Night of the Living Dead or Cliff Richard? This week’s best rock and pop gigs

Hard Working Class Heroes

[ hwch.net ]

The third and final day of this highly respected annual Irish music industry event features a rake of emerging Irish acts in various venues across Dublin (including Tramline, Grand Social, Doyle's, Workman's Club) and a conference schedule (including It's Time to Look at Mental Health and Music, Keynote Interview, and Social or Bust – the Value of Modern Social Media Engagement). All details, including times of gigs and the conference schedules, can be found on hwch.net. TCL 

Marc O’Reilly

Nellie Fred's, Dingle, Co Kerry Saturday September 29th 9pm €12

One of Ireland's best if underrated musicians, Waterford's Marc O'Reilly has been tipping around the edges since 2011, when his debut was released. For this tranche of live performances, the nifty fingerpicking and frenetic acoustic/blues guitarist plugs his latest album, L'Être Politique, with provincial and city gigs. His Irish tour continues in October, when he visits Dublin (Whelan's, Thursday October 11th) and Belfast (The Crescent, Friday October 12th). TCL

Cliff Richard

3Arena,Dublin Saturday September 29th 8pm €96/€86/€76/€69.45/€59.65/ €54.65 ticketmaster.ie

Jazz gigs of the week, from Izumi Kimura to Peter Brötzmann

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Metallica to play Slane Castle in 2019

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Classical concerts of the week, from Louis Schwizgebel to Marc Coppey

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[ ssearenabelfast.com ]

We apologise in advance but we just have to say – of course – congratulations to Cliff Richard for embarking on his 60th-anniversary tour. The singer/performer is 78 in two weeks' time, and, quite incredibly, since 1959 has sold more than 250 million records. His commercial heyday may have been in the '60s, '70s and '80s, but his popularity as a performer has rarely waned through the decades. He may be a marmite music act, but it's impossible to argue with the statistics – our boy Cliff is the only solo singer to have had a number one UK hit in five consecutive decades. TCL

Odetta Hartman

East Side Tavern, Dublin Saturday September 29th 8pm €16 ticketmaster.ie

Being raised in New York's East Village and spending her childhood and teenage school holidays in her mother's home in West Virginia has left a mark on Odetta Hartman. The old-school Americana songwriter (and classically trained violinist) released her second album, Old Rockhounds Never Die, just over a month ago, which impressed with a blend of 20th-century field recordings and 21st-century studio enhancements. One to savour? TCL

Bodytonic & Distortion present: Baba Stiltz

[ wigwamdublin.com ]

Since it changed its name from the Twisted Pepper to Wigwam and reinvented itself as a casual restaurant by day and a bar by night rather than a full-blown dance venue, things have been quiet and conservative for the Abbey Street haunt. However, things seem to be changing again. With Swedish DJ Baba Stiltz playing here on Saturday, and Erol Alkan, Moxie and Shanti Celeste scheduled for upcoming gigs, it's like the olden days are back and, by god, did we miss them. LB

After Dark: Ballina

[ othervoices.ie ]

As the official closing party of the first-ever Other Voices Ballina event, After Dark will not only be a way for locals and blow-ins to let their hair down of a Saturday, it will be a place for the entire OV crew to cut loose after an intense few days. Saturday's After Dark (presented by This Greedy Pig) line-up sees DJ Sally Cinnamon go back-to-back with Molly King and Move Slow. Get in. LB

ChoiceCuts presents: A Night of Mo’ Wax – James Lavelle DJ set

The Sugar Club, Dublin Saturday September 29th €15 thesugarclub.com

As the founder of the Mo'Wax record label and the woozy trip-hop collective UNKLE, which includes DJ Shadow and Tim Goldsworthy as past members, James Lavelle's musical influences are both thrilling and varied. Taking care of the decks all night, Lavelle will take you on an almost biographical journey of his career so far. He has collaborated with some of the biggest names in music as UNKLE, so this DJ set will be the only acceptable form of name-dropping. LB

Manma Saor Yard Party

[ thebernardshaw.com ]

You may be completely done and dusted with summer but the Manma Saor crew are throwing one last party to kiss that heatwave, and the tanlines we made, goodbye. Starting at 5pm and taking over the smoking area and the inside bar, there will be live jazz, funk and electronica music from Expansions, Galleries and Acid Granny, and DJ sets of the afro, latin and dancehall persuasions from Santo, Sim Simma's Gully Docktah Irie, Timmah T and Ovo. LB

William Fitzsimmons & Joshua Radin

Whelan's, Dublin Sunday September 30th 8pm €25 whelanslive.com

Forging self-expressive art from emotional disaster is the kind of thing that comes naturally to some people; others can ably add an invigorating twist here and a smart turn there. One of these is William Fitzsimmons, a US singer-songwriter and producer whose recently released album, Mission Bell, was made during and after his separation from his second wife. The album, Fitzsimmons has said, focuses on "the admittance and confrontation of the buried, deep, ugly underbelly elements of ourselves, particularly in relationships, that we spend most of our lives trying to hide from". Make mine a Babycham. TCL

Tom Baxter

Grand Social, Dublin Sunday September 30th 8pm €22 thegrandsocial.ie

Róisín Dubh, Galway Monday October 1st 8pm €20 roisindubh.net

Dolan's Warehouse, Limerick Tuesday October 2nd 8pm €20 dolans.ie

INEC Acoustic Club, Killarney, Co Kerry Thursday October 4th 8pm €20 inec.ie

DeBarras, Clonakilty, Co Cork Friday October 5th 9pm €20 debarra.ie

UK singer-songwriter Tom Baxter caused something of a stir over 10 years ago with a pair of albums (his 2004 debut, Feather & Stone, and the 2008 follow-up, Skybound) but has latterly retreated into the background for reasons unknown. The title of his most recent album, The Other Side of Blue, may provide some clues, but, whatever the causes, it is good to have such a deft songwriter back in our midst. Baxter continues his nationwide tour next weekend, playing Saturday October 6th at Triskel Christchurch, Cork city and Sunday October 7th at Spirit Store, Dundalk, Co Louth. TCL

Ólafur Arnalds

National Concert Hall, Dublin Monday October 1st 8pm €30 (sold out) nch.ie

Iceland's Ólafur Arnalds may have started off his notable music career as a member of various hardcore punk bands, but when broadband speeds in his native country got better he started downloading movies that were as much to see as for the soundtracks to hear. So started his life as a composer and soundtrack artist (Broadchurch; Electric Dreams). This sold-out show focuses on his latest album, re:member, which centres around two semi-generative, self-playing pianos that make each live performance unique. With the performance lighting system synced to the music, expect this to be a treat for the senses. TCL

Kaleidoscope

[ bellobardublin.com ]

Curated by Karen Dervan and Lioba and created by violinist Clíodhna Ryan and cellist Kate Ellis, Kaleidoscope is a salon-styled evening of chats and performances of classical, contemporary and experimental music. This themed Music of Conscience event will feature the Irish premiere of Jennifer Jolley's Prisoner of Conscience, a piece that follows the arrest and trial of Pussy Riot, performed by Dublin-based all-female vocal ensemble Dulciana aka "That feminist choir" and a host of other musical guests. LB

Night of the Living Dead, with Live Music

National Concert Hall, Dublin Thursday October 4th 8pm €25/€20/€15 nch.ie

One of cinema's greatest and most influential horror films, Night of the Living Dead (directed by George A Romero, and released in 1968) receives a special 50th-anniversary screening tonight, with a reimagined and newly contextualised score written and performed live by musicians Matthew Nolan, Stephen Shannon, Kevin Murphy and Catherine Sikora Mingus. Expect something delicious and spooky to come your way. TCL

Grace Petrie

[ spiritstore.ie ]

UK performer Grace Petrie brings no small amount of assertive, sometimes provocative tunes to the Irish public for the first time. Her profile in the UK has slowly risen over the past seven years through delivery of protest songs that, she says, soundtrack "the modern struggle" of discord, austerity, social and sexual issues in Britain. If you can't make it to this fine provincial venue, Petrie also plays Róisín Dubh, Galway on Saturday, October 6th and DC Music Club, Dublin on Sunday, October 7th. TCL

Le Galaxie

Róisín Dubh, Galway Friday October 5th €22/€24 roisindubh.net

You may never have seen these ruffians perform live; in fact, you may never have even heard of them, but they're on the rise. Le Galaxie are one of the hardest working live acts in Ireland and for all the work they put in, we get a guaranteed night of dancing out of it. The Róisin Dubh gig is the first night of their Irish tour, which will see them cover almost every inch of the country between now and mid-November. LB