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A rising-star award at the Brits, BBC Radio 1′s Sound of 2024 and a debut album, Prelude to Ecstasy, that arrived at No 1 on the UK album chart: the past three years have been a whirlwind for The Last Dinner Party. They’ve barely had time to breathe since they performed their first gig, in 2021. A new edition of their debut, featuring acoustic and cover versions, will be delved into over these two sold-out shows, but expect the album proper – a killer debut that was delightfully offbeat yet incredibly accomplished, with a collection of thoughtful, well-crafted songs, as we described it when it was released – to be greeted with roars of approval.
The National Concert Hall’s commitment to trad continues with the sixth iteration of Drawing from the Well, a gathering, presented in association with the Irish Traditional Music Archive, of some of our most acclaimed musicians and singers. Among the latter is the peerless Iarla Ó Lionáird; the former include Zoë Conway (fiddle), Natalie Ní Chasaide (piano, fiddle, concertina), Seán McKeon (uilleann pipes), Cathal McConnell (tin whistle, flute) and the Mulcahy family (Louise, Michelle and Mick, covering uilleann pipes, concertina, harp, flute and accordion). The result? A formation of excellence.
The US summer dates of Lauryn Hill’s The Celebration Continues: The Miseducation Anniversary Tour 2024 were cancelled three days before the first show. The European leg starts in Dublin with what fans hope will be a dead cert. Her 1998 album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, will of course be the primary focus of the shows. And why not? It remains a stone-cold classic of neo-soul/hip-hop. The noted American music writer David Browne describes it as “an album of often-astonishing power, strength, and feeling”.
Road trip! Get on board for a two-day traipse around north Co Clare in the company of Irish musicians, including songwriters and singers John Francis Flynn, Sorcha Richardson, HousePlants, Ailbhe Reddy, Uly and Negro Impacto, plus the DJs Sally Cinnamon, Piqué and Jimmy Rouge. Common Threads, travelling by bus and stopping at various locations for artist performances, is a particularly innovative blend of music and sustainability curated by the musician Daithí O Dronaí and the arts promoter Peter Kelly. Tickets? You’ll be lucky.
Music in the Mountains takes place in several Co Dublin villages tucked well away from the bustle of the city centre. Six pubs – the Step Inn, in Stepaside; the Blue Light and the Sandyford House, in Sandyford; Taylors Three Rock, in Rathfarnham; the Golden Ball, in Kilternan; and Johnny Fox’s, in Glencullen – have teamed up to present three days of music and culture with acts such as Mick Pyro’s Dublin Blues Cartel, Ciarán Tourish, Burnchurch, Peter Browne & the Rat Kickers, and local traditional and folk musicians.
As one of Ireland’s first professional female artists, Mildred Anne Butler (1858-1941) drew inspiration from the serene countryside around her home at Kilmurry, Co Kilkenny. A monied background allowed her to travel first to London, in 1886, then to Paris, in 1894, and finally to Cornwall, in 1894-5, to study under her fellow artists Paul Jacob Naftel, Henri Gervex and Norman Garstin. At Home in Nature includes large-scale watercolours that emphasise Butler’s advanced skills in (as the exhibition title suggests) the painting of flowers, trees, animals and birds.
In 2011 the Brazilian comedian Rafi Bastos (then known by his full first name, Rafinha) was described by the Atlantic magazine as the most influential person on Twitter. Initially, he gained some notoriety in his home country by defying its repressive laws on freedom of speech, but as the years have passed his rapid-fire wit, insightful worldview and, in particular, his Netflix comedy specials have seen a big rise in his number of fans. Eleven million of them follow him on X. Still influential, then.
Another year, another IndieCork Film Festival, another celebration of Irish and world cinema. This year the programme has been able to broaden its clout with the debut of the Blacknight Best Irish Short Award, while Cork itself is firmly represented with showings of two features, two documentaries and 25 shorts. This, says the festival programming team, reflects “the burgeoning film-making scene in the region”. The opening film is Juliette in Spring (Sunday, October 6th, 8.30pm). The festival closes with Norah (Sunday, October 13th, 8.30pm).
There’s still time to check out fine productions even after the curtains close on three weeks of the Dublin Theatre Festival. Highlights include Dermot Bolger’s Home, Boys, Home (Civic Theatre, Tallaght, until Saturday, October 12th), Owen McCafferty’s Agreement (Gate Theatre until Sunday, October 27th) and Enda Walsh and Anna Mullarkey’s Safe House (Abbey Theatre until Saturday, November 16th).
The Saw Doctors, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, November 29th, ticketmaster.ie
Ahir Shah, Sugar Club, Dublin, January 30th, ticketmaster.ie
Junior Brother, Button Factory, Dublin, March 21st, ticketmaster.ie
Only Fools and Horses: The Musical, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, July 1st-5th, ticketmaster.ie
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