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FEB '25 Fionn Regan - Ambassador - Feb 15th Prope
lled into the limelight when his 2006 debut album The End Of History was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize, Fionn Regan’s career has moved along at a leisurely pace, albeit one laden with award nominations, 5 star reviews and mega TV series placements. His new album O, Avalanche made many best of 2024 lists and it is indeed a thing of beauty, its elegiac soundscapes beguiling the listener at every turn. Defo worth checking out and great to see The Ambassador back in biz too. Spirit Of The Beehive - The Grand Social - Feb 20th This Philadelphia three piece is an oddity. With an impossible to pin down sound - we hear dream pop, indie, psyche, shoegaze, electronica and more - the band move restlessly (and effortlessly in fairness) between styles, sometimes more successfully than others but always in a totally unconventional way. The Americans do this kind of thing particularly well and it would be no surprise if this gig was the talk of the town afterwards. Take a chance! Borderline Festival - Workmans - Feb 21st & 22nd In our review of the year, many of our resident scribes looked to last years’ Borderline Festival as the event of the year time and time again. It may be a journalistic trope, but hand on heart, this year’s event promises to be one for the ages. This next wave of International and Irish acts are hugely exciting, occupying much of our top 10 must see acts this coming year, including the part Indie/Post Punk/Electronic/ Shoegaze and Pop of Pale Blue Eyes, the sax infused funk/punk of Opus Kink, Plantoid, a band that fuse prog and jazz and, with the amazing voice of singer Chloe Spence, touch on bands like Curved Air, Cocteau Twins and Stereolab and the fascinating Ebbb who veer between English folk and Dutch gabber dance music. It’s a feast and you need to get your ticket now at www.borderlinefestival.com Carter Vail - The Grand Social - Feb 22nd Carter Vail is a gaucho for the digital age. With a huge following on Tik Tok and Insta, courtesy of some very funny videos (check out Dirt Man) and a neat penchant for writing infectious poprock tunes, this Californian knows how to bring the herd home. His new album 100 Cowboys - with song titles like ‘Arizona’, ‘Nashville’, ‘Cowboy’ and ‘Marilyn Munroe’ - is an all American star spangled banger that’s hard to suppress. If you like it a little bit country this one is for you. Cable Boy & Dose - The Grand Social - Feb 28th Great double bill featuring two of our finest emerging acts. Cable Boy are a 5 piece who write effortlessly wonderful indie dream pop tunes while Dose (featuring Lizzie Fitzpatrick, ex lead singer of the great Bitch Falcon) are a breath of fresh air, a fuzzy pitch shifting cross between new wave and cold wave. Highly recommended. All Shucked Up Festival - Howth (Various venues) - Feb 28th - March 2nd Debut outing of a Festival that pairs scrumptious food events (oysters mainly!) with gigs. On the bill are the Frank & Walters, Lesley Dowdall & Mark Caplice, Ryan Sheridan, Scullion, The Henry Girls, Zaska, Really Good Time, Martina & The Moons, Dogs, Last Apollo, Blue Slate, Ispini na hEireann, The Bonnymen, The Skalps and lots more. Full line up: www. allshuckedup.ie Fat Dog - Opium - March 2nd A quick return for the band who blew the roof off the Grand Social in November after their Borderline Festival stealing performance in February. The English five piece move up to Opium and a bigger stage to host their madcap stage antics, which are a sight to behold. The music is class too, a riotous riot of punk, dance and klezmer, played at a hundred miles an hour. This is what it’s like to feel young. Dublin Bowie Festival - Feb 26th - March 2nd The annual Bowie Festival returns for its tenth edition with its biggest lineup of star names yet. Kicking off with Bowie Raw in Whelans on Feb 26th, a gig that sees the music students of BIMM (Dublin’s answer to the Brill Building) reinterpret a selection of Bowie tracks in their own unique way, the ante is upped on Thurs Feb 27th as key Bowie band members Gail Ann Dorsey, Mike Garson, Gerry Leonard and Mark Plati are in conversation about their time with Bowie in the O’Flanagan Theatre, Royal College Of Surgeons, St Stephens Green. Fridays Bowie Alumni gig in Whelans is already sold out but it’s an all action Saturday March 1st in Whelans as the Festival hosts a Drive In Saturday, an action packed full day and night of Bowie activities including live sets from 60’s Bowie act The London Boys, The Savage Hearts play Bowie’s 1973 tribute album Pin Ups in its entirety while Playback (best known for their brilliant live performances of Talking Heads ‘Stop Making Sense’) play the Young Americans album from start to finish along with other Bowie funk and soul cuts. There will also be screenings, panel discussions, a classical piano set from Canadian Monica Frank and to wrap up the night, a Bowie Singalong, where everyone is encouraged to let their hair down and loosen their vocal chords in a communal sing song. Sunday midday sees the legendary avant garde jazz pianist Mike Garson in the Royal College of Surgeons for ‘an audience with…’ event that will see Bowie’s most famous piano man discuss his time with the Starman while treating us to some live performances of his most iconic keyboard work. The Festival wraps with the big one on Sunday March 2nd as the five alumni (drummer Sterling Campbell joins) are joined by the RTE Concert Orchestra and guest singers - Soda Blondes Faye O’Rourke, Shobsy, Duke Special & American Jazz vocalist Dana Masters - for a very special concert, The Songs of David Bowie - in the 3Arena, the venue where Bowie and band members recorded his brilliant A Reality Tour DVD & live album. For full Festival line up & ticketing info visit www.dbfest.ie 5