20 Gigs to Hit in June
un·miss·a·ble/ˌənˈmisəbəl/Adjective
2. So clear or obvious that it cannot be missed.
The Tallest Man On Earth and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart yesterday opened the month of June with a bang as regards gigs in Ireland. Depending on your point of view the below events/gigs are all either unmissable or..well…missable. Hopefully you can make at least one of the below.
Top 20 Music Events in June (in no particular order, not even date)
The first ever First Music Contact Tour went so well last year that it is back once again in June 2011 to showcase the talents of Adebisi Shank, O Emperor and Heathers as well as local support acts.
The tour kicks off in Cork tonight (June 2nd) in The Pavilion and then moves on to Dolan’s (Limerick) on Friday and Róisín Dubh (Galway) on Saturday. The weekend after (June 9th-11th) will see the tour hit Dundalk (Spirit Store), Kilkenny (The Set Theatre)and end the tour back in the capital in Whelan’s.
Taking place on June 4th and 5th in Skibbereen (West Cork) Cork XSW is one of my favourite Irish festivals.
Check out some of my many posts on the Liss Ard festival here.
The talented but temperamental but prolific alt-country star plays his first European shows in years taking in both Cork Opera House (June 7th) and the Olympia Theatre in Dublin (June 8th). If this solo show is anything like the Cork City Hall gig (in 2002 I think) then it will be one of the best gigs I have ever seen.
Laurie Anderson, Cathy Davey, Jape, Breathe Owl Breathe, Katie Kim, Mick Flannery, an orchestra from Quebec playing Tom Waits songs, plenty more artists and this is not even mentioning the circus, theatre, dance and visual arts events set to hit Cork bettween the 11th and 26th June. There will even be a live transmission from Spain of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca broadcast in the beautiful surroundings of FitzGerald Park.
Harmonic put on great shows. This Cork-only Irish exclusive from Fleet Foxes on June 26th should be no different.
Glen Hansard and co. kick off 2011’s Live At The Marquee shows on June 11th. Special guests Favourite Sons (formed by Ken Griffin, former member of Rollerskate Skinny) have added some spice to the mix. Two days previously on June 9th The Frames will play Vicar Street in what are always special nights.
Janelle Monae blew many away with her debut Irish peformance at Electric Picnic in Stradbally last year which has resulted in the U.S. star announcing three dates for this June in Galway, Dublin and Cork on the 27th, 28th and 29th June respectively.
Matthew Houck’s country rock machine arrives in Dublin tonight (June 2nd) to rock The Workman’s Club. Excellent alt-country band with Here’s To Taking It Easy one of the best albums of 2010.
www.myspace.com/phosphorescent
My most recent Gig Of The Week. What more do you want?
I have posted numerous times on what is sure to be a fantastic weekend. Check them all out here.
www.forbiddenfruit.ie
June 9th in Whelan’s.
Matthew Dear – Black City Live from Ghostly International on Vimeo.
Three dates in Ireland for another Harmonic booking covering June 9th (Róisín Dubh in Galway), June 10th (The Pavilion in Cork) and June 11th (The Workman’s Club in Dublin).
June 17th is the date we get to see Merrill Garbus strut her stuff as w h o k i l l already shapes itself up to populate many Best Of 2011 lists.
June 20th in Vicar Street and June 21st Live At The Marquee for the little legend.
Laura Marling‘s rescheduled dates sees the two-time Mercury Music Award nominee return on June 22nd (The Pavilion in Cork) and 23rd (Vicar Street in Dublin).
Ash, Stereo MC’s, Lisa Hannigan, Declan O’Rourke, Whipping Boy, C.W. Stoneking and plenty more head to Sligo for the weekend of June 10th-12th for what is stepping up to be the Electric Picnic’s suitor as best chill-out, boutique festival in Ireland.
Speaking of EP, the Stradbally sessions festival-within-a-festival burst out on its own last year and returns on June 18th and 19th to Ballinlough Castle in Westmeath. Lamb, Fat Freddy’s Drop, The Jimmy Cake, Holy Fuck, The Field, Lee Scratch Perry and more make up the bill.
Limerick’s mini-version of Cork’s Live At The Marquee will see Imelda May (June 5th) take to Dolan’s tent this weekend.
The end of the month will see The Villagers, Go! Team, Bell X1, Gemma Hayes, Grandmaster Flash, Ziggy Marley and plenty more play over three days starting on June 24th.
Most of the festival may take place in July but Bryan Ferry, the main attraction, kicks off this years Tall Ships Festival on June 30th.
That much choice would make a person go blind