PERFECT 10
HERE’S OUR TOP TEN THINGS TO DO IN CORK THIS WEEK
SEÁN KEANE TO PLAY KILWORTH ARTS CENTRE
INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed Irish singer and musician Seán Keane will play an intimate concert at the Village Arts Centre in Kilworth on Friday, January 12.
Known for his distinctive sean-nós style, Keane’s voice is truly unique with his songs also encompassing a mixture of trad, pop, blues and country.
Keane was named the 1997 and 1998 Performer of the Year by the Irish Music Magazine and the following year the London Independent described him as “the greatest Irish musical find of the 90’s”.
In addition to performing tracks from his 11 albums, Keane will also play whistle, flute and harmonica at the concert.
Tickets from 087 649 2514.
THE MATCHMAKER AT THE PALACE THEATRE FERMOY
A one-off performance of John B Keane’s classic play ‘ The Matchmaker’ will take place at the Palace Theatre in Fermoy on Saturday evening.
Starring comedian Jon Kenny and legendary Irish actor Mary McAvoy, the play is a revival of Michael Scott’s iconic production of one of Keane’s most celebrated works.
The play follows the efforts of Dicky Mick Dicky O’Connor to make matches for the lonely and lovelorn from all parts of the country, with Keane’s wit and unparalleled wordplay using ‘ the Matchmaker’ as an exploration of rural loneliness.
He delves into the longings, hungers, fears and foibles of a collection of lonely county people, creating a marvellously colourful world and taking people back to a simpler time when phones were few and far between and the only web was one left behind by spiders
Tickets for the show are available from 025 30242 priced at €23.
FOSTER & ALLEN LIVE AT THE FIRGROVE HOTEL
THE inimitable duo of Foster & Allen will bring their ‘Golden Years’ tour to the Firgrove Hotel in Mitchelstown on Friday night.
The pair are currently travelling the country with the tiur, which is a celebration of their more than 40-years on the road during which they have released more than 30 albums, enjoying chart success both at home and abroad and playing live concerts to packed venues across the globe.
The Mitchelstown concert will see them play old favourites such as ‘Bunch of Thyme’, Maggie’ and Old Flames’ as well as their latest single’ Mrs Brown’s Boys’ and tracks from their top 40 selling CD ‘ The Gold Collection’.
Tickets for the concert from 025 24111 priced at €30.
PAT SHORTT’S ‘HOW’S TINGS’ AT THE INEC
THE irrepressible Pat Shortt will bring his hilarious ‘How’s Tings’ show to the stage of the INEC next Thursday night.
During a night of music and predicable mayhem, Shortt will explore a whole manner of “big and little tings”, some personal and some not so personal, some international and others that in his own words “only affect the parish”.
The show, the follow-on to the hugely successful ‘Selfie’, sees Shortt once again in fine form as he pokes fun and all aspects of Irish life from the sublime to the downright ridiculous.
Tickets, priced at €31.20 from the INEC office on 064 667 1555.
PANTO TIME AT THE RIVERSIDE PARK HOTEL
THE Lee Valley Enterprise Board will help banish those January blues this weekend with their production of the perennial panto favourite ‘Cinderella’ at the Riverside Park Hotel.
The talented cast of locals actors will bring to life the timeless classic tale in an ‘all singing all dancing’ production featuring the usual cast of colourful characters.
The show will run at the Riverside Park Hotel in Macroom on Friday at 7.30pm, Saturday at 2.30pm & 7.30pm and the following afternoon at 2.30pm.
Tickets priced at €15 for adults and €10 for children are available from the box office at The Square in Macroom or 087 166 3395.
FR TED EXPERIENCE AT THE CHARLEVILLE PARK
THE ‘Fr Ted Experience’ will make a welcome stop off at the Charleville Park on Friday night.
The ultimate night out for fans of arguably one of the greatest ever comedies will feature Joe Rooney and Patrick McDonnell, who played Fr Damo and Eoin McLove respectively in the original show.
On the night The Afters, dressed as priests, will perform music from the show such as ‘My Lovely Horse’, ‘Songs Of Love Father Ted Theme’, ‘Ghost Town’, ‘My Lovely Mayo Mammy’ as well as some unholy party hits.
The audience will be encouraged dress up as characters from the show and participate and maybe even take part in a heat of the Lovely Girls competition.
Tickets from the venue on 063 33700 priced at €20.
ABBA TRIBUTE ACT TO PLAY CYPRUS AVENUE GIG
ABBA fans will get the chance to dance, jive and have the time of their life when acclaimed Irish tribute band Abbaesque take to the stage of Cork’s Cyprus Avenue on Saturday night.
The band will have punters up and dancing with their note perfect renditions of the songs made famous by the Swedish foursome during their stellar career.
Over the past two decades the band has performed for than 250 gigs per year and recently performed alongside the RTE Concert Orchestra in the National Concert Hall.
Pure nostalgia will be in the air as Abbaesque bash out all of the favourites including ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Mama Mia’, ‘Fernando’, ‘Waterloo’, ‘ Take A Chance on Me’ and many more instantly recognisable tunes.
Tickets from www.eventbrite.ie priced at €15.
FULL CIRCLE WITH ANDY AT THE OLIVER PLUNKETT
CORK singer/songwriter Andy Dunne will resume his ‘Full Circle’ residency at the Oliver Plunkett Bar with a free late-night gig at the Cork City venue next Monday night.
Not a man to be stereotyped in any particular genre, Dunne performs possibly the most eclectic set you will ever hear from a solo performer, with his genial wit and onstage banter adding another dimension to his live performances.
Although he generally performs well-honed cover versions, Dunne adds some of his own compositions into his set, ranging from trad to quirky blues songs all accompanied by his unique acoustic guitar style.
FIRST FORTNIGHT THERAPY IN B/COLLIG
THE White Horse in Ballincollig will play host to a First fortnight Therapy Session on Saturday, featuring an evening of music, song and poetry.
The evening will be Cork’s undisputed Queen of Soul Karen Underwood, who has captivated audiences across Ireland with her powerful interpretations of songs by Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Amy Winehouse.
The line-up will also include performance by former Fred front-man Joe O’Leary, spoken word and progressive hip-hop fusion duo Poetic Pilgrimage, writer Stanley Notte and joint Munster slam poetry winner Ali Bracken.
MC for the evening will be renowned wordsmith and long-time First Fortnight collaborator Stephen James Smith.
For ticket information and to find out more about the First Fortnight initiative visit www. firstfortnight.ie.
ECLECTIC NIGHT OF MUSIC WITH THE WATERMELONS
CORK-based blues four piece The Watermelons will play a free late-night gig at Charlie’s on Cork’s Union Quay on Friday night.
With a line up, consisting of drums, bass, guitar and sax, the band boasts some of Corks finest musicians.
Their live sets alternate between pure Chicago blues and blues rock, with blistering covers of tracks made famous by legendary musical figures including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Wells , Fleetwood Mac and Jimi Hendrix.
The audience can expect wailing guitar and sax solos driven by a stirring vocals and a formidable rhythm section.