Your Greystones Gigs

Close to The Edge…

t’s going to take some time before people start hitting the town as before…

The good news is, to help those tired of living la vida sofa, there’s plenty on offer around de town.

Up and gunning for a good few months now, The Whale has been playing a blinder, bringing the good, the superbad and The Hothouse Flowers to town.

The Beach House and Dann’s are putting the final touches to their long-awaited return to the live circuit, with the latter hosting Friday gigs for now, whilst Pluck’s are keeping Wicklow safe for country and cabaret.

We’ll add those and any other new gigs when we get ’em…

In the meantime, put on your drinking pants – it’s time to party like it’s 2019…

Good to see Dann’s are back on the gig circuit. On the first Friday of each month, Steve Belton gets his cigar box-guitar-toting mojo working, Conor O’Donnell and Tom Galvin keep it country rock with The Big Muddy every third Friday, and The Fisher Kings will be gently rockin’ the house every fourth Friday. When it comes to that second Friday, it’s open season. The mysterious Sergio & Marco are in de house on February 10th.

The diddley-aye will be turned up to 11 at The Horse every Wednesday as their weekly Seisún by the fire makes a welcome return. Fiddles at dawn, people, kick-off at 9pm. More details here.

Talking of which, the long-running Dann’s diddley-aye is moving to The Beach House with their new Tuesday night Snug Sessions, led by Liam Ruth and the notorious Eddie Dunphy. Kick-off is 9pm, details right about here.

Doing what it says on the tin, the monthly Blues Jam Session at The Hot Spot – which happens monthly on the second Sunday (or thereabouts) – brings together all those locals who wish they’d been born on the wrong side of the tracks in Chicago circa 1950. Your hosts for the session will be the Urban Mojo Blues Band, keeping those 12 bars rolling, rolling, rolling… Happening at 4pm, it’s a free gig, but a €5 donation is suggested. With menace. Details here.

Those musicians who like to dance to a difficult drummer will be happy to know that The Hot Spot’s monthly jazz jam is back up and gunning. As always, anybody attempting to play a sweet melody will be thrown out of the second-floor window. Twice. For first half of 2023, it’s January 22nd, February 19th, March 26th, April 30th, May 28th and June 25th – call Dara MacMahon on 0868146926 if you want to get involved. Details here.

A Sunday afternoon get-together that usually happens every month – usually – Pat’s Fireside Folk Sessions pulls together all the local tradheads and troubadours for a free and fertile freakout. Or thereabouts. The monthly Sunday session starts at 4pm and ends somewhere in the late ’70s. Or thereabouts. Details here.

SUN2APR23 1.30PM 4PM The Whale Sold Out Joe The Magician It’s Magic!
Having sold out on his visit to The Whale in February 2022, Irish magician Joe Daly has pulled the same trick for his April 2023 shows. The fact that kids tend to walk away gobsmacked and giggling might have something to do with the man’s popularity. You can find out how he keeps it all in pocus with our interview here, and go join that waiting list over here.

FRI7APR23 9PM The Hot Spot €14 Thinner Lizzy
Channeling the spirit of the coolest Dub that ever lived along with the rest of the Thin Lizzy boys, this hard-rockin’ five-piece from the wilds of Wicklow bring together years of experience and adoration for a show that’s very much live and, if you sit in the front two rows, probably dangerous. The line-up consists of Johnny Dillon on lead vocals, Ronan Carroll and Brendan Curran sharing dueling guitar duties, Gavin Moloney on bass and Brendan Smyth on drums. Details here.

THURS13APR23 8PM The Whale €12 Greystones Film Club The Whale
It’s the small details about being this big, this helpless, this frightened, this alone, that The Whale (USA/16/116mins) captures so well. Brendan Fraser has deservedly won two major awards for his performance already, and just added an Oscar on March 12th. Having long been off Hollywood’s radar (hitting hit the box-office heights with 1997’s George Of The Jungle and The Mummy franchise soon after), the man cried when he got a standing ovation at the film’s premiere in Venice last September. For some, Fraser’s return is a big part of The Whale‘s appeal, but the entire cast (Samantha Morton also swings by) is uniformly wonderful. Feature here, tickets here.

THURS13APR23 The Hot Spot 7.30PM €20 Deirdre O’Kane
One of Ireland’s most successful female comics of the past three decades, young O’Kane is a familiar face – and a very familiar voice (courtesy of Gogglebox Ireland) – to telly watchers, and even managed her own show last year on Sky. But let’s not hold that against her. Part of an Ireland and UK tour, we’re very lucky to have Deirdre play our backwoods metropolis, baby. Details here.

FRI14APR23 9PM The Hot Spot €12 Marie Keane & Band
A young local singer-songwriter who’s already making quite the impact nationally, from hitting the main stage at the Cork Jazz Festival to serenading the sunflowers at Dublin’s Botanical Gardens, Marie Keane is bringing her band to The Hot Spot for a sort of homecoming. You can catch her new single, Shelter, right here, with Keane’s second album, MNÁ, due out this summer. Details here.

SAT15APR23 8PM The Whale €18 Julie Jay Oops, This Is Toxic
Searching for parallels between her own life and her teen idol Britney Spears throws up some ugly truths and some serious belly laughs for Irish comedian Julie Jay in this trip – and occasional fall – down a blurred memory lane. As the poster says, ‘Warning: This show may contain images of nineties and noughties fashion which some audience members may find upsetting‘. With hoorays from Joanne McNally and Tommy Tiernan, Julie Jay is clearly on her way. So, catch her while you can still afford it. Tickets here.

FRI21APR23 8PM The Whale €18 Stephen Mullan Ouch!
Making the move from acting (Love, Rosie, Charlie), Stephen Mullan has a brand new stand-up show, Ouch!, all about dating, Love Island and life as a single dad. Jason Byrne reckons the lad is “Beautifully goofy and electric”, whilst Joanne McNally rates the man as “Seriously funny”. You can find out if they’re lying when Stephen Mullan takes over The Whale on Friday, April 21st – tickets here.

The Jeremiahs

FRI21APR23 9PM The Hot Spot €18 The Jeremiahs
Well, they certainly look the part, Irish folkies The Jeremiahs comprising of four musicians who have come together to pump new blood into this old genre of music. Having toured Europe, the fearsome foursome will be roadtesting some new material alongside old favourites when they hit The Hot Spot on Friday, April 21st. Details here.

SAT22APR23 8PM €18/€16 The Whale Kinda Mental with Keith Walsh
Five years of breakfast radio gave DJ Keith Walsh a strong taste of madness in his mouthing off, and when he handed in his mic, the first thing that benefitted greatly was his mental health. And so it was that Pure Mental was born, as Walsh confronted his demons and traumas in order to try and find the real person underneath the fuzzy mess of stress. You can relate to that, right? Tickets for this unplugged show here.

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THURS27APR23 8PM The Whale €25 Social Fabric: Against All Odds
Andrea Splendori is back in the house for his latest Social Fabric podcast, Against All Odds celebrating those who have managed to make it to the top of their professions despite having the cards stacked very much against them. Revealing just how he got from way over there to here is filmmaker Paddy Slattery, who made the move from directing pop videos and award-winning shorts to the hit Netflix feature Broken Law, despite being confined to a wheelchair, whilst cyclist Richael Timothy has respresented her country at the Paralympic Games and won a bronze medal at the 20220 World Track Championships. So, come along, and be very inspired. The night is a very special fundraiser to purchase a racing handbike for Greystones cyclist Galen, who suffered a paralysing accident in Australia. Whale tickets here, Galen’s GoFundMe here.

FRI28APR23 8.30PM €12 [email protected]
A monthly stand-up comedy night, [email protected] Hot Spot sets out to bring some of the finest and most reasonably-priced comedians currently yukking it up on Ireland’s chuckle circuit. And so far, Ailbhe has bagged some major talents, including David McSavage,  prodigal SOB Al Porter, Emma Doran, Karl Spain and a few others whose names escape us right now. Doors 8pm, kick-off 8.30pm, tickets €12 – details here.

FRI5MAY23 Hot Spot 9PM €12/€15 Crest Of A Wave
Cork’s finest – and a man The Rolling Stones desperately chased – Rory Gallagher is rightly celebrated as one of the greatest blues rock guitarists to come out of Europe’s embrace of the Delta deities back in the 1960s and ’70s. And Crest Of A Wave are keeping his name alive at The Hot Spot on Friday, May 5th. Find out more here.

FRI5MAY23 7PM €17.50The Whale NT Live: GOOD
David Tennant leads the cast in this acclaimed production of C.P. Taylor’s GOOD. Directed by Dominic Cooke, this is a reimagining of one of Britain’s most powerful political plays, as one German professor is pulled into a movement just as World War 2 looms. Filmed at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London, the cast also includes Elliot Levey and Sharon Small. Details here.

SAT6MAY23 The Whale 8PM €15 SAL & David Hope
Two indie hearts beat as one at The Whale for a special double-header night, as two Clare-loving cats currently on a nationwide tour together hit sunny Greystones. Young Dave is from West Clare, the self-confessed troubadour having just released his fifth album, The Sea, whilst Cork-based SAL recently released her fourth single, Red Wine, which hit the top spot in the Irish iTunes charts – giving The Artist Formerly Known As Sara Ryan two no.1s here in the space of six months. You can find out what the fuss is all about on Saturday, May 6th – tickets here.

SAT6MAY23 9PM €25 The Hot Spot Celtic Soul: The Van Morrison Songbook
Thankfully, Van The Man has pulled back from his Covid rants for his latest album, Moving On Skiffle, but it’s the music that our boy George produced during the 1970s and ’80s that makes up the bulk of Celtic Soul’s well-oiled tribute night. This 7-piece from Bangor are regarded as perhaps Ireland’s finest Van Morrison tribute, although we have yet to hear what Mr Chuckles himself makes of the whole thing. Interview here, tickets here.

SUN14MAY23 4PM €10/€8 The Whale The Barn Ensemble
Having grown out of the lockdowns, when Music Network got together with Sonamus (the Wicklow teaching residency at Poulaphouca House) to invite people over 55 to learn an instrument. And now, nearly two years later, it’s led to baroque, traditional, film and world music all coming together for one glorious afternoon. Join in the revelatory fun on Sunday, May 14th at 4pm -tickets here.

FRI19MAY23 The Hot Spot 9PM €18 Doc MacLean: JoJo Man Blues Tour
The man has been busy, playing over 700 shows across South Africa during the past eight years, but now blues man Doc MacLean is ready to take on the rest of the world. Which includes us, apparently. You can catch the good Doc’s JoJo Blues Tour at The Hot Spot right here.

FRI26MAY23 8PM €20 The Whale Fabian Willmann Trio feat Jeff Ballard
With their 2022 debut Balance being described by All About Jazz as one of the year’s ‘most unassuming albums’ as well as, quite possibly, ‘one of the best of the year‘, the Fabian Willmann Trio boasts not only the eponymous Berlin saxophonist but also Arne Huber and Mehldau and Corea collaborator Jeff Ballard. So, these jazz heads have pedigree. And prestige. Respect! Tickets here.

SUN28MAY23 The Hot Spot 5PM €10/€12 Full Circle Returns. Again.
Keeping it old school because, hey, they are old school, veteran Irish rockers Full Circle will be rolling back into town after their very special reunion gig on January 29th. Formerly known as The Greenbeats, John Keogh, Bernard Barratt, Brian Rickaby and Brian Lynch have rocked the bejiggers out of such iconic venues as Toner’s Pub, The Baggot Inn, The Sportman’s Inn, The Purty Loft and beyond. And now they’re about to rock the bejiggers out of The Hot Spot. Doors 4pm, kick-off 5pm – details here.

FRI2JUNE23 7PM €17.50 The Whale NT Live: Best Of Enemies
In the latest live offering from the National Theatre, David Harewood (Homeland) and Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) play feuding political contenders for The White House. It’s 1968, and on TV, the right-wing William F. Buckley Jr. is battling it out with the wily liberal Gore Vidal, their debate echoing the divisions across America. Filmed live in London’s West End, James Graham’s play was inspired by the eponymous 2015 documentary by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon. Details here.

FRI9JUNE23 The Whale 8PM €20 Niamh Dunne
Having performed around the world as a founding member of Beoga, singer and fiddle player extraordinaire Niamh Dunne is stepping out on her own to mark her first solo album in ten years, Tides. That this is the first album of entirely self-penned songs makes Dunne’s latest foray into the world a deeply personal one, with one half of the album exploring her traditional roots whilst the other examines feminism, family and the future. You can find out where Niamh has been, and where she’s going, at The Whale on Friday, June 9th – tickets here.

SUN11JUNE23 5PM €10 Saije
An award-winning indie folk duo from down under, Saije’s strange brew is achieved through ‘multitasking techniques’, meaning ‘the pair create a full-bodied sound infused with flavours from their travels around the globe’. Huzzah! A festival favourite across Australia, and a hit at New Orleans’ Folk Alliance International, this could be something special. And more-than-slightly stoned. Details here.

THURS22JUNE23 8PM €10 Unsinkable
Having made 15 festivals across 8 countries and won 5 awards, Unsinkable traces Alan Corcoran’s 500km swim from Antrim to Waterford, raising €30,000 for cancer and stroke charities in memory of his late father. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Swimming World and Outdoor Swimming magazines both loved it, whilst the land-based Film Carnage gave it 4/5. You can find out more here.

THURS6+FRI7JULY23 8PM €26 The Whale Jason Byrne Live
He’s becoming something of a regular fixture at The Whale, having brought his Paddy Lama show and his latest stand-up to town last July. And now, comedy’s favourite Energizer bunny is back with an entirely new set, and with a new lease of life, thanks to some soul-zapping heart surgery. Interview here, tickets here.

FRI21+SAT22JULY23 8PM The Whale €30 Mary Coughlan
Having aged like a particularly potent fine whiskey, young Coughlan’s voice gets deeper and sweeter as the years roll by, making her particular brand of love hangover blues all the more enticing. And inviting. Playing The Whale on Friday, July 21st and Saturday 22nd, you can find out more here.

SAT23SEPT23 8PM €18 The Whale John Colleary: Loud & Colleary
One of Irish comedy’s most familiar faces of recent years – thanks largely to his sterling work on the likes of The Savage Eye and Irish Pictorial Weekly – John Colleary brings his latest stand-up show to Greystones for one night. Having spent last year touring with Tommy Tiernan, the IMRO Award-winning comedian now steps out on his own for a nationwide trek which will see him hit everywhere from Ballyshannon to Ballina. Still, there’s only one date that really matters on this 2023 tour, and you can grab your seat for it right here. And you can explore John’s comedy inspirations here.

FRI1+SAT2DEC23 8PM €20 The Whale Chris Kent Back At It
Having made his Greystones debut at The Whale in February 2022, Cork’s finest Chris Kent is back with a brand new show at the beginning of December. And the show is a new beginning too. Since that 2022 show, the man went back to his regular job as an electrician, but, hey, he just didn’t feel that all-important spark. And given that there’s no future in electricity, the man is back on the road. Fully charged. Interview here, tickets here.

SUN8OCT23 5pm €27 (€25 early bird) The Hot Spot Iarla O’Lionáird with Cormac McCarthy
The vocalist from The Gloaming is a-roamin’, a-roamin’ all the way to sunny Greystones on Thursday, February 16th, with the mighty Cormac McCarthy by his side. Having broken on through with his version of Aisling Gheal, Iarla O’Lionáird is a true child of traditional music (Seán Ó Riada was a childhood neighbour), and has played with everyone from Peter Gabriel and Nick Cave to Robert Plant and Sinead O’Connor. And then there’s all that soundtrack work, and playing Carnegie Hall and The Sydney Opera House, and with The National Symphony Orchestra. Flash git. Fellow Corkonian Cormac, on the other hand, is a pianist, composer, arranger and conductor, his work performed by the likes of Martin Hayes, Andrea Corr, The RTÉ Concert Orchestra, The New Irish Jazz Orchestra and Mick Flannery, whilst the lad has played alongside Billy Drummond, Donal Lunny, The RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Hayes’ latest project, The Common Ground Ensemble. So, we reckon these lads know what they’re doing. Details here.

We’ll be adding more gigs as the weeks progress. In the meantime, you can check The Whale here, and The Hot Spot here.