The Blades (The Academy, Dublin, December 16)
The cult Dublin band return for their now traditional festive hometown show on December 16.
Ocean Colour Scene (Telegraph Building, Belfast, December 7; Olympia Theatre, Dublin, December 8/9)
Older, and a tad more full-bodied, these days, maybe but still capable of pulling a crowd as the scale of this new tour amply shows. One of the more quality bands from the late 90s Britpop era, retro fans are sure to indulge heavily in material from their holy trinity of 90s albums Moseley Shoals, Marchin’ Already, and One for the Modern on the night.
Fizzy Orange (Sugar Club, Dublin, December 28)
Dublin’s latest cult band of the moment, Fizzy Orange sign off the year in style with this blow-out on Leeson Street.
Electric Six (The Academy, Dublin, December 2)
Madcap Detroit genre hoppers Electric Six play the Academy as part of their 20th anniversary celebration for famed debut album Fire (home of classic singles Danger! High Voltage and Gay Bar)
The Darkness (Telegraph Building, Belfast, December 2; Olympia Theatre, Dublin, December 3)
Another 20th anniversary cash-in tour – this time for divisive UK tongue-in-cheek pomp rockers The Darkness; re-promoting their debut album Permission to Land. Who would’ve thought they’d still be going 2 decades on?!
Christy Moore (Vicar Street Dublin + Various venues/dates nationwide December/January)
Tickets for Christy Moore shows are as rare as hens’ teeth; even with him playing some venue around the country pretty much every day of every year. His National Concert Hall, Dublin shows next summer are already sold out as are his Kilkenny pre-Christmas shows and shows in Mayo and Dundalk. These Vicar Street shows always prove special.
