Madness (Trinity College Dublin, July 1)
Camden Town’s finest bring their C’est La Vie tour to Ireland (Limerick St John’s Castle on June 30 and this show in TCD on July 1). Hits a-plenty and older men doing silly dances when they should know better (and, that’s just the band!) are to be expected.
Def Leppard/Motley Crue/Mammoth WVH (Marlay Park, Dublin, July 4)
Not for the first time, a Def Leppard show where the headliners aren’t really the main draw. It happened a few years back when they had Alice Cooper and the Ricky Warwick-version of Thin Lizzy supporting; and more recently with Cheap Trick in support. Now, it’s the turn of Mammoth WVH – the project of Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang Van Halen – and Motley Crue. They may be without guitarist Mick Mars, but this historic first Irish appearance for the Crue could also be the last chance to see them locally.
Christy Moore (Live at the Marquee, Cork, July 10)
Still virtually untouchable as a live solo performer, as his run at Dublin’s Vicar Street at the start of this year proved. Under the big top, in the middle of a fine summer – a clever and expertly balanced setlist of new and classic. Should be sensational…and if you’re being dragged as an unwilling guest…prepare to be converted!
Live At the Iveagh Gardens (Various Artists, Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, July 7-22)
Arguably Dublin’s best outdoor venue, Iveagh Gardens has its usual blend of standalone gigs this summer. Perhaps dwarfed a little, this year, by the sheer volume of larger gigs in what must be a record year for summer concerts, this still has some stonking nights in store. BellX1 (July 21), Imelda May (July 22), Damien Dempsey (July 7-8), Kaleo (July 9), The Waterboys (July 13-14), Father John Misty (July 15), Two Door Cinema Club (July 20)
Morrissey (Vicar Street, Dublin, July 15)
Whatever your modern take on Morrissey, it’s still Moz and he’s live in the magnificent surroundings of Vicar Street. Pretty much ’nuff said.
Dermot Kennedy (Thomond Park, Limerick, July 7-9)
Fresh from his two nights at Dublin’s Marlay Park in June, Kennedy brings his Sonder tour to Limerick for three more highly anticipated nights.
Teddy Swims (Olympia Theatre, Dublin, July 17)
Looking like a cross between Post Malone and Tyson Fury, genre-bending singer (a bit pop, a bit R&B, a bit soul, a bit country) Jaten Dimsdale – aka Teddy Swims – brings his current tour to the Olympia. Probably your last chance to catch him before the venues get bigger!
Belle and Sebastian (Olympia Theatre, Dublin, July 2; Limelight, Belfast, July 3)
The iconic Scottish indie band returns to Ireland for two shows in support of their new A Bit Of Previous album.
Róisín Murphy (Trinity College Dublin, July 2)
The Arklow-born singer – arguably most notable for her time in dance duo Moloko (Sing It Back, The Time Is Now – pulls into town again (following her sold out show at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre back in April) in support of soon-to-be-released 6th album Hit Parade, and most recent album Róisín Machine.
KT Tunstall (The Academy, Dublin, July 16)
It’s been a long-time since the Scottish singer-songwriter’s breakthrough chart-bothering debut Eye To The Telescope and its huge singles (Suddenly I See and Black Horse And The Cherry Tree) but she’s still highly relevant; and don’t believe for a second people are going to this for a bit of nostalgia, with her recent soul, body and mind-themed trilogy of albums Kin (2016), Wax (2018), and Nut (2022) proving she’s still on form.
