Greetings from Safe Harbour
Another packed one!
The Clonakilty International Guitar Festival brings Paul Brady, Leah Song and dozens more to De Barra's and the town's side streets for five days, and Culture Night opens venues across the city and county on Friday, including a Baroque and trad session at Triskel and the Irish Guitar Quartet in Macroom.
Saturday alone stacks The Lemonheads, Denise Chaila and a tribute double bill of Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy against When I Was God, Cork Arts Theatre's new play about a retiring football referee.
This is our pick of what's on this week. As always for a full event list check out the link at the bottom of the email.
Let's dive in 👇
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Clonakilty International Guitar Festival
Wednesday 16 – Sunday 20 September · De Barra's and venues across Clonakilty, West Cork
Now in its 22nd year, the festival turns the West Cork town into what organisers call Guitartown, with performances and impromptu sessions spilling out of pubs, halls and shopfronts. This year's lineup includes Paul Brady, Leah Song, Kevin Burke with Dermot Byrne and Noriana Kennedy, and DUG, alongside daytime workshops around the town.
When I Was God
Wednesday 16 – Saturday 19 September · 20:00 · Cork Arts Theatre
Lost in the Canon Theatre Company stages Conal Creedon's new play about Dino Keegan, a football referee facing retirement on FAI Cup Final day, as the ghosts of his past visit him in his dressing room at half time. Niall Holland directs Leon Danza and Mike O'Dowd, with no performance on Friday, a matinee added at 14:30 on Saturday, and Creedon joining a post-show discussion on the 17th.
Culture Night / Oíche Chultúir
Friday 18 September · From 16:00 · Venues across Cork city and county
Cork's yearly instalment of the national celebration of arts and culture keeps venues, museums, studios and libraries across the city and county open late, with Culture Buses running between them. This year's programme includes dedicated events at City Hall alongside two of the standout gigs elsewhere in this issue, the Irish Baroque Orchestra's late-night session at Triskel and the Irish Guitar Quartet in Macroom.
Paul Brady w/ Bill Shanley
Thursday 17 September · 20:00 · De Barra's Folk Club, Clonakilty
Part of the Clonakilty International Guitar Festival, this show reunites Paul Brady and Bill Shanley two decades on from their first joint appearance at the festival's second edition in 2006, with Julianne Quirke also on the bill. Brady has received lifetime achievement awards from the Irish Recorded Music Association, the BBC and the President of Ireland, and his songs have been recorded by Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt and Tina Turner.
Captain Kangaroo
Thursday 17 September · 23:30 · Crane Lane Theatre
A rock and blues trio of Brian Hennessy on bass, Shane Murphy on drums and Robbie Barron on guitar and vocals. Expect covers of the Beatles, Neil Young, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Rory Gallagher.
Acoustic Forum
Friday 18 September · 19:00 · Scoil na mBuachaillí, Clonakilty
Another Clonakilty International Guitar Festival date, this one an in-the-round session hosted by Bill Shanley with Paul Brady, George Lowden, Leah Song and Duncan Wickel staying onstage together and talking through their craft between short sets.
Holy Fuck
Friday 18 September · 19:30 · Connolly's of Leap
The Canadian electronic quartet tour behind their new album, Event Beat, built from live playing rather than programmed parts. Their music has featured in the series Invincible and the film The Substance.
Handel's Band Off Duty with the Irish Baroque Orchestra
Friday 18 September · 20:00 · Triskel Arts Centre
A Culture Night special in which the Irish Baroque Orchestra imagines an 18th-century Dublin session where Handel's contemporaries mixed baroque repertoire with Irish traditional music. Nine musicians, including soprano Aisling Kenny, director Marja Gaynor and uilleann piper David Power, lead the informal, salon-style set.
Culture Night: The Irish Guitar Quartet
Friday 18 September · 20:00 · Briery Gap, Macroom
Jerry Creedon, David Keating, Colin McLean and Redmond O'Toole, on an eight-string Brahms guitar, cross Latin, Spanish, Irish and American roots repertoire for Culture Night, supported by Cork County Council.
The Scratch
Friday 18 September · 20:00 · Savoy Theatre
The Dublin folk-metal band play the Savoy on the back of their third album, Pull Like a Dog, released via Sony Music Ireland. Since a viral clip from the Rory Gallagher International Festival in 2017, they've toured with Dropkick Murphys and Dermot Kennedy and had music placed in Netflix's House of Guinness.
Upstart Festival Cork
Saturday 19 September · 15:30 to 22:00 · Craig's Field, Glounthaune
The Glounthaune Community Association's outdoor festival returns for a fifth year on a harbourside field east of the city, headlined by Adore with support from The Love Buzz, Maicín, Jean Pack & The Slay Babies, Serial Mom and Trainwreck.
Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy: Two Legendary Live Albums, One Night Live
Saturday 19 September · 18:00 · The Pavilion
Tribute acts Still In Love With Lizzy and Run To The Beast perform Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous and Iron Maiden's Live After Death in full, back to back.
The Lemonheads
Saturday 19 September · 19:00 · Cyprus Avenue
Evan Dando brings the band home following a health-related hiatus, now based in Brazil and touring behind Love Chant, his first album in nearly two decades.
Denise Chaila
Saturday 19 - 20 September · 20:00 · Connolly's of Leap
Denise Chaila's first solo Irish tour, An Seo, previews material for an album due in 2027 and draws on jazz, Irish, Mexican and Zambian influences from her own background.
Frank and Walters Acoustic
Saturday 19 September · 20:30 to 23:00 · Paddy Mac's Bar, Coachford
The Cork band strip their catalogue back to acoustic versions, from hits like "After All" and "Fashion Crisis Hits New York" to deeper cuts, with singer Paul talking through the stories behind the songs.
The Musical Brotherhood Collective
Saturday 19 September · 21:00 · Crane Lane Theatre
A Cork band that mixes soul, funk, and Latin and African rhythms, known for their takes on "Let's Go to Cuba" and "Aye-Aye" alongside their own material, and currently working on a debut album.
Deirdre O'Kane: Work in Progress
Thursday 17 - 19 September · 19:00 · The Roundy
The comedian tests and refines new stand-up material at the Coco Comedy Club across three nights, ahead of a full show.
Viva VHS!
Thursday 17 September · 21:00 · Triskel Arts Centre
The 12th edition of this celebration of 1980s home video culture mixes vintage trailers, commercials and cinema snipes with a screening of the 1980 short film Knights Electric.
Big Trouble in Little China (Back to the 80s)
Saturday 19 – Sunday 20 September · 18:00, plus a Sunday matinee at 15:45 · Arc Cinema
John Carpenter's 1986 action-comedy gets a 40th-anniversary big-screen outing as part of the Arc's retro season, with Kurt Russell battling supernatural forces beneath San Francisco's Chinatown.
An Evening with the Legendary Mr Pussy and Friends
Saturday 19 September · 20:00 · Everyman Cork
Drag cabaret from Mr Pussy, with guests Kristin Kapelli, Magenta Fox, Tina D Parton and Kenny Todgers for a night of lip-sync, live vocals and comedy.
Circus Vegas Cork City
Friday 18 September · 19:30 · Live at the Marquee
An American-style circus with FMX riders, the Globe of Death, aerialists and comedy, running with afternoon and evening shows at the Marquee through to 20 September. The show uses human performers only, with no animal acts.
For a full overview of all events on this week in Cork check out our event listings page
UNTIL NEXT WEEK
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