Coming to a stage near you in 2024
Plan ahead for Taylor’s huge shows and the other banging gigs that await
Avery happy New Year to you all! If you are going out tonight, I hope you see in 2024 in style but in one piece. You wouldn’t want to miss the plethora of gigs throughout the country from now until September. The superstars will grace us with their presence in the summer and due to the phenomenon of ‘dynamic pricing’ tickets are still available on some sites for their shows but you will pay handsomely. The practice leaves a sour taste in most mouths while others argue that it diminishes the influence of parasitic touts. But they haven’t gone away and it matters little to the end user who is benefiting in the procurement of a ticket whose price is inflated beyond the original face value. Better enjoy every second of those megagigs if you’ve paid megabucks for them. See you down the front in 2024!
The biggest of the biggies
Bruce Springsteen’s first show on the island in 2024 will be at Belfast’s Boucher Fields on May 9. He allows himself some R&R in between dates these days, so it’s Nowlan Park, Kilkenny on May 12, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork, May 16 before finishing at Croke Park on May 19.
Taylor Swift swoops into the Aviva for three consecutive nights as part of The ERAS Tour beginning on June 29. It is the first tour to gross $1bn. She is the musical phenomenon of this ahem, era. The ERAS movie is a concert film that actually fulfils a need in real time. Approximately one person for every two that applied were successful in getting a ticket, so the vanquished can console themselves by watching the movie... Sure they can.
Coldplay I thought Chris Martin and his merry (kind of) men were reachingwithonedateatCrokePark. But they’ve shifted in the region of 320,000 tickets for a four-night stand at GAA HQ on August 29th and 30th and September 1st and 2nd. The band who gave us Yellow are making this as ‘green’ a tour as possible with 100% renewable energy powering it all, so fair play, Coldplay.
The Electric Picnic has been moved to mid-August (16-18) to accommodate the schedule of certain artists. It also prevented a clash with Coldplay’s Croker megashows on dates often associated with previous Electric Picnics. No acts have yet been confirmed for the Stradbally shindig but my tips: The Wolfe Tones (naturally), The Script and a fit, well and revitalised Lewis Capaldi.
One more Croke Park show is set to be announced for August. AC/DC are hotly tipped to rock the environs of Jones Road. Surely it would be the last chance to see the Scots-Aussies with Geordie singer Brian Johnson at least, who is back in the fold after being temporarily replaced by Axl Rose.
Luckily there are many gigs that won’t break the bank. Below are some to mark in your diary from tonight right up until the dog days of the summer.
Tonight
l NYE Festival Picture This Dublin Castle. l Damien Dempsey INEC, Killarney, Kerry. l Gilla Band Dolans Warehouse, Limerick.
January
l 1st Sharon Shannon, Mary Coughlan & Frances Black INEC Arena Killarney, Kerry. The Three Amigos Landmark Hotel, Leitrim. l 2nd Christy Moore Vicar Street, Dublin. 24th-28th TradFest 2024 Temple Bar, Dublin (Janis Ian, Allison Russell, Altan, Bríd Harper)
February
l 1st David Gray Whelan’s, Dublin (until Sunday 4th) l 2nd Tommy Emmanuel Vicar Street, Dublin. l 3rd Depeche Mode 3Arena, Dublin. Róisín Murphy 3Olympia, Dublin. l 4th the ollam Vicar Street, Dublin. l 7th-11th Dublin Bowie Festival throughout Dublin.
March
l 5th Rick Astley 3Arena, Dublin. l 7th The Smile 3Arena, Dublin RTÉ Choice Music Prize Vicar Street, Dublin. l Seamus Fogarty Workman’s Cellar, Dublin. l 8th Pixies 3Olympia, Dublin (until 10th) l 9th The Sultans Of Ping Vicar Street, Dublin. l 10th Marti Pellow 3Arena, Dublin. l 12th The Stranglers 3Olympia, Dublin.
April
4th UB40 3Arena, Dublin. l 6th Fight Like Apes 3Olympia, Dublin. l 7th Pierce The Veil 3Olympia, Dublin. l 8th The Hives 3Olympia, Dublin. l 22nd Take That 3Arena (and 23rd) l 27th Dave Matthews 3Arena, Dublin. l 30th Olivia Rodrigo 3Arena, Dublin (and May 1st)
May
l 3rd The Handsome Family Liberty Hall, Dublin. l 4th Mitski 3Arena, Dublin. l 5th Tenacious D 3Arena, Dublin. Orbital Vicar Street, Dublin. l 8th Miles Kane Academy, Dublin. l 9th Andre Rieu 3Arena, Dublin. (and 10th). Darius Rucker 3Olympia, Dublin. l 11th Hermitage Green INEC Killarney, Kerry. l 13th Keane 3Arena, Dublin. l 15th Fletcher 3Olympia, Dublin (and 16th). l 17th Girls Aloud 3Arena, Dublin (and 18th). l 22nd and 23rd Dionne Warwick Vicar Street, Dublin. l 24th The Coronas Live at the Marquee, Cork. Richard Hawley 3Olympia, Dublin. l 25th Gavin James Live at the Marquee, Cork. l 26th Rod Stewart Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin.
June
l 1st Picture This St Anne’s Park, Raheny, Dublin. l 1st & 2nd Punchestown Music Festival, Punchestown Racecourse, Dublin (headliners MK and Belters Only). l 2nd Rewind Festival St Anne’s Park, Raheny, Dublin (Squeeze, Heather Small, and Go West). l 9th Tom Jones and Nile Rodgers & Chic St Anne’s Park, Raheny, Dublin l 12th The Killers 3Arena, Dublin (and 14th and 15th) l 13th CMAT Fairview Park, Dublin. l 21st23rd June Sea Sessions Bundoran, Donegal (headliners Johnny Marr, Jake Bugg and Cian Ducrot). l 26th LCD Soundsystem Malahide Caste, Dublin.l 27 th Green Day Mar lay Park, Dublin. Patti Smith Vicar Street (and 28th)l28th Jane’s Addiction Trinity College Dublin. l 29th Villagers Trinity College Dublin. l 28th-30th Kaleidoscope Russborough House, Wicklow (Waterboys, The Kooks, Lyra and Block Rockin Beats) l 28th-30th Night & Day Lough Key Forest Park, Roscommon (Damien Dempsey, Ash, Gemma Hayes, The Undertones).
July
l 1st Tom Odell Trinity College Dublin. l 2nd Manic Street Preachers and Suede Trinity College, Dublin. l 12th Snow Patrol Thomond Park, Limerick. l 13th Paolo Nutini Thomond Park, Limerick.l 14th Liam Gallagher Thomond Park, Limerick. l 27th The Saw Doctors Big Top, Galway.
August
l 1st-4th All Together Now Curraghmore Estate, Waterford (The National, Jorja Smith and Future Islands).