PERFECT 10
HERE’S OUR TOP TEN THINGS TO DO IN CORK THIS WEEK
JAMES OR AND BAND SET TO PLAY COUGHLAN’S GIG
HAVING sold out the venue when he played there last year rising Cork singer/songwriter James Or will make a welcome return to Coughlan’s Live on Friday evening with a full backing band of top class musicians. .
Since the release of his ‘Cold Open’ EP in 2016, or has been much in demand playing slots at the Indiependence and Live at the Marquee festival as well as supporting the likes of The Coronas, Damien Dempsey, Ham Sandwich and Alexis Taylor.
His latest single ‘Berlin’ was released to widespread critical acclaim and with a new album ‘All the Bed’s We’ve Been In’ nearing completion, this gig will offer music fans the chance to hear one of Cork’s hottest musical talents live.
Tickets priced at €8 are available from www. coughlans.ie.
HILLBILLY HAYSEED LIVE AND UNLEASHED IN CORK
GROUNDBREAKING US bluegrass rockers Hayseed Dixie will bring their high-octane live show to the stage of Cork’s Cyprus Avenue next Monday night.
The band, who shot to fame in 2001 following the release of their debut album ‘A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC’, have earned a global following for their unique and uncompromising mix of hard rock and bluegrass.
Over the intervening years Hayseed Dixie has released 14 more albums, and while they may not have all been chart success they have done enough to earn the band a huge cult following for their original songs and bluegrass inspired covers of tracks by AC/DC, Judas Priest and the Rolling Stones among others.
Tickets for what promises to be one of the liveliest gigs in Cork this week from www. eventbrite.ie priced at €17.50.
CHARITY VARIETY CONCERT IN CHARLEVILLE
A VARIETY fundraising concert featuring a wealth of talented artists will take place this Friday at the Charleville Park Hotel at 8pm.
The concert, which will be headlined by The Cahirmee Singers, will also feature Jim Foley and the Glen Wren Group, seanachai Jim Barry, dancers from Scoil Rinnce Staic, harpists and singer Rachel O’Connor and The Charleville Folk Group.
Funds from the event will go towards the upkeep of the local parish and the Cathy O’Shaughnessy Hope Fund, which helps slum and street children of Kolkata in India.
Tickets priced at €10 from the Charleville Park Hotel, members of the Charleville Heritage Society and members of the Glen Wren Group
FESTIVAL IS A PERFECT FIT FOR THEATREGOERS
THE third annual Blackwater Fit-Up Festival got underway this week, with performances of Pat Kinavane’s award-winning play ‘Silent’ playing nightly at venues across the North Cork region.
Next week the festival will feature performances of Charleville playwright Katie Holly’s bitter-sweet play ‘Sharon’, which will run over consecutive nights at The Glen theatre in Banteer, Kiskeam Community Hall, First Fruits in Watergrasshill, The Mall Arts Centre in Youghal and the Palace Theatre in Fermoy.
Over the following two weeks the festival will also feature performances of Margaret McAuliffe’s award-winning ‘ The Humours of Bandon’ and Blood in the Alley’s production of Samuel Beckett’s ‘End of Day’.
For more information about the festival including venues, times tickets for each of the performances visit www.fit-uptheatrefestival.com.
RTÉ CONTEMPO PLAYING BEETHOVEN AT TRISKEL
THE RTÉ Contempo Quartet will play the fourth instalment of its Complete Beethoven Cycle at the Triskel Christchurch Arts Centre tonight (Thursday) from 6.30pm.
Since its formation in 1995 the Quartet has performed over 1400 concerts world-wide including at such as St Martin-in-the-Fields, Berliner Philharmonie, Palazzo del Quirinale Rome, Carnegie Hall and the Opera House Tel-Aviv.
The Triskel concert, will feature performances of Beethoven’s String Quartet’s No. 4 (OP 18 in C) & No 11 (OP 96 in F), celebrated Irish composer Ian Boyle’s String Quartet in E Minor and Jane O’Leary’s ‘ The Passing of Sound Forever’.
Admission at the door €10/€12.
JASON’S ‘THREE BRAINS’ ON EVERYMAN STAGE
ONE of Ireland’s finest contemporary comedians, the inimitable Jason Byrne will bring his brand new ‘ The Man With Three Brains’ show to the Everyman Palace Theatre on Friday and Saturday night.
The show sees Byrne, who has carved a successful TV career both at home and in the UK, return to his stand-up roots with the new show that peels back the madness inside his head.
Full of quickfire gags and Byrne’s astute and hilarious observational brand of humour, the takes audiences on a whirlwind trip through the sublime to the downright ridiculous in a show that will delight his fans.
Tickets from the venue on 021 450 1673 priced at €28.
WINTER WARMERS AT THE B/COLLIG MUSIC FEST
THE ninth annual Ballincollig Winter Music Festival will kick off tonight (Thursday) at the White Horse with an evening in the company of singers Wallis Bird and Kaia Kater.
Over the course of the weekend the venue will play hosts to a raft of top Irish and international acts including US duo Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Rubyhorse and a Sunday afternoon session in the company of Alec Finn, Alec Finn, Frankie Gavin and Derek Hickey with special guest Italian folk and world music star Lavinia Mancusi.
Irish Times journalist will also be returning with ‘Culture Vulture’s’, a lively mix of debate, searching interviews and live performances with the Niall McCabe Band bringing down the curtain on this year’s festival on Sunday night.
For tickets visit www.whitehorse.ie.
CONCERTINA ENSEMBLE LIVE IN BAILE MHÚIRNE
THE Irish Concertina Ensemble (ICE) will play an eagerly anticipated concert at the Ionad Cultúrtha in Baile Mhúirne this coming Friday evening.
Featuring a line-up of Ireland’s best concertina players, the Ensemble for the first time brings together a quintet of internationally renowned leading exponents of the celebrated Anglo concertina into one single group.
Conceived and directed by Tim Collins, ICE features Collins himself, Pádraig Rynne, Edel Fox, Caitlín Ní Gabhann and Micheál Raghallaigh and was put together in 2014.
By creating what Collins described as a “new sonic template” for traditional Irish music on the Anglo concertina, ICE has pioneered and new and exciting performance trajectory for the instrument.
Tickets for ICE at the Ionad Cultúrtha from the venue on 026 45733.
NAILDRIVERS ROCKING DOWN THE LANE
THE wonderfully named Pontius Pilate and the Naildrivers will bring their infectious brand of eclectic music to the Crane Lane Theatre for a free late night gig on Friday.
The Naildrivers have been playing together for more than a decade, energising audiences with their note perfect of covers from the seventies and eighties mixing covers by bands like The Specials, The Jam, The Beat, Madness and The Clash with their own original material.
While the music they play has been variously described as ska, reggae, punk and rock it is, in truth, a wonderful mix that takes the best bits from each genre to create a live sound that is guaranteed to set audiences up and dancing and pulses racing.
DEREK RYAN AND LISA MCHUGH AT THE INEC
IRISH country music superstar Derek Ryan will bring his latest tour to the stage of the INEC in Killarney on Saturday night with support from special guest Lisa McHugh.
Ryan’s effortless ability to blend country and traditional Irish airs into a single explosive mix, as evidenced though one of his biggest hits ‘Hold On To Your Hat’ recorded with the legendary Shannon, has earned him a loyal and ever expanding fanbase.
His live shows include a mix of old favourite and country classic mixed with Ryan’s own material, with the highlight being when Ryan is left alone on stage with just his acoustic guitar and stunning voice.
Tickets for what promises to be a magical night of craic agus ceol from the venue on 064 667 1555 priced at €30.