Cathy Davey is not to be missed this October

Fri, Sep 10, 2010

This is turning into a landmark year for Cathy Davey, her album The Nameless hit number one the same day as her sell out Olympia Theatre show. Her gig at Oxegen was one of the weekend’s highlights as was her appearance at Electric Picnic, and now Cathy Davey and her band are to play The Royal Theatre, Castlebar, on October 7.

Top songwriters at this year's Westport Arts Festival

Fri, Sep 10, 2010

This year’s Westport Arts Festival has announced the addition of two notable music acts to this year’s October line up. Fionn Regan has already stimulated interest in Ireland and abroad, garnering nominations for the Irish Choice music award and the internationally acclaimed British Mercury music prize. Regan’s acoustic-based music has been compared favourably to Bob Dylan, both in terms of poetic lyrics and for moving from finger-plucking acoustics in his first album The End Of History, to a fuller sound in Shadow of an Empire. His abilities as a wordsmith are evident with a music that is laced with metaphors and analogies. He is an accomplished performer and includes this year’s Glastonbury among his many performances.

Rory Breslin sculpture exhibition at the Linenhall

Fri, Sep 10, 2010

Some Attachments and Severance, an exciting exhibition of bronze sculptures and drawings by Mayo-based sculptor Rory Breslin, continues at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar for the month of September. Though Breslin’s exquisitely executed works are based in figurative realism, the tensions and disfigurements within them create uneasy viewing, often evoking the classical man/monster myths of antiquity. Breslin’s skill resides in his capacity to balance orthodox representation with at times a voracious and rich subconscious. A former lecturer in NCAD, and co-founder of the Head Sculpture Gallery in Dublin, Rory Breslin has had numerous solo drawing and sculpture exhibitions, both nationally and further afield, and has executed a large body of public commissions.

Culture Night creeps closer and closer

Fri, Sep 10, 2010

If someone were to ask you what one night, seven locations, 15 venues and hundreds of people have in common, what would you say? Well all these elements together give us Culture Night, which this year falls on Friday September 24. The main focus of the evening will be on access, therefore participating venues will extend opening hours and organise events which are free of charge and open to the public.

Riverdance returns to the Royal

Fri, Sep 10, 2010

Riverdance celebrates its 15th birthday in Ireland by returning to the stage in The Royal Theatre Castlebar this autumn.

The Living Stream live in Belmullet

Fri, Sep 10, 2010

In ancient folklore three is a magic number, and you can expect the combined talents of Jackie Daly, Matt Cranitch, and John Faulkner to let loose the Sliabh Luachra genie from the bottle. Though Jackie and Matt are both steeped in the rich musical traditions of the Sliabh Luachra, this collaboration with singer John Faulkner is very much a celebration of the here and now, the living stream of Irish music.

An appointment with Mr Yeats

Fri, Sep 10, 2010

Mike Scott, Steven Wickham, and an international mix of talented musicians will visit the Royal Theatre in November, bringing their tour, The Waterboys: An Appointment With Mr Yeats, to Castlebar. A selection from at least 25 of WB Yeats’ poems and plays, spanning both famous and lesser known works, will be put to music.

Tickets are available on www.ticketmaster.ie as well as from the Royal Theatre box office on 0818 300000. Tickets cost from €38.50 incl booking fee, other service charges may apply. Family tickets are available. For further information check the Royal Theatre website on www.theroyal.ie or www.ticketmaster.ie

Blast off for the west’s biggest ever talent search

Fri, Sep 03, 2010

Forget about X-Factor, You’re a Star, or Ireland’s Got Talent, as the west’s biggest ever battle of the bands competition, Blast 2010, is launched at the west’s newest and most exciting entertainment venue, The Gateway Live in Belmullet. Blast 2010 at the Gateway Live is set to attract all types of acts and bands from all over the west of Ireland with a prize fund of €8,000 on offer, including a professional recording contract to help launch the career of the winning band or act.

Paul Heaton to bring some Acid Country to the Royal Theatre

Fri, Sep 03, 2010

Paul Heaton releases his eagerly anticipated second solo album Acid Country on September 13 and he will take to the stage of the Royal Theatre on Sunday October 3.

Great guitar music on the double at the Linenhall

Fri, Sep 03, 2010

Two top guitarists will be performing at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar in the coming weeks. On Thursday September 23 at 8pm, American fingerstyle guitarist Richard Gilewitz presents his acclaimed show Acoustic Adventures, a dazzling and illuminating excursion through European, contemporary and Spanish classical works to the traditional, folk, blues, and American primitive eras. Acoustic Adventures is a journey into the past and present realm of the guitar, a sound tunnel of timeless musical history that has received standing ovations around the globe. And, boy, can he play.

Jazz Motion presents jazz workshop in Ballina

Fri, Sep 03, 2010

Jazz Motion Mayo in association with The Kevin Brady Trio has pleased to announce their first jazz workshop will be held at PJ Duffy's in Ballina on September 24. The workshop will be led by three of Ireland's leading jazz talents - Phil Ware (piano), Damian Evans (double bass), and Kevin Brady (drums). The workshop will be followed by a concert from the trio of original compositions and standard songs from the Great American Songbook.

Hermione Hennessy keeps family tradition alive at the Royal

Fri, Sep 03, 2010

The name Christie Hennessy is well-known in the history of Irish music legends. His death left an enormous hole in the music scene but his music will ensure his legacy live on. Now his daughter Hermione releases her new album Songs My Father Taught Me, a record that not only pays tribute to Christie, but an album he urged her to make before he died.

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