Big concerts and ones to watch across Cork in 2024

While the Cork Opera House has front-loaded its year to date with tribute gigs, theatre and other shows, there’s gems in their schedule to date for a wide range of tastes, starting with the sold-out return next week of Cork-born popstar Lyra (Tuesday, February 20 and Wednesday 21st), in support of new single ‘Lovers’, and following some steadily-gathering momentum for streaming singles and soundtrack appearances.

Singer and songwriter Paul Brady (Thursday, April 18) digs into his 40+-year-long songbook West Cork-based singer Camilla Griehsel’s ‘Mamasongue’ show (Sunday May 12) continues to explore renditions of tunes from all over the world with the backing of some serious musicians, including locally-based regulars like guitarist Niwel Tsumbu and Éamonn Cagney on percussion; while later in the year, soul phenomenon Gregory Porter (Thursday, October 24 and Friday 25th) gets the jump on the Jazz Weekend.

• More info: https://www.corkoperahouse.ie/whats-on/

LEESIDE METAL GEARS UP FOR AN URBAN ASSAULT

After a four-year hiatus, and following a quick dose of motivation from seeing other metal once-offs draw big crowds in town, the Pethrophile Promotions crew have revived their Urban Assault metal all-dayer, upstairs in the Spailpín Fánach on Saturday, February 24.

Leeside black-metal survivors For Ruin and Dublin doom-metal monoliths Mourning Beloveth are among the highlights of a packed line-up that also features doom outfit The Grief, Dublin band Abaddon Incarnate, Strangle Wire, and Hasturian Vigil.

The usual metal all-dayer rules apply — an early start at 4pm ’til close, with a merchandise stand for all the bands involved.

• Saturday, February 24: An Spailpín Fánach, North Main Street. More info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/urban-assault-2024-tickets-619394153587

ORTÚS CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL

Perhaps unusually to the habits of regular gig-goers in other genres, Ortús Chamber Music Festival sees a rotation of musicians-in-residence collaborate in different configurations over a course of a number of performances, delivering standards and new work in the classic oeuvre to fit a selection of venues across a single weekend, including the Cork School of Music; St Peter’s Centre; Midleton’s My Place and St George’s, Mitchelstown.

Musicians appearing include Mairéad Hickey (violin), Ella van Poucke (cello), Seán Morgan-Rooney (piano), Kelley Petcu (voice), Alex Petcu (percussion), Karolina Errera (viola), and more.

• Friday, March 1-Sunday March 3; venues around Cork County
• More info: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/ortus-chamber-music-festival-2024-2901639 

THE DRAÍOCHT OF COUGHLAN’S

There’s a lot to love about Coughlan’s on Douglas Street, and its ongoing evolution from Americana/folk stronghold to post-pandemic lifebuoy for the magic of small gigs in the city — and a look down the schedule sees the crew running it packing a hefty booking punch.

Caoilian Sherlock (Sunday, March 3) continues to hone his equally self-aware and lovelorn psych-pop after the release of solo debut album ‘Teenage Jesus’; while the Quarter Block Party marquee he helped found presents a solo show from musician and improviser Seán Parnell (Friday, March 15).

Heaviness also abounds with doom/trad crossover outfit Bog Bodies (Friday, March 22), and US conceptual psychedelic metallers Darsombra (Thursday, May 30) — the latter, Tombstone-presented gig seeing the live return to Cork of one-man drone/synth project Magic Pockets in support, who your writer distinctly recalls for some venue-rattling low-end in a live setting. That’ll do.

Closer to the venue’s roots, blues wunderkind Muireann Bradley (Wednesday, April 3) will no doubt make herself more new fans after a slew of telly appearances and sold-out gigs elsewhere; we love to see socialist firebrand Carsie Blanton (Friday, April 12 and Saturday 13th) and her Handsome Band booked in for a pair of shows; while North Cork man David Murphy (Thursday, April 18) launches an impressive feat in debut album ‘Cuimhne Ghlinn: Explorations in Irish Music for Pedal Steel Guitar’, turning the instrument to the works of O’Riada, Carolan and others.

• More info: https://www.coughlans.ie/whats-on/

NEW NOISE AND LASTING RESONANCE AT CYPRUS AVENUE

Winthrop Street venue Cyprus Avenue maintained its status as a hub for music and events throughout the pandemic years, and its weathering out of those circumstances has led it to not only attract bigger international and Irish names, but provide local young bands with the time and space to get headlining experience in front of substantial crowds.

Pebbledash (Tuesday, March 5) are an impressive alt-rock proposition from Cork who’ve been doing the hard yards, supported by equally exciting Northside shoegazers Mossy and Galway outfit Telebox; while more Leeside reverb-y action is guaranteed when Little Known (Thursday, March 28) follow up 2023’s debut album ‘As It Is’ with a headlining appearance - with Mossy and Pebbledash also taking their turns to show support.

Elsewhere in Irish-artist appearances, Dublin post-rockers Overhead the Albatross return (Sunday, March 10) to support upcoming single ‘Your Last Breath’; singer and songwriter Gemma Hayes (Sunday, April 21) plays tunes from her upcoming new album; Belfast classic-rock revivalists Dea Matrona (Saturday, May 18) continue finding their path; and indie/electronic superduo HousePlants (Friday, May 24) make a stop for the live aspect of their ongoing collaborations.

Big names announced for the year so far include US house icon Kerri Chandler (Friday, March 15); UK acoustic guitar exponent Newton Faulkner (Saturday March 16); pop singer-songwriter Jake Bugg (Wednesday June 19); shoegaze icons Ride (Wednesday September 4); Scottish indie heroes Big Country (Saturday September 28); and unsung Britpop-era outfit Cast (Friday November 8).

• More info: https://www.cyprusavenue.ie

SOUNDS ABOUND AT THE NORTHSIDE’S SONIC TEMPLE

Live at St Luke’s seasonal gigging output has been consistent over the years, and Spring 2024 doesn’t seem to be shaping up any differently.

The seven sons of Sun Ra collaborator Phil Cohran are back, as Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (Friday, March 15) bring their celebratory big-band fare to the cross while singer and songwriter Mundy (Saturday, March 16) packs ‘em in with the crowd-pleasers.

April sees the Hothouse Flowers (Saturday, April 20) return to Cork; Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny’s (Friday, April 26) long-running collaboration take to the stage at the Northside’s sonic temple; and Irish folk/meditative ambience fusionist Ajeet (Sunday, April 28) finish her springtime touring close to home, while UK folk duo The Staves (Sunday, June 2) bring new album ‘All Now’ to the venue for a special show.

• More info: https://www.instagram.com/liveatstlukes

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E-STREET BAND

• Thursday, May 16; Páirc Uí Chaoimh, The Marina

The Boss is back in town, and he’s bringing all his old friends.

Seasoned Springsteen fans will know the drill by now, as the singer and songwriter and his legendary live collaborators are renowned for celebratory (and lengthy!) live excursions, and an energy befitting both the big-picture nature of his work, and the life that their songs have taken on for people as the decades have rolled on.

And Cork has always loved The Boss, to be fair — it wouldn’t be his first rodeo here, of course, and there’s always a degree of sport in hearing about people in the vicinity of venues setting up camp in their backyards to hear the show - and an invariable parade of the hits - resonate around the island.

• More info: https://www.ticketmaster.ie/bruce-springsteen-and-the-e-street-cork-16-05-2024/event/18005F5E2DB11FA4

LIVE AT THE MARQUEE 2024

• Friday, May 24-Saturday, June 22; Monahan Road

Your writer has, for at least three years now, proclaimed the end of each passing season of the Marquee to possibly be the last, as questions hung over its location in the midst of docklands redevelopment and the possibility of locating other spaces… only for the big tent to move… across the road. Ahem. The season’s nineteenth installment eases it into its new location with mainly familiar names.

The Coronas (Friday, May 24) and Gavin James (Saturday, May 25) corner the radio-friendly end of the big-gig spectrum; Damien Dempsey (Saturday, June 8) and DJ Jenny Greene (Friday, June 14) remain stalwart crowd faves; while the bauld Christy Moore’s annual appearance (Saturday, June 15), and a gig from Mick Flannery and Susan O’Neill (Friday, June 21) lend some weight to proceedings. Belfast electronic duo Bicep (Sunday, June 2) present audiovisual DJ experience CHROMA, while the One Day festival (Friday, June 7) is headlined by self-proclaimed ‘dancefloor destroyer’ blk.

More info: https://aikenpromotions.com/events/live-at-the-marquee/

CITRUS: SOUR FRUITS

• Friday May 24; An Spailpín Fánach, North Main Street

Always an exciting time to hear about new gig promoters making a go of things in the city, and put a bit of effort into building hype for their debut excursion.

It’s not a pithy analysis, then, to state that gig-runners’ Citrus’ debut line-up — or what’s been announced of it as of time of writing - is one to keep ’em peeled for, bearing a keen ear for what’s happening in Irish hip-hop.

Limerick rapper Citrus Fresh (no relation) is an impossibly exciting, nearly stream-of-consciousness writer whose discography, thankfully getting deeper, is full of dense and complex wordplay delivered in idiosyncratic style; Clare singer DeCarteret explores soul, jazz and hip-hop from a classical-music background; while Dublin wordsmith Curtisy has been getting adoring looks from specialist press for a similarly earnest, even somewhat dreamy production and flow.

Exciting times ahead from an emerging segment of the Leeside gigging scene.

• More info: https://www.instagram.com/citruscork/

GIGS AT MUSGRAVE PARK

• Friday, June 14 - Saturday June 29; Musgrave Park, Tramore Road

Keeping the Aiken-booked Marquee on its toes the past few years has been MCD’s rival offering at Musgrave Park, and this year’s edition leans in heavy with nostalgia, and takes skilful gambles on pop newness from Ireland and further afield.

UK pop hitmaker Becky Hill (Friday, June 14) does the honours of opening proceedings with a set full of solo hits and chart-topping collaborations; radio-friendly unit shifters Picture This (Saturday, June 15) return to Leeside); while double-bills of Sting and Blondie (Tuesday, June 18) and Crowded House and the Waterboys (Sunday, June 23) are surely dead-certs for sellouts.

The Cork debut of UK boy band heart-throbs turned perennial mammy’s-faves Take That (Thursday, June 20) only took something like thirty-odd years to put together; while Dublin house power-duo Belters Only (Friday, June 21) are charged with bringing the nightclub atmosphere to an outdoor stadium environment.

There’s a poetry to the closing weekend of proceedings, mind — while the sun rises on the mainstream success of Cork-born pop phenomenon Cian Ducrot (Friday, June 28), complete with a social-media momentum that’s seen him sell the Park out, the moon is pulling the tide out on the live careers of balladeering legends The Wolfe Tones (Saturday, June 29) in what’s being billed as their final Leeside gig — long-derided for their republican sentiments, and perhaps caricatured for the ubiquitous nature of their rebel material, it was perhaps their last laugh that their appearance at last year’s Electric Picnic drew a crowd of thousands of predominantly young revellers, that spilled outside the festival’s second tent as they gloried in now-generationally-familiar fare.

More:  https://www.ticketmaster.ie/take-that-tickets/artist/1342847