Saturday 29
Scoil Gheimhridh Ghaoth Dobhair
Various venues, Gweedore until January 1st, scoilgheimhridh.com
The distillation of talent gathered for this annual winter school is akin to poetry: the best notes and songs in the best order. The programme includes an afternoon concert with Noel Hill, Liam O'Connor, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill and Helen Diamond, with an evening concert featuring Matt Molloy with John Carty, Arty McGlynn and Brian McGrath. Molloy's new solo album (his first in 20 years), Back To The Island, will surely dictate the direction of this unmissable gathering. Altan will perform a gala concert with some special guests over the weekend. Of course, it's often in the snugs and back room bars that the best tunes are to be heard. At this particular gathering though, they lurk around every corner. An almighty way to ring in the new year, too, with Pólca 4 and The Conifers in Derrybeg.
Kíla
Monroe's Live, Galway 10pm €20 + booking fee, monroeslive.ie
Fresh from their pre-Christmas Féile Kíla gig in the National Stadium, the band venture west of the Shannon, bringing with them their wealth of songs, tall tales and formidable percussive force, with a repertoire that spans three decades.
Thursday 3
Arty McGlynn and Nollaig Casey
The Village Theatre, Carrabane, Athenry 8pm, €15, 087-2283377
Hot on the heels of the release of his exceptionally fine solo album, Botera, Arty McGlynn and his wife, fiddle player, Nollaig Casey bring their wildly eclectic repertoire to the intimate setting of this pub/theatre venue. A celebration of music that stretches from Louisiana sax player Illinois Jacquet to Duke Ellington and on to McGlynn's own original compositions, this promises to be a very special night.
Friday 4
Kaleidoscope night: The Child Ballads
Bello Bar, Portobello 8pm €12 + booking fee, kaleidoscopenight.com
This eclectic evening ups the ante with a premiere of Laoise O'Brien's superb new album, The Child Ballads, based on songs collected by Francis James Child in the late 19th century in England and Scotland, and their American variants. With a mission to mine some well-known and other lesser known songs from the Child collection, and inviting musicians from diverse backgrounds to collaborate, O'Brien will be joined by Malachy Robinson on viol, double bass, banjo and vocals, Eamon Sweeney on baroque guitar, lute and steel string guitar, Francesco Turrisi on piano and percussion, and members of O Deer: Oisín Walsh-Peelo & co. Past and present, alive and revelling in one another's company.
