Skip to main content

Month: September 2013

JAGWAR MA

MCD.ie presents

JAGWAR MA

plus guest

MOKO

“Blood Twisting Brilliance” – Q ****

“Blissed-out harmonies and delicious hooks” The Times *****

“Fuses, dance and guitar music in a way that hasn’t been done for 20 years… Jagwar Ma make it look effortless” NME 9/10

Continue reading

CHRISTOF

Whelanslive.com presents

CHRISTOF

plus guests

MARIA SOMMERVILLE

and

OISIN FURLONG

“Many years ago in a small village in the south of the Low Countries, a tousle haired nine year old Dutch boy picked up a guitar…Christof’s journey had begun…”

Continue reading

DARLING

DARLING

plus guests

Around 2013 things began to fall into place for Darling. The morning after their previous band had fallen apart, Gary Harding and James McGuire, two young men from Dublin, sat down in a cafe and scribbled down everything they wanted to achieve and everything they wanted to avoid in a new band.

Continue reading

LIVE FROM THE WINDOW
w/ J & THE HEFFA FUNK

Live from the Window at Whelan’s

J & THE HEFFA FUNK

– PLAY THE FRONT BAR – 7pm – FREE ENTRY  

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Indie Club w/ Late Bar from 10:30pm or check out the bands playing The Midnight Hour in the upstairs venue (FREE ENTRY, 12am).

ARTHUR’S DAY – UPSTAIRS

Whelanslive.com presents

ARTHUR’S DAY

– UPSTAIRS VENUE – RED QUEEN CONTEST SAMPLE ANSWER TOY SOLDIER THE TRAMPZ KATES PARTY RUDY TRIXX Times: Arthur’s Whelan’s Bar/Upstairs: DOORS 4PM – FREE IN UNTIL 7PM 5.55 – 6.30pm – Red Queen Contest 6:45 – 7:20pm – Sample Answer 7:20 – 7:55pm – **Break** 8pm – 8:35pm – Toy Soldier 8:55 – 9:30pm – Kates Party 9:50 – 10:25pm – One in Ten 10:45 – 11:20pm – The Trampz 11:40 – 12:15pm – Yellowbridge 12:30 – 01:05am – Rudy Trixx

SHELLAC

U:MACK presents

SHELLAC

plus guest

TICKETS

€20 available online from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] (50c per ticket service charge applies on phone, internet or creditcard bookings from WaV).

Strictly over 18′s, I.D. may be required.

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Silent Disco from 10:30pm – 2 DJs, just pick the one you like best [Free before 11:30pm, €5 after] plus Late Bar.

BIGGLES FLYS AGAIN

BIGGLES FLYS AGAIN

plus guest

Since Biggles Flys Again self-released their debut album ‘Remember Saturday’ in March 2013, they have forged their own distinct path, making intelligent pop music with a diy spirit and a nerdy attention to detail. The CD release of the album included a hand made screen printed book with 20 pages of artwork.

Continue reading

THE WHILEAWAYS

THE WHILEAWAYS

+ guest

The Whileaways sees three distinct voices combine to weave a beguiling tapestry of harmonies and beautifully crafted original songs. Their sound is true, their delivery undeniably engaging.

Continue reading

CASEY BLACK & MICK FLANNERY

Double Headliner

CASEY BLACK & MICK FLANNERY

– Upstairs @ Whelan’s –

Casey Black is the Nashville-born, Columbia-University-educated, gravel-voiced, literary singer-songwriting son of Charlie Black, NSAI Hall of Fame songwriter of more than a dozen #1 country hits. Casey wrote his first song at twelve years old, released his first “record” three years later (a cassette of songs he recorded in his basement on his father’s hand-me-down equipment), and signed with EMI Music Publishing Nashville at nineteen, making him one of the youngest staff songwriters on Music Row.

There he wrote with some of the Row’s greatest writers, including his father, and according to Casey, got “all the cocky, prima-donna, young-artist stuff beaten out of me by people who actually knew how to write songs.” While his craft improved, his muse became aloof during his three years at EMI, and so, in order to “be as poor and lost as other people my age–to have something true to write about,” Casey moved to Los Angeles.

In the next five years he made two records–Vacations, and The Glass is Half–the first of which was placed on KCRW Los Angeles deejay Tricia Halloran’s top 10 records of 2005; the second having songs placed on ABC’s show Greek, and Lifetime’s Army Wives. He also cut his live-show teeth, playing some of LA’s great singer-songwriter venues, like the House of Blues and Hotel Cafe.

In 2008, in order to finish his degree at Columbia University, Casey moved again, this time to New York, and after a school-induced music hiatus, he happened upon a show featuring Niall Connolly, the Irish-born figurehead of Brooklyn’s Big City Folk scene. Inspired by the literary and honest approach to songwriting of the scene’s players, he threw himself back into music and made his third record, It Shapes Me As It Goes, before playing shows in New England, the South, LA and Ireland.

Drawing a close to a circular decade, Casey recently returned to Tennessee, where he lives with his wife in a small country house outside of Nashville. His new record, Lay You In The Loam (recorded on Catbeach Music, in Los Angeles) was released in June and is climbing the US college radio charts. Casey, who owns more books than he does records, writes a literary lyric in the conversational, storytelling style–songs about optimistic pessimists, about the battles between the brain and the guts–and his deep singing voice is tumbled with gravel. It’s a unique and compelling combination, one which may, as KCRW’s Tricia Halloran put it, restore one’s “faith in the lost art of damn fine songwriting.”

TICKETS – SOLD OUT

€20 available online from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] (50c per ticket service charge applies on phone or creditcard bookings)

Strictly over 18′s, I.D. may be required.

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s DJ w/ Late Bar from 10:30pm (Free Entry)

THE NECKS

Whelanslive.com presents

THE NECKS

Chris Abrahams (piano)  Lloyd Swanton (bass)  Tony Buck (drums)

one of the most extraordinary groups on the planet…not so much a trio as a revolutionary consortium redefining music… “   The Guardian

Continue reading

LIVE FROM THE WINDOW
w/ DOOLIN (France)

Live from the Window at Whelan’s

DOOLIN

(France)

– PLAY THE FRONT BAR –

7pm – FREE ENTRY

DOOLIN’ IS A TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC GROUP

whose name derives from the little village of musical fame in south-west Ireland. Born in 2005 from an encounter between six accomplished musicians, from its inception Doolin’ have perfected a mixture of novel musical genres. Whilst some of the band were immersed in the world of traditional Irish music, and others were active in the jazz scene or in the pop rock wave of the eighties and nineties, they found a common love in traditional Irish music. From ballads to furiously fast jigs, from their own compositions to traditional tunes, Doolin’ offers a rich palette of sound. From the intimate atmosphere of an Irish pub to the spectacle of the concert stage, this sextet has been support act to major names such as Martin Hayes and Mairtín O’Connor.

Members of Doolin’ who have played with Carlos Nuñez and Dan Ar Braz and the major Irish tin whistle player Desi Wilkinson (De Dannan, Cran) have rejoined the group for the tour. Habitués of prestigious venues where they seduce the audience by their unassailable energy, this French group plays homage to Irish music throughout France and Europe.

Following on from their success on stage, Doolin took to the studio to record the albums: Popcorn Behaviour (2006, distributed by Keltia Musique); Angels are Free (2008); Doolin’ Live au Central Park (2010); and Exile (2011).

In 2011 the band was invited to support the international Celtic Legends show during its French tour. Doolin’ is at the origin of the cinema concert Man of Aran, Robert Flaherty’s masterpiece which recounts the life of a fisherman’s family on one of the magnificent Aran lslands. The music, permeated by the Doolin’ style, brilliantly accompanies the film.

Doolin’ played at the Waterford 2001 Tall Ships Festival, together with Dervish, Sharon Shannon, The Waterboys…Ireland has produced a great number of exceptionally talented groups –Dervish, Altan, Lúnasa, to name but two– and bands have also formed throughout the world to celebrate Irish music Doolin’ forms an integral part of this movement of renewal and is one of its most promising protagonists.

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s DJ w/ Late Bar from 10:30pm (Free Entry)

ULTAN CONLON

ULTAN CONLON

plus guests

In your hands you hold ULTAN CONLON’s new album, ‘Songs of Love So Cruel’ due for release on the 27th of September 2013.

Single ‘The River Flows & the Woods Creep’ is out on the 20th of September.

________________________________

In these times of short attention spans and fast-paced environments it is refreshing to have an artist like ULTAN CONLON whose ability to produce deeply affecting songs demand that you sit down and slowly listen over and over again. With his style deeply rooted in traditional rock and roll, country and folk, Ultan offers a visionary and comforting musical experience with a soothing and uncontrived vocal delivery.

‘Songs of Love So Cruel’ is Ultan Conlon’s second delivery following his debut album ‘Bless Your Heart’ (2009) which garnered high praise from listeners and reviewers alike; “The most impressive Irish debut since Damien Rice’s O“.

Unlike his Irish traditional music counterparts, ‘Songs of a Cruel Love’ dips into the experimental water of a concept album. The songs, while capable of standing on their own, insist that they be heard together from beginning to end. From the storming rock of ‘A Place of Sanctuary’, to the gentle country tinged ‘Dance to ‘Paper Roses’’ and on to the stirring duet with long-time friend and musician Sabrina Dinan on ‘The River Flows and the Wood Creep’ (new single) these songs change style but are never out of place with one another.

Perched on the cusp of turning thirty, Ultan envisioned himself as an older man attempting to reignite his marriage; resulting in the introspective and opening track ‘In the Mad’. “I believe sound, image, and great voices come and go but great songs will always remain” – the offerings of this new album does not fall short of this. Presenting relative situations and common themes in coherent prose wrapped in traditional country rock and folk styles, the album showcases Ultan’s progression and ability as a talented reflective songwriter and proficient musician.

Ultan’s native home of Galway, Ireland, offered the birthplace of the album with the recording and completion taking place in Co. Westmeath, Ireland and overseas under the watchful eyes and ears of collaborator Eoin McCann and Colin Elliott (Richard Hawley) in his Sheffield, UK studio.

Ultan spent August touring the country and closed his summer solo tour with a fantastic performance on the Body & Soul main stage at this year’s Electric Picnic.

TICKETS

€10 available online from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] (50c per ticket service charge applies on phone or creditcard bookings) Strictly over 18′s, I.D. may be required

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Indie DJ in the bar and Sonntags upstairs from 11pm til late, Free Entry.

AWNA TEIXEIRA, BRANDY ZDAN & CARA LUFT

Whelanslive.com presents THE ABC OF CANADIAN MUSIC with

AWNA TEIXEIRA BRANDY ZDAN CARA LUFT

The first in what we hope will become an annual Grapevine Music north American songwriter tour features three of the most talented and charismatic Canadian women. Performing together for the first time Awna, Brandy and Cara will help redefine the breadth and beauty of Canadian music.

Continue reading

LIVE FROM THE WINDOW w/
SQUARE PEGS

Live from the Window at Whelan’s

SQUARE PEGS

– PLAY THE FRONT BAR –

7pm – FREE ENTRY

Square Pegs pay homage to Chicago blues, the sound of 1950′s R&B and New Orleans big band – Featuring: Graham Hopkins, Colm Quearney, Justin Carroll & Keith Duffy.

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Indie DJ and late bar [Free Entry]

LIVE FROM THE WINDOW w/
THE MARIVAUX

Live from the Window at Whelan’s

THE MARIVAUX

– PLAY THE FRONT BAR – 7pm – FREE ENTRY

Described as a transatlantic sounding four-piece very much from Manchester, who fuse the best of a variety of influences yet remain unique and infectious.

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Indie Club /// ZEBRA /// [Live Bands and guest DJs] w/ Late Bar from 10:30pm (Free entry before 10:30pm).

TIM EASTON

Turning Pirate presents

TIM EASTON

plus very special guests

Tim Easton’s forthcoming album Not Cool is a tightly wound gearbox of tunes that showcase his influences, including Doc Watson, Elmore James, and Keith Richards.

Continue reading

DAUGHN GIBSON + BROKEBACK

Harmonic presents

DAUGHN GIBSON

plus guest

BROKEBACK

Tickets priced €16.50 (incl booking fee) on sale now from www.whelanslive.com , www.tickets.ie , www.ticketmaster.ie & outlets nationwide.

Revel in the murky atmospherics that surround the melancholy and extraordinary power of that voice Sunday Times Album of the Week

“Its uniqueness makes it indispensable4/5 Time Out Album of the Week

Me Moan is a remarkable record that takes a genre rooted in formulae and clichés – country – and spins it into something fresh, compelling and edgy9/10 Drowned in Sound

“Traditionally, country music and club-derived electronics make for awkward bedfellows, but it’s a testament to the strength of Gibson’s strange vision that Me Moan might well become a touchstone of modern-day Americana” 8/10 UNCUT

“Gibson radiates confidence and a taste for the unexpected” 4/5 The Guardian

The desolate blend of despair and deep, deep affection is unlike anything I’ve ever encountered in pop” 4/5 The Independent

A woozy and intoxicating road trip” 4/5 Q

4/5 The Fly

8/10 NME

Gibson spits steel out of one side of his mouth and syrup out of the other” 8/10 The Line of Best Fit

8/10 This Is Fake DIY

8/10 Clash Magazine

4/5 THE SKINNY

Let’s get a few facts straight right off the bat. The name is Daughn Gibson – rhymes with Jaughn, or Raughn. He was born in the village of Nazareth, PA, and currently resides in the sleepy college town of Carlisle, PA, where he frequents local watering holes like The Cave and Alibis. He’s 6’5″, hovers at 200 pounds, and has a head of jet-black hair thicker than a porcupine. He played drums in the group Pearls & Brass for a number of years, touring the US to small but enthusiastic crowds, and if you tag them as “stoner-metal” it will go to show that you’ve never actually listened to them. For a few years in-between, Daughn was a trucker, sure, but he’s also been packing boxes in an un-air conditioned warehouse, climbing up commercial broadcast towers with untested levels of radiation, working the register at an adult bookstore, doing sound at dive bars and collecting unemployment checks to earn a living. Daughn’s been around.

Daughn Gibson first entered the daydreams and fantasies of the general public in the spring of last year, care of his critically-acclaimed debut album All Hell. At once both foreign and familiar, Daughn’s music is immediately striking – through the use of dusty thrift-store records and cutting edge technology, Daughn shook the ghosts out of scratchy Christian folk records and baptized them as fierce Americana with his booming baritone voice. His songs are as frequently tender as they are prurient, as hopeful as they are brimming with despair. He treats the past with a respectful reverence while still being able to appreciate what some modern-day wunderkind is doing with electronic music across the pond. The only real starting point for the music of Daughn Gibson is Daughn Gibson.

It’s on Daughn’s second album and Sub Pop debut, Me Moan, that he truly reveals himself to the world. If All Hell was a gritty black-and-white movie, Me Moan is a widescreen IMAX 3D extravaganza. While the roots of sample-based music remain, these songs are performed live, lushly detailed and richly orchestrated. It’s going to take a few listens just to soak it in and process, but that’s alright – one always finds the time for something like this. To name but a small selection, live drums, pedal steel, horns, house strings, bagpipes and organs appear on this record, but never does it feel over-stuffed – every instrument or melody is perfectly in place. It’s worth noting that guitarists John Baizley (of Baroness) and Jim Elkington (of Brokeback) provide stunning performances on the record. You’ll throw it all to the wind during “Kissin on the Blacktop” and nurse your hangover with “Into the Sea”. You’ll protect your loved ones against “The Pisgee Nest” and hold them close during “Franco”. You’ll send “Phantom Rider” after your enemies and feel remorse alongside “All My Days”. Me Moan isn’t just Daughn Gibson’s primal scream, it’s a skirmish through the full spectrum of emotion, unfiltered and impassioned.

Like Cormac McCarthy or Robert Altman, Daughn Gibson is a uniquely American artist who throws his soul into his work, free of compromise, possessed by unique vision and so damn intense that he constantly teeters on spontaneous combustion. It’s not out of line to consider Me Moan as his Blood Meridian; his Nashville. All that’s left is for you to let Daughn in.

TICKETS

€16.50 available online from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] (50c per ticket service charge applies on phone or creditcard bookings)

Strictly over 18′s, I.D. may be required

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Indie DJ from 11pm til late plus late bar.

.

 

CALIFONE

POD presents

CALIFONE

(Dead Oceans)

plus guest

TONY DEKKER

from Great Lake Swimmers

Tickets €15 (inc. booking fee) available from Ticketmaster and usual outlets. www.ticketmaster.ie

There are many kind of stitches: seams to secure sleeves into armholes … sutures closing wounds and deep incisions … loops or crosses of embroidery floss … a sudden pain in the side. Stitches, the new album from Califone, touches on all these definitions, its episodes of discomfort and healing rendered with exquisite beauty and craftsmanship.

Intimate timbres–garage sale drum machines, slack guitar strings, hushed vocals–offset the album’s cinematic inclinations. The listener moves through a landscape of Old Testament blood and guts, spaghetti Western deserts and Southwestern horizons, zeroing in on emotions and images that cannot be glanced over. Motes of dust dance briefly in afternoon sunlight.

“This is the only record I’ve made in my life where none of the work was done in Chicago,” says Califone’s Tim Rutili. The writing and recording began in Southern California, then continued in Arizona and Texas. “Those dry landscapes and beaches and hills and shopping malls all made it into the music,” he acknowledges. Uniquely homespun elements are interwoven into the songs, too, including sounds Rutili recorded in his backyard during rainfall and while driving in his car.

Brass, pedal steel, and strings color in the edges and outlines songs like “Frosted Tips,” “We Are A Payphone,” “Moonbath.brainsalt.a.holy.fool” and “Moses,” yet Stitches is no Ennio Morricone-meets-Cecil B. DeMille pastiche. Gritty electronics, the mesmerizing thrumming of tablas, and eerie keyboards also pepper these ten new selections. A cartographer could spend lifetimes mapping the terrain of Stitches.

Archetypes and mythological figures rub shoulders with bruised civilians throughout this odyssey. Though Rutili is not a religious man, episodes from the Bible in particular kept entering his psyche as he wrote. “I’m fascinated with why some stories and characters resonate and last for thousands of years, and are so easily transposed onto all our lives and rites of passage, no matter how absurd or surreal they are.”

In some regards, Stitches harks back to those earliest days of Califone. There was more home recording, and musicians came and went as the songs dictated. “It was a much more solitary process, and that freed me up to feel less self-conscious about singing and writing more personal lyrics.” Yet the ultimate outcome sounds like the work of an artist reborn. “I tried to keep the songs visual and poetic, but it was more important to allow myself to feel and be vulnerable and not hide in the music,” Rutili says. “Instead of writing from my balls and brain, this time I wrote from the nerves, skin, and heart.”

Stitches–the word and the album–can mean different things to many people. Your own interpretations are welcomed and encouraged.

TICKETS

€15 available online from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] (50c per ticket service charge applies on phone or creditcard bookings)

Strictly over 18′s, I.D. may be required.

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Indie Club /// ZEBRA /// [Live Bands and guest DJs] w/ Late Bar from 10:30pm (Free entry before 10:30pm).

ME, SUNDAY BEST w/ SUTIL & BLUE TACK & THE GREEN HORNS

Humanmusic-ireland.com & Whelanslive presents

ME, SUNDAY BEST

All Day Bandfast 5PM-9PM | FREE ENTRY Live from the Window at Whelan’s featuring SUTIL (Funk band from Spain), BLUE TACK & THE GREEN HORNS (6 piece Funk/Soul Band) Come Chill and Listen to Good Live Music on a Sunday! Don’t worry it will all come out in the wash on Monday

TICKETS

Free Entry

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Indie DJ in the bar and Sonntags upstairs from 11pm til late, Free Entry.

LIVE FROM THE WINDOW
w/ PILGRIM BLUES

Live from the Window at Whelan’s

PILGRIM BLUES

– PLAY THE FRONT BAR –

7pm – FREE ENTRY

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Indie DJ in the bar and Sonntags [Disco/House/Funk] upstairs from 11pm til late (Free Entry).

LIVE FROM THE WINDOW
w/ THE ESKIES

Live from the Window at Whelan’s

THE ESKIES

– PLAY THE FRONT BAR – 7pm – FREE ENTRY The Eskies formed not so much as a band but as a gentleman’s club come minor social movement in Germany in late 2006. Known then as Die Bierin Coolers, they passed the long days in the feverish German summer heat herding tourists on and off coaches and each night would retire to their private quarters for often intense rounds of children’s game “Candyland” (see below link). After several successful and happy hours they decided to further their career by relocating to the neon soaked boulevards of Rathcoole County Dublin, there they began to play local public houses such as the Rathcoole Inn and The Poitin Still and quickly picked up regular gigs around Dublin’s City centre. Before too long they had amassed a strong set of original material and were beginning to attract attention from music lovers around the capital, they gigged extensively around the country in support of bands such as The Blizzards, Delorentos, Director, The Saw Doctors and Aslan. The band looked to be on a slow boat to the promised land, however, inconvenient circumstances occurring in late 2010 left their future up in the air, and with the general consensus among the quintet being that their time had come, The Eskies went their separate ways… After months of wandering aimlessly through streets of notorious Dublin suburb Tallaght drinking milk straight from the carton in the hot sun (much like that now infamous scene in the well known feature length motion picture Anchorman), Ian and Steven began jamming again in August 2011 with the intention of creating something completely different from what they had done before. Over the next few months, bass player, harmony tycoon and house wives favorite Tim George, mustachioed mandolin Mandarin and hardcore champion of the world Rob Murphy and resolute guitar cavalier/ ‘bit of rough with a heart of gold’ Sean O’Reilly joined to make the band whole again (a la, Atomic Kittens fifth single taken from their debut studio album “Right Now” released in late January 2001). In 2012, The Eskies brought their unique brand of contemporary country-folk (often segwaying into Poe-esque Gothic lament or sea shanty) and swaggering stage spectacle to several venues around Dublin and beyond, with performances at Knockanstockan, Electric Picnic, NPLD and Jack of Diamonds Rhythm and Roots Festival. Their EP “Sherry Go Round” is available now on iTunes and CD.      

TICKETS

FREE ENTRY

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Indie Club w/ Late Bar from 10:30pm or check out the bands playing The Midnight Hour in the upstairs venue (FREE ENTRY, 12am).

SOLAR BEARS

U:Mack presents

SOLAR BEARS

plus special guests

SUNKEN FOAL (AV set)

Confirm on facebook HERE

€10 from www.tickets.ie/umack & Elastic Witch

Solar Bears play a rare Dublin headliner on Friday October 4 in Whelans. This will be a full band performance. Very special guests are Sunken Foal, making for a very special evening with Dublin’s two finest electronic acts. Tickets are on sale now

SOLAR BEARS

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Solar-Bears/139474082795159 https://soundcloud.com/solar_bears

Hailing from Dublin and Wicklow, Solar Bears formed in early 2009. Named after a Russian science fiction film by Andrei Tarkovsky, the band consists of John Kowalski and Rian Trench who met at sound engineering college. Sharing a love of world cinema, their music combines a number of different influences ranging from electronica to film composers like Ennio Morricone and George Delerue. Their sound is a mix of programming, acoustic instruments, synths and vintage tape machines. The freeform approach of their writing and recording lends itself to varying tones and colours. Tracks often have differing sound sources from each other creating a unique musical experience.

Solar Bears returned triumphantly in 2013 with their second album Supermigration garnering critical praise from the likes of Pitchfork, Mojo Magazine, Uncut Magazine and The Irish Times.

/////////////

SUNKEN FOAL

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunken-Foal/172503166137971

Dunk Murphy has been writing, performing and producing all manner of electronic music for the past ten years. As Sunken Foal and a member Ambulance, he has had releases on Planet-Mu, Black Acre, the Fear, Acroplane, Front End Synthetics to name but a few. Championed by BBC1/XFM DJ Mary Anne Hobbs, his music covers a large area between vocal, plucked string folk and glitching, tumbling beats. His second album “Friday Syndrome Vol.1” was released in 2012 on www.countersunk.org for free download along with unique editioned 50 x 70 generative prints and slim-fit t-shirts available in support of the album. In 2013 he has been working on remixes of R.S.A.G., Goodtime, Katie Kim, Si Schroeder and David Kitt as well as the follow up “Friday Syndrome Vol.2” album. Joined onstage by Tim Redfern, his live show uses a unique audio / visual setup all being synched to a finger triggered MPC beat performance.

TICKETS

€10 available online from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] (50c per ticket service charge applies on phone, internet or creditcard bookings from WaV).

Strictly over 18′s, I.D. may be required.

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Indie Club w/ Late Bar from 10:30pm or check out the bands playing The Midnight Hour in the upstairs venue (FREE ENTRY, 12am).

SINNERBOY

Playing ‘Live in Europe’

SINNERBOY

Keeping Rory Gallagher’s memory alive!

Sinnerboy are back…

Now in their 13th year, Sinnerboy return to Whelan’s keener than ever to bring the music of the late great Rory Gallagher to the world.

Continue reading

VANN MUSIC

MCD.ie presents

VANN MUSIC

plus special guests

THE DEAD HEAVYS

‘’VANN MUSIC are an outstanding band with a trademark sound that marks them out as ones to watch in 2013’’ – U&I Music

‘’If they are able to keep releasing tracks of the callibre of Life In Real Time, then there is a bright future for Vann Music.’’ – GoldenPlec.com

Continue reading

CONOR LINNIE, WINTER MOUNTAIN + MORE

Kinfolk.com presents

CONOR LINNIE WINTER MOUNTAIN

plus guests

# # # # # #

CONOR LINNIE

Conor Linnie is from Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. His songwriting style blends together a driving rhythm with ornate melody lines to create a complex folk sound. He first developed an appreciation for fingerstyle guitar playing from the simple elegant rhythms of early Bob Dylan songs such as Girl From the North Country and Boots of Spanish Leather. The guitar styles of Paul Simon, John Martyn and Kristian Matsson are other key influences. His lyrical style draws from a variety of different sources, from the fiction of Herman Melville and the poetry of Louis MacNeice to the songs of The Temptations.

This summer Conor was invited to play a number of major Irish music festivals including Electric Picnic, Knockanstockan, The Jack of Diamonds Rhythm and Roots Festival and the 10 Days in Dublin Festival. His debut album is scheduled for release in early December 2012.

‘As soon as I heard Conor Linnie’s guitar skills, I stopped what I was doing, he had my full attention. His fingerstyle was flawless and beautiful, his voice melts superbly on to his guitar strings.’ – unsigned.imusician.org

# # # # # #

WINTER MOUNTAIN

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac

An Englishman and an Irishman, both travellers, step onto the same train at Chicago’s Union station and meet for the first time. Both are musicians, both singers, both songwriters. They’re broke, but intent on making their way by rail to Memphis, TN, the birthplace of Rock n Roll…

The conversation that followed revealed a mutual love for vocal harmony, the honesty of live performance and the sounds of the sixties. That night, on a train that sent the young musicians hurtling through the darkening Illinois plains, Winter Mountain was born.

A fan of the beat poet movement and inspired by the 60’s folk resurgence in greenwich village, JR ‘Joe’ Francis from Cornwall, UK had spent a successful month writing and performing in New York City before heading West, stopping for a while in Chicago.

Marty Smyth from Donegal, Ireland had flown to California in search of sun, sea and the west coast soul that infused his favourite records of the 60’s and 70’s. After two weeks of exploring California’s rich musical heritage he began making his way East. After a 3 day journey he too found himself in Chicago.

Over the weeks that followed the two exchanged stories, lyrics, songs and sang together for the first time in the clubs and cafes of the deep south. Recognising the rare magic of their unique vocal blend they hatched together a plan to meet up once they had completed their travels.

A short time later a fortnight spent writing in Ireland led to a chance entry in a local Battle of the bands. For their first ever live performance Winter Mountain competed against the best unsigned talent Northern Ireland had to offer, and won. Their prize was two days in a Derry recording studio. The fruits of the session were enough to capture the heart of a local theatre owner who booked them to open for Irish singing luminary Cara Dillon.

Excited upon hearing Joe and Marty’s performance Dillon and husband/producer Sam Lakeman immediately signed Winter Mountain to their fledgling label, Charcoal Records. With a view to giving the two an experience that had eluded the couple during their years spent on Warners and Rough Trade Cara and Sam set about assembling a team of musicians who could help realise the vision that Winter Mountain had for their debut album.

With contributions from Robbie McIntosh (guitarist with McCartney, The Pretenders and John Mayer), Audrey Riley (string arranger for Coldplay and Nick Cave) and Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno, Pulp) the album was recorded in a host of vintage studios, from State of the Ark, Richmond to the legendary Rockfield in Wales, Mark Knopflers British Grove Studios and Sam and Cara’s own studio in rural Somerset.

The final, perhaps most extraordinary touch to the album was made when none other than Mike Crossey (Keane, Ben Howard, The Arctic Monkeys, Jake Bugg), intrigued upon hearing just a small amount of what Winter Mountain had to offer, stepped up in the midst of his hectic schedule to mix the first few tracks.

Interest and enthusiasm for Winter Mountain has grown enormously over the last few months. As well as performances at some of the UK and Irelands most prestigious venues and festivals, they were chosen by Rosanne Cash to open for her and husband John Leventhal when they toured the UK in 2012. While opening for some of Cara Dillons’ bigger shows they outsold her on the merchandise stand and, unbelievably, whilst opening for Sara Watkins (Nickle Creek, The Decemberists) they won over audiences so much that they were often given an encore, before the main act had even taken to the stage.

TICKETS

€5 on the door

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Silent Disco from 11pm – 2 DJs, just pick the one you like best [Free before 11:30pm, €5 after] plus Late Bar.

 

LIVE FROM THE WINDOW
w/ RACKHOUSE PILFER

Whelanslive.com presents

RACKHOUSE PILFER

– PLAY THE MAIN VENUE –

9:30pm – FREE ENTRY

Rackhouse Pilfer are a six-piece bluegrass, folk, alt-country and Americana Band based in Sligo, on the northwest coast of Ireland.

Formed through lifelong musical friendships and bands ranging from folk and blues, to American country, traditional Irish music and even heavy metal. These early influences have brought the band to a radically distinctive sound and high octane performance on stage.

Along with original songs, the band performs bluegrass & folk songs, old-time country songs & reinterpretations of their favourite artists/music.

2013 opens with new audiences, new horizons, and new territories; Rackhouse Pilfer eagerly anticipate a busy calendar year with festivals and shows across Ireland and beyond.

Building on our success to date, we are looking forward to sharing our music with your audience, and help make this year as exciting for them as it is for us!

“Rackhouse Pilfer’s great energy and musicianship was one of the highlights of our show at Sligo Live. They’ll create a stir wherever they go”. – John Murray, The John Murray Show, RTE Radio 1

“We literally had to turn our punters away such were the large crowds that these guys drew. Currently a word of mouth phenomenon but not for long. The lads are the whole package; musically gifted, entertainers, incredibly professional and a delight to work with.” – Deirdre Melvin, Associate Producer, Sligo Live Festival 2012

“a fiery and exciting new band from Sligo, Rackhouse Pilfer’s music exudes energy and confidence making them a name to watch for” – John O’Regan, Music Journalist (writes freelance for FRoots magazine, Mojo & Irish Music Magazine)

Listen on Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/rackhouse-pilfer FB: facebook.com/Rackhousepilfer Tweets: @RackhousePilfer

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Indie DJ in the bar and Sonntags [Disco/House/Funk] upstairs from 11pm til late (Free Entry).

THE LED FARMERS

THE LED FARMERS

[DEBUT IRISH GIG]

plus guests

CIARAN BRENNAN + WELL ENOUGH ALONE

Confirm on facebook HERE

The Led Farmers (aka LED) are a 4 piece folk fusion act. The members are all experienced players, who come from varying musical backgrounds and projects.

Continue reading

RUARRI JOSEPH

RUARRI JOSEPH

plus guest

BAKER JNR

Originally born and raised in Edinburgh, Ruarri Joseph found his songwriting roots in the southwestern Pacific. A move to New Zealand followed his parents’ divorce, and an 11-year-old Joseph found himself coming of age in Dannevirke (population 6,000), an isolated, rural farming community.

Continue reading

CATFISH KEITH

Oldflattop.com presents

CATFISH KEITH

plus guests

Cutting-edge blues singer, songwriter and bottleneck slide guitarist Catfish Keith has established himself as one of the most exciting country blues performers of our time.

Continue reading

HANDS UP WHO WANTS TO DIE + B.O.B. (France)

Whelanslive.com presents

HANDS UP WHO WANTS TO DIE

B.O.B. (France)

plus guest

CROWHAMMER

Hands Up Who Wants To Die POWA GRÜNK DAT COMES FROM THE GROUND Listen here – http://handsupwhowantstodie.bandcamp.com/

B.O.B. Spazzy madness from France first time hitting the emerald Isle. A band you can not afford to miss because they’re great ladz playing brotherly hardcore. Download all their albums for Free here – http://bobbassanddrums.bandcamp.com/album/hardcore-brothers-since-1978 Crowhammer Crowhammer are a brand new good time three piece made up of some of Dublin’s coolest musicians. Think Sonic the Hedgehog joining Circle to shred out some epic mong.

TICKETS

€5 available online from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] (50c per ticket service charge applies on phone, internet or creditcard bookings)

Strictly over 18′s, I.D. may be required.

AFTER THE GIG

Whelan’s Indie DJ in the bar and Sonntags [Disco/House/Funk] upstairs from 11pm til late (Free Entry).

SONNTAGS (Funk/Disco/House)

SONNTAGS (DISCO/HOUSE)

[EVERY SUNDAY 11PM TIL LATE]

Upstairs @ Whelan’s

Introducing Sonntags!

A weekly Sunday night event held in the upstairs venue of Whelans, concentrating on a mix of underground electronic music with some throwback classics and future favourites. As 2013 gets into the swing of things Sonntags is gearing towards showcasing the city’s best djs along with sourcing the finest international acts for like minded Sunday revellers who don’t want to finish their weekend so early whether you want to simply chill and talk nonsense in the heated smoking area or get your boogie on inside..

Curated each week by 2 DJ’s breevil and Basic Tone to create that Sunday vibe and party atmosphere that is expected to top off the best of weekends.

Expect to hear the likes of…

  • 1
  • 2