Music News Blog

Travel advice for all attending Lissadell House concerts in Sligo this weekend.

 

Westlife take to the stage on 30th July with Leonard Cohen following up with two shows on 31st July and 1st August and organisers have issued  the following travel advice for those attending the three concerts

Buses

Concert goers are encouraged to take the bus to avoid traffic congestion and delays.  There will be services operating from all local hotels and towns in Sligo bringing music fans directly to the grounds and dropping them within a few hundred yards of their concert seat.  Further details are on www.discoversligo.com

A special Coach Service will operate from Dublin for each concert, departing from Busáras at 2.30pm and returning directly after the concert at a cost of €32. Book at www.buseireann.ie,

A coach service will also operate from Belfast - see www.coachestoconcerts.co.uk for details.

Trains

For timetables check www.irishrail.ie...

 

Once again an Irish act is in the running for the coveted Mercury Music Prize. 

Villagers have been shortlisted for their debut album 'Becoming A Jackal' and follow in the footsteps of U2, Van Morrison, Gemma Hayes, The Thrills, Snow Patrol, Fionn Regan and Lisa Hannigan in representing Ireland in the running for the £20,000 prize.  Could they be the first Irish act to win?

The shortlist of 12 albums was revealed in London today and it's one of the strongest in years.  Dizzee Rascal has garnered his third nomination and has to rank as one of the favourites while Paul Weller is also in the running for his hugely successful comeback album 'Wake Up The Nation'.  Debut acts The XX and Mumford & Sons will also rank as hot favourites as their popularity grows and grows while established alternative acts like Foals and Wild Beasts ...

U2 front man Bono is back from surgery and "fighting fit" for the band's autumn tour.

Two months ago the singer underwent emergency back surgery, and it seems to have been worthwhile - although a series of 16 American and Canadian dates had to be cancelled to allow him enough time to recover..

Bono's doctor revealed he is able to sit, stand and "move around a bit", and with just three weeks until U2's next scheduled gig (in Turin on 6th August), the U2 frontman made his return to the public eye in a video for the band's website which you can see below.

The injury was "quite serious", Bono said, "and not a lot of fun". "But staring at the ceiling has some advantages." In this state of "forced indolence", Bono has written some "great" new songs, which U2 have already begun recording, and which they may perform at ...

 

The man behind the award-winning sell-out comedy of Today FM's Gift Grub will take to the stage at this year's Electric Picnic.

There can be little doubt that Gift Grub has been both the critical and commercial success story of the year and the obscenely talented Mario Rosenstock brings his myriad of characters, voices and wickedly subversive satirical comedy to Stradbally to headline on both Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th September!

He tops a bill of very impressive comedic talent including the likes of Ardal O'Hanlon, Jim Eoin, Reginald D. Hunter, Colin Murphy, Glen Wool and Ed Byrne.

The world's finest practitioners of improv comedy, the Stephen Frost Improv Allstars will be joined on stage by special guest and 'Buzzcocks' team captain Phil Jupitus for two different shows on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. 

Fans of musical comedy are well catered for in the shape of the riotously funny ...

 

Take That are back - in full.

Following months of speculation Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams confirmed today that they have been recording a new studio album as a five piece, which they will release in November of this year.

It is the first time they've recorded a full album together since the release of 'Nobody Else', back in 1995.

"Getting the five of us to be in a room together, although always a dream, never actually seemed like becoming a reality.  Now the reality of the five of us making a record together feels like a dream," said Mark Owen in the official statement. 

"I get embarrassingly excited when the five of us are in a room. It feels like coming home" said Robbie

The reunion of reunions took place in New York last September, following the band's 'The Circus ...

 

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the release of their debut album, Neither Am I, Bell X1 have announced a special acoustic tour this November which will see them return after a long hiatus to some of the venues they played on that first album tour.

Having just played on the Main Stage at Oxegen 2010, the band are looking forward to stripping things back and performing songs from the entire catalogue as well as debuting some new ones.  News of a similar tour in North America were released via their website www.bellx1.com <> earlier this week.  

<>Tickets for most of their Irish shows are on sale now from Ticketmaster and usual outlets.

<>Bell X1 have spent most of the year writing songs for their 5th Studio Album -- due for release in Spring 2011.

<>Acoustic Tour Dates:

• <>Nov 10 Newbridge, Riverbank Arts Centre
  
• <>Nov 11 Dublin, Vicar Street
  
• <>Nov ...

 

The August Bank Holiday Weekend at Indiependence already see’s the likes of White Lies, The Coronas, Alabama 3, Reverend & The Makers, Jape, Delorentos and Duke Special among the 120+ acts to play across the 5 stages at the rock weekender.

The final raft of additions has taken one of Irelands best value weekend festivals to a stratospheric level. While Indiependence 2010 takes place on a new site at Deer Farm, Mitchelstown and has just added art installations, a silent disco, zorb balls and a 5-a-side soccer tournament for fans and bands, the latest musical additions see festival favourites Ham Sandwich joined by former Turn front man Oliver Cole, Kildare rockers, Planet Parade and up and coming indie kids Futures Apart.

In addition to the rockers, there are also additions to the dancier side of things with live performances from Miss Motif (currently riding high in the ...

 

The Grammy Awards have been embarrassed into changing their rulebook after Lady Gaga wasn't eligible to qualify in the Best New Artist category at this years ceremony.

Despite the fact that Lady Gaga was by far and away the biggest breakthrough act of 2009, she missed out on the nomination for Best New Artist because her debut single 'Just Dance' had been nominated in 2008 for Best Dance Recording - the rulebook stated that any act previously nominated for a Grammy was unable to qualify as Best New Artist.

To avoid a similar situation in future, the Academy have altered their rules so that the award will still be open to acts that have been previously nominated for Grammy Awards, as long as they had not released a full album at the time. Artists will remain ineligible however, if they have previously won an award.

The Recording ...

 

This September, a new festival will take place in Sligo, and the line-up is garnering some impressive names to perform.

The legendary reggae group The Wailers, Terry Hall (The Specials), Damien Dempsey, The Mighty Stef and legendary Dublin slide guitarist/singer NC Lawlor have been added to the line-up for the first ever three day Sony Ericsson Temple House micro music & arts festival which will take place in the grounds of the Temple House Estate near Ballymote in Sligo from 10-12 September.

Live music will be the core source of ...

 

The capital will get a new gig venue this autumn when The Workman's Club opens on the edge of Temple Bar.

The new venue at 10 Wellington Quay is situated right beside The Clarence Hotel (the one owned by Bono and The Edge) and some of the first gigs to be held there have been announced.

Fionn Regan will be one of the first to appear at the venue although a date in September has yet to be finalised, while Irish rockers Humanzi will perform there on October 2nd.

Blitzen Trapper will feature later in the year (22nd November) while the venue will also be used during the Hard Working Class Heroes Festival in early October.

The Hard Working Class Heroes Festival returns to Dublin on October 7th,8th & 9th for it's eighth year.

Taking place in venues around Dublin city centre, festival organisers are once again putting out the call to Irish bands to apple for a live slot at the event.  Registration will be through the Breaking Tunes website (via the Hard Working Class Heroes site)  and the closing date for applications is Friday 30th July.

Perhaps you fancy yourself as a rock photographer?  Once again, HWCH is looking for the next great Irish photographer and are asking applicants to submit their finest music-related photos via the festival webiste.  Closing date is July 30th also.

If you simply want to attend the festival weekend, a limited number of early bird tickets are on sale now via www.hwch.net priced at €35 + booking fees.  The normal festival weekend ticket will be ...

The line-up for Electric Picnic 2010 keeps going from strength to strength.

Having already announced that big acts like Roxy Music, LCD Soundsystem, Public Image Ltd. The National, Leftfield, Mumford & Sons, Gil Scott-Heron, Villagers, Modest Mouse and Hot Chip would be dropping by the Stradbally venue this September, organisers just keep adding more and more great acts.

So recent additions include Dan le Sac vs. Scrrobius Pip, Stars, Wolf Parade, Japanese Popstars and, wait for it, Crystal Swing!

Amongst the new initiatives at this years festival will be the brilliant Tour De Picnic where you get a free ticket to the festival by raising €500 for Temple Street Children's Hospital and joining in the organised 90km bike ride from Dublin to Stradbally on September 3rd.

And they've just released some new Campervan tickets (€60) to give people the chance to drive-and-sleep in style Electric Picnic 2010.

Weekend tickets ...

Later this month a Motown legend visits Ireland for two very rare shows.

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas scored monster hits back in the 1960's with classics like 'Dancing In The Streets', 'Heat Wave' and 'Nowhere To Run', and Irish audiences will have a chance to see them perform these hits live when they visit Cork and Dublin at the end of July.

Playing the beautiful Opera House in Cork (Thursday 22nd July) and The Helix in Dublin (Friday 23rd July), the one-time backing singer for Marvin Gaye is set to remind fans once again of just why she became one of Motown's first big superstars.

Tickets are on sale now from usual outlets for both shows.

 

The hugely popular singer and songwriter Ray LaMontagne is set to release his new album, God Willin’ & The Creek Don't Rise under the name Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs on August 13th, 2010 on RCA Records.

Thhe follow-up to his heralded Gossip in the Grain is his first record to be entirely self produced was recorded in two weeks at LaMontagne’s home in the woods of western Massachusetts.  The newly restored historic home served as a homemade recording studio for Ray and his fellow musicians.

With Ray’s vocals at the forefront of the songs and a loose, almost live sounding recording, the newly coined 'Pariah Dogs' consists of Jay Bellerose (drums), Jennifer Condos (bass), Patrick Warren (keyboard), Eric Heywood (guitar) and Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar).

Individually, these musicians have contributed to the live work of  such heralded musicians including Beck, Joe Henry, Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, ...