versailles by schoolfriends Thomas Mars, Deck D’Arcy and Christian Mazzalai. It took 15 years for the band to cross over from cult to mainstream, but from 2009, with the release of their fourth album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, they have quietly established a loyal fan base. A new album is imminent, so expect to hear occasional unfamiliar tunes amid the hits.

MusicTown

From Friday July 19th to Sunday July 21st, NCH, Dublin, various times/prices nch.ie/

Creative blending is the name of the game for this year’s MusicTown, wherein promoters Foggy Notions (Leagues O’Toole, David Connaughton) and the NCH, respectively, curate and host an array of musicians for whom pushing boundaries is the norm rather than the exception. This year’s selection of collaborations has a musical aurora borealis atmosphere about it, however, with sounds interweaving and infiltrating across the weekend. On Saturday July 20th and Sunday July 21st, Crash Ensemble partner up with Elaine Howley, Mohammad Syfkhan, Rachael Lavelle and E the Artist, while the opening event (Friday July 19th, sold out) sees Soda Blonde and the National Symphony Orchestra perform the Dublin band’s second album, Dream Big, in its entirety. Visit musictown.ie for full details.

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Forest Fest

From Friday July 19th to Sunday July 21st, Emo Park, Co Laois, various times/prices forestfest.ie

The ever-excellent Forest Fest has graduated from being a music-only festival to an all-encompassing three days of arts, culture and family entertainment. With the latter in mind, the music is inevitably geared towards an older demographic but, with acts such as Human League, The Divine Comedy, Dexys, The Undertones, Ash, The Stunning, Cathy Davey, Something Happens, The Frank and Walters, Lisa Hannigan and HamsandwicH, value is guaranteed. Two new names to keep an ear out for are UK trio Skinny Living, and Co Kildare teen band Thanks Mom. Full details are on the festival website.

ARTS FESTIVALS

Earagail Arts Festival

From Saturday July 13th to Sunday July 28th, various venues/times/prices, Co Donegal eaf.ie

“From the blues of Bamako to the blues of Ballybofey” is some stretch, but the Earagail Arts Festival can attest to going the distance. Now in its 37th year, this Co Donegal summer jamboree features theatre (Paddy Cullivan’s I Can’t Believe It’s Not Ireland, Thursday July 18th), spoken word (including Aingeala Flannery, Tom Morris, Lisa McInerney, Saturday July 20th), and music (The Henry Girls, Monday July 22nd to Friday July 26th). Full details are on the festival website.

VISUAL ART

Mark Francis: Acoustic Oceans

Until Saturday August 24th, Kerlin Gallery, Dublin kerlingallery.com

The rapidity and intricacy of the (quaintly termed) information age can be bewildering, but the new exhibition by Northern Irish artist Mark Francis of grid-structure paintings on canvas, paper and aluminium calms the mind somewhat. Presenting data and binary sequences as pulsating QR code-like stripes of colour, Acoustic Oceans is imbued with what the London-based artist describes as “improvised abstract noise”, with mesmeric pieces titled Diffuse Sound, Blue Noise, Vibrational Field, Megamix and Phonic Reverb.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Modern Nature

Until Saturday August 31st, Rosses Point, Sligo

Taking as its title the autobiographical template of the late artist/gardener Derek Jarman, the outdoor photography exhibition Modern Nature features the work of four photographers (Sean Breithaupt, Robert Ellis, Stephen Gill, Miriam O’Connor) whose images are mounted on large-scale cube structures fastened along the promenade seafront at Rosses Point. Curated by Yvette Monahan, the exhibition references and reflects upon the links between science, politics, psychology and the personal. Further details from visualartists.ie

STILL RUNNING

Willie Clancy Summer School

Until Sunday July 14th, Miltown Malbay, Co Clare scoilsamhraidhwillieclancy.com

The country’s primary traditional music, song and dance event ends with the Muiris Ó Rócháin Memorial Concert (Saturday July 13th, Community Centre, 7pm), and the Seán Ó Riada Mass with Cór Chúil Aodha (Sunday July 14th, St Joseph’s Church, 12.15pm). Full details are on the event website.

BOOK IT THIS WEEK

The David McWilliams Podcast, Vicar Street, Dublin, September 16th ticketmaster.ie
St Vincent, Olympia Theatre, Dublin, October 13th ticketmaster.ie
Stephanie Rainey, Vicar Street, Dublin, November 14th ticketmaster.ie
Kate Nash, The Academy, Dublin, December 18th ticketmaster.ie