Event of the week
Peter Kay
Thursday, July 10th, until Saturday, July 12th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €180.75/€54.25 (Fri/Sat sold out), ticketmaster.ie
After he won Channel 4’s So You Think You’re So Funny in 1997 (Tommy Tiernan won it a year earlier), the English comedian Peter Kay became a cult hit with his TV series Phoenix Nights, set in a working men’s club in northern England. Within a couple of years he was one of Britain’s best-known comedians, not least through his charity cover of (Is This the Way to) Amarillo, which became the UK’s top-selling single of 2005. Kay, whose mother was born in Co Tyrone, set another record when he sold more than a million tickets for his standup tour of 2010-11. The Bolton comic didn’t go on the road for more than a decade after that – his projects in the meantime included Peter Kay’s Car Share, the BBC sitcom set largely in a Fiat 500L – but he’s been selling out arenas again since 2022. This Better Late Than Never Again! tour made headlines in February when Kay had hecklers – just noisy fans, according to some of the people around them – thrown out of a show in Manchester. That won’t deter long-term admirers. But perhaps don’t get too rowdy if you’re heading for 3Arena.
Gigs
Longitude
Saturday and Sunday, July 5th & 6th, Marlay Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin, 2pm, €199/€149.90/€99.90, ticketmaster.ie
Ireland’s premier dance/techno/hip-hop/house festival comes around again with another heavy-duty line-up that will keep arms in the air and legs on the move all weekend. Headliners include David Guetta and Belters Only, on Saturday; and 50 Cent and Sonny Fodera, on Sunday. Other acts to look out for across the two-day event include blk., Hannah Laing, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie and Patrick Topping. Keep an ear out, also, for Irish DJ talents such as Cody Wong, Robbie Doherty and Caz.
Ludovico Einaudi
Tuesday, July 8th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €106.25/€49.20, ticketmaster.ie
The Turin-born pianist and composer came to prominence in the 1990s through the use of his music in Italian-language films, but since the early 2000s – specifically through the use of his music in the British film This Is England – he has been one of the go-to ambient, neoclassical and electronic composers. Einaudi’s latest album, The Summer Portraits, continues his fascination with quietude, so you are kindly advised to keep your thoughts to yourself until after the concert. Support comes from the British traditional/folk singer Sam Lee.
Coheed and Cambria/Alexisonfire
Tuesday, July 8th, Telegraph Building, Belfast, 7pm, £56.50; Wednesday, July 9th, National Stadium, Dublin, 7pm, €67.35, ticketmaster.ie
Sharing the spoils, creative or otherwise, is rare in many music genres, but this co-headline tour by New York’s Coheed and Cambria, and Ontario’s Alexisonfire makes amends. Each band is a law unto itself. The former’s style is a mix of prog metal and alternative rock, while the latter has described their post-hardcore/punk-rock music as “the sound of two Catholic high school girls mid-knife-fight”. Get there early for the support acts: Meryl Streek in Belfast, and Molly Vulpyne Band in Dublin.
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Camila Cabello
Wednesday, July 9th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €181.75/€80.25/€75.25, ticketmaster.ie
The Cuban-Mexican singer and songwriter Camila Cabello has effortlessly graduated from her 2012 career start in the US version of The X Factor. As part of the girl group Fifth Harmony (formed by the X Factor judges Demi Lovato, LA Reid, Britney Spears and Simon Cowell), Cabello sold more than 30 million records. Her departure in late 2016 paved the way for a solo career that has progressed alongside her acting. Plugging C,XOXO, her 2024 album, Cabello tours Europe for the first time in seven years, and returns to Ireland for her first headline show.
Film
Galway Film Fleadh
Tuesday-Sunday, July 8th-13th, Pálás cinema/Galmont Hotel, Galway city, various times and prices, galwayfilmfleadh.com
Ever since its foundation, in 1989, Galway Film Fleadh has prided itself as a festival of discovery, and this year’s, the 37th edition, is no exception. An agreement with Galway City Council to reopen the city’s arthouse Pálás cinema (which closed in February) has added a subtle wow factor to the scheduled programme of films. Documentary highlights include David Keenan: Words on Canvas, and In Time: Dónal Lunny. Many of the workshops, panel discussions, masterclasses and networking events take place at the Galmont Hotel.
In conversation
Ian Leslie on John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs
Wednesday, July 9th, Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, 8pm, €25, paviliontheatre.ie
One of the best music books of the year is surely John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs. The book by Ian Leslie highlights (this paper’s reviewer noted) “insights heretofore unexplored, which alone makes [it] essential reading for fans”. Talking to Leslie about Lennon and McCartney and their songwriting processes are two avid Beatles fans, the writer Paul Howard and the musician and broadcaster Tom Dunne.
Literature
West Cork Literary Festival
From Friday, July 11th, until Friday, July 18th, Bantry, Co Cork, various venues, times and prices, westcorkmusic.ie
Arriving bang in the middle of summer, this year’s West Cork Literary Festival features high-profile actors (Richard E Grant on his recent memoir, A Pocketful of Happiness), film directors (Neil Jordan on Amnesiac, his nonfiction book from 2024), television personalities (Graham Norton, on his latest work of fiction, Frankie) and radio presenters (John Creedon, talking about his memoir, This Boy’s Heart; and Ryan Tubridy, who will be interviewing Norton in a sold-out event at the Maritime Hotel on Friday, July 18th). Factor in a library of authors, including Wendy Erskine, Ferdia Lennon, Sarah Maria Griffin, Alan Hollinghusrt, Claire Kilroy and Eimear McBride, and you have little excuse not to attend.
Still running
Willie Clancy Summer School
From Saturday, July 5th, until Sunday, July 13th, Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, various venues, times and prices, scoilsamhraidhwillieclancy.com
The annual Willie Clancy Summer School is pivotal in highlighting Irish traditional music more as a way of life than a passing interest. Visitors can expect a blend of emerging and established musicians, experienced through concerts, workshops and lectures. Also includes performances by the Kilfenora Céilí Band and the Tulla Céilí Band.
Book it this week
- Poor, Gate Theatre, Dublin, September 26th-November 2nd, gatetheatre.ie
- Niamh Regan, Star Bar, Dublin, October 9th and 10th, foggynotions.ie
- Robert Forster & His Swedish Band, NCH, Dublin, October 15th, nch.ie
- Aisling Bea, Vicar Street, Dublin, March 18th, ticketmaster.ie
