PERFECT 10
HERE’S OUR TOP TEN THINGS TO DO IN CORK THIS WEEK
STEPHANIE RAINEY LIVE AT DE BARRA’S FOLK CLUB
RISING Cork singer/songwriter Stephanie Rainey will play an intimate gig at De Barra’s Folk Club in Clonakilty on Friday night.
Rainey became an internet sensation when he song ‘Please Don’t Go’ had more than a million hits within 24-hours of being uploaded to social media, promoting offers of record contracts from the US and the UK.
Known for her passionate song-writing and heartfelt vocals, Rainey has tasted further success with songs including ‘100 like Me’, in which she opens up about her battle with self consciousness and the uplifting ‘Nothing Of You Left To Love’ - resulting in more than 10 million streams and over 10,000 Irish radio plays over the past year.
This gig will feature tracks from her recent Spotify EP as well as tantalising glimpses of music from her eagerly anticipated debut album due out next March.
Tickets from www.tickets.ie priced at €17.
PRE-CHRISTMAS CONCERT AT ST MICHAEL’S IN CORK
THE Fleischmann Choir will be joined by the Cork School of Music Orchestra for a special pre- Christmas concert on Sunday evening at St Michael’s Church in Blackrock.
The majestic and inspiring musical programme will kick off with Vaughan Williams’ ‘ Towards the Unknown Region’. The work premièred in 1907 and won Williams acclaim as the foremost young composer of the day. It is romantic in style and transcendental in mood, bursting forth with remarkable and powerful joyfulness at the conclusion.
The spiritual atmosphere of the evening will be complimented by a performance of Poulenc’s ‘Gloria’, one of three sacred pieces from the composer ‘mature’ years, featuring soloist Mary Hegarty.
The choir will perform under the baton of Fleischmann Choir conductor Conor Pallister with guest conductor Matthew Haydock.
Tickets from www.corkorchestralsociety.ie.
JINX LENNON AND WASPS VS HUMANS AT FRED’S
ACCLAIMED Irish spoken word artist and singer/songwriter Jinx Lennon, will bring his acid tongued wit and keen observations on the good, bad and downright ugly of modern day living to Fred Zeppelins on Friday week (November 30).
The gig is part of his latest tour promoting Lennon’s ninth album, the evocatively titled ‘Grow a Pair’, a record that according to Hot Press “formally re-asserts the industrious Dundalk man as one of Ireland’s vitally truculent voices” Tickets €8 at the door.
Lennon will be joined on the night by Cork punk poet, Wasps vs Humans who, following the success of his debut novel ‘ The Mattress’, will be bringing out his novella ‘Eval America’ early next year.
He is also involved in ‘4-play’, a quartet of short plays written by Cork artists about single moments that changed their lives, which will première tonight (Thursday) at The Firkin Crane Theatre.
MUNDY ON SATURDAY AT THE WHITE HORSE
ONE of Ireland’s finest contemporary singer/ songwriters, Mundy, will bring his latest Irish tour to the stage of the White Horse in Ballincollig on Saturday evening.
The Offaly native, who cut his teeth busking on the streets of the capital, released the ‘Jellylegs’ album to widespread critical acclaim in 1996.
Since then, he has gone on to release a further 10 studio and live albums, further cementing his reputation as one of the finest Irish musicians and composers of his generation.
He has also performed to sell-out audiences across the world, touring the US, playing the Royal Albert Hall and even performing for Barack Obama in the White House.
Tickets for his White Horse gig, which will incorporate a selection of tracks from his extensive back catalogue, from www.eventbrite. ie priced at €15.
GOLDEN NIGHT OF MUSIC WITH HUGH CORNWELL
THE former front-man and lead guitarist with seminal punk icons The Stranglers, Hugh Cornwell, will play a solo electric gig at Cork’s Crane Lane Theatre on Saturday night.
The gig will include songs from every album spanning Cornwell’s entire career, from early Stranglers to the present, including new tracks from his critically acclaimed new album ‘Monster’.
As the original singer and guitarist with The Strangler’s, Cornwell enjoyed massive global success, releasing 10 hit albums and more than 20 top 40 singles.
From 1974 he was the driving force behind the band, , helping to write and produce a string of classic tracks including ‘Peaches’, ‘No More Heroes’, ‘Duchess’ and the massive 1981 hit ‘Golden Brown’.
Tickets for the gig from www.eventbrite.ie priced at €15 (plus booking fee).
LUNNY AND GLACKIN LIVE AT FIRST FRUITS CENTRE
TWO of the greats of Irish traditional music, Donal Lunny and Paddy Glackin, will perform together on the stage of the First Fruits Arts Centre in Watergrasshill on Saturday night.
Active since the 1970’s, Lunny is regarded as one of the central figures behind the renaissance of Irish music over the past three decades, playing with bands including Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts. He has also produced 17 albums for the Mulligan Records label and collaborated with a diverse range of artists including Kate Bush, Mark Knopfler and Clannad.
A founding member of the Bothy Band, Glackin is one of Ireland’s greatest ever fiddle players and in addition to being much in demand as a session player is also a noted commentator and lecturer on Irish Music.
Tickets for what promises to be a magical night of music and banter from www.firstfruitsartscentre.ie priced at €21.10.
CROW BLACK CKICKEN LIVE AND UNLEASHED
ONE of Ireland’s top live blues bands, Crow Black Chicken, will attempt to peel the paint off the walls off Charlie’s Union Quay next Saturday night when they play a free late night gig at the Cork City venue.
Formed in 2009, the power-trio of Christy O’Hanlon (vocals/guitar), Stephen McGrath (bass) and Gev Barrett (drums) combine elements of folk and hard rock with Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd Skynyrd inspired blues to produce their unique ‘ greasy blues’ rock sound.
With five studio albums under their belt and a new live LP released earlier this year the band has earned a deserved reputation as one of best live acts on the vibrant Irish rock scene.
For more about the band visit www.crowblackchicken.com.
GAVIN BRYERS AT THE TRISKEL CHRISTCHURCH
AS part of a series of events to mark the venues 40th anniversary internationally renowned British composer Gavin Bryers will play the Triskel Christchurch Arts Centre with his ensemble on Sunday night.
The very special concert programme will include the first ever live performance in Ireland by the ensemble of the seminal work ‘Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet’. Composed in 1971, it features the looped voice of an unknown homeless man singing a brief stanza, with the famous 1990 version of the piece featuring Tom Waits nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.
The concert will also incorporate performances of other works by Bryers, including the Irish premiére of ‘Winestead’, a piece commissioned for the Hull City of Culture 2017 which will be performed on the venues TC Lewis organ and feature tenor John Potter.
Tickets for the concert from the venue on 021 427 2022 priced at €30/€35.
CHRISTY MOORE TO PLAY CHARLEVILLE PARK GIG
ONE of the greatest performers in the history of Irish music, the legendary Christy Moore, will bring his ‘ On the Road’ tour to the stage of the Charleville Park Hotel on Saturday night.
Over a career spanning almost five decades, Christy Moore has become an iconic figure not just in Ireland but also across the world, releasing more than 30 solo studio, live and compilation albums in addition to recordings with Planxty and Moving Hearts.
His inspirational and compelling live performances have captivated audiences across the globe, with his latest album ‘On the Road’ a compilation of 24 songs live performances of his favourite songs.
His Charleville Park gig will feature renditions of some of the greatest songs ever written by an Irish artist and is guaranteed to get fans up on their feet and singing along.
Tickets for the show from www.charlevilleparkhotel.com priced at €40.
SKA FAVOURITES THE SERVICE AT COUGHLAN’S
CORK Ska six-piece band The Service will play a free gig on Saturday night at Coughlan’s Live on Douglas Street next Saturday night.
The band has been playing Ska, Reggae, 2-Tone and Rocksteady to appreciative audiences for almost 25-years, packing out venues across the country with their easy sound and enigmatic stage presence.
Their two-hour set pays homage to some of the great Ska and Reggae legends covering songs by Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, The Specials, The Beat and Madness.
The band has also been recognised by some of their heroes, playing support to The Specials, The Selecter and Bad Manners.
A live performance by The Service is guaranteed to get people’s feet stomping, head’s bopping and pulses racing.