Go Russian and romantic this January

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

THE MUSIC of such great Russian composers as Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, and Mussorgsky will be celebrated and performed in the Town Hall Theatre from January 23 to 25 at 8pm during Music For Galway’s Russian Romantics chamber music festival.

All three main concerts feature chamber music alongside vocal works. The ConTempo Quartet will perform quartets by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and Borodin. One of Tchaikovsky’s most popular works for strings, Souvenir de Florence, in its original version for string sextet will be performed by ConTempo together with the violist and cellist of the RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet, Simon Aspell and Christopher Marwood.

Start 2009 with a laugh with Ian Coppinger

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

THE COMEDY Club at Cuba* roars into life in the New Year when it presents a showcase of the cream of Irish talent on Friday January 2.

Galway theatre 2008

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

AND SO the curtain falls on another year of playgoing and diverse theatrical activity; a year that saw much impressive work from both visiting and locally based companies.

Why not go and see a panto?

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

CHRISTMAS TIME is pantomime time and there are wonderful shows to see from the Renmore Pantomime and Performing Arts School Galway.

Indie Burgos to support Chernobyl charity tonight

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

Indie Burgos is back in Club De Burgos, Augustine Street, today (Tuesday) for a special Christmas fundraiser in aid of Galway based charity Sunflower Chernobyl Appeal.

Sunflower Chernobyl Appeal works in Belarus in the region worst affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The group helps many children in orphanages, other institutions, sick children in the home, and children who are in need of assistance.

Adrian Crowley to release new album in 2009

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

ADRIAN CROWLEY, the acclaimed singer-songwriter who originally hails from Barna, Co Galway, will release his new album in April.

Niall Connolly to play The Crane

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

THE CORK singer-songwriter Niall Connolly makes a welcome return to The Crane Bar, Sea Road, on Thursday January 8 at 9pm.

Ring in 2009 with Fight Like Apes

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

It’s been a great year for Dublin’s Fight Likes Apes (pictured). They have amazed Irish audiences, saw their debut album Fight Likes Apes And The Mystery Of The Golden Medallion win high praise from critics, and made inroads into Britain. They will ring in the New Year with Disconnect 4, The Ghostwood Project, and Le Galaxie at the Róisín Dubh tomorrow at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from the Róisín Dubh and Zhivago.

New release from Rusted Rail

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

GALWAY BASED indie label Rusted Rail has just released Loner Deluxe’s Must Not Sleep Must Warn Others. The release includes Lost & Found - a bonus 3” disc of previously unreleased material.

The seasonal atmospherics of Must Not Sleep... - originally released on the Toyko-based Duotone label - leans heavily on frosted melodies and evocative acoustica woven into mellow, meditative, and minimalist music. It features special guests and labelmates Phantom Dog Beneath The Moon and Agitated Radio Pilot.

Spend New Year’s Eve with The Disconauts

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

THE DISCONAUTS will wave farewell to 2008 and bring in the New Year with a bang at their New Year’s Eve party in the Cellar Underground.

Galway Arts Centre’s 2009 exhibitions

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

THE GALWAY Arts Centre will continue to bring Galwegians challenging artworks and exhibitions throughout 2009 and its spring programme will focus on solo exhibitions by Irish and other northern European artists.

The Galway Arts Centre’s biannual print making show, Impressions, and the Norman Ackroyd exhibition in the Galway City Museum both run until January 17 and from there, GAC will continue to show an interesting mix of Irish and international artists.

Relive the 1980s

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

BY THE time 2009 comes around we may find ourselves - thanks to the recession - back in a 1980s timewarp. The 1980s in Ireland were grim, but the music was fun and colourful, providing some kind of distraction.

Tommy Fleming is coming to Castlebar

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

TOMMY FLEMING, one of Ireland’s premier singers, will play the Royal Castlebar Theatre on Saturday January 10.

From a very early age Fleming's natural singing ability was realised on the local talent competition and concert circuit. Eighteen years later, and a testament to his talent and determination, he has become one of the country’s musical success stories.

From Highway 61 along the N17 and onwards to 2009 with TG4's Daithi O'Se

Tue, Dec 23, 2008

OVER THE past decade, Baile na hAbhann-based Irish language television station TG4 has produced many notable presenters including Grainne and Sile Seoige, Hector Ó hEochagáin, Aoife Ní Thuairisg, and Manchán Magan.

Fun boy three

Tue, Dec 23, 2008

WHILE THE winter closes in around us, there will be a piece of Galway forever bathed in sunshine - the Róisín Dubh on a night when The Kanyu Tree play.

Leisureland to become hard dance playground for Kiddfectious

Tue, Dec 23, 2008

DJ ROYALTY will be converging on Leisureland in Salthill on Monday December 29 for what is set to be the biggest hard dance event Ireland has ever witnessed - Kiddfectious.

Renmore marks thirty years of panto with Beauty and the Beast

Tue, Dec 23, 2008

THE RENMORE Panto is an integral part of the Christmas season in Galway and this year sees the troupe marking its 20th anniversary with a glittering production of Beauty and the Beast at the Town Hall.

Snow White panto comes to Town! Oh No it doesn’t...! Oh Yes it does...!

Tue, Dec 23, 2008

THIS CHRISTMAS the Performing Arts School Galway are proud to present Snow White and the 7 Delinquents. Running from December 28 to January 4 in the Black Box Theatre, a magical treat awaits all who attend.

Brendan Grace is heading

Tue, Dec 23, 2008

THE RECESSION is set to bite badly in the New Year but you can still start 2009 off with a good laugh in the company of one of Ireland’s best loved comedians - Brendan Grace.

The sounds of a year

Tue, Dec 23, 2008

I’m not one of those indie-chic girls. I’d like to be, but in all honesty, I’m not. I like the stuff you hear on the radio, the stuff that plays in the background of Grey’s Anatomy, and the stuff you hear when your shakin’ your stuff in the nightclubs. I went and saw Blondie during the Arts Festival (highlight of my summer!) and I will go see Paddy Casey at the Roisin in January. My CD collection includes everything from opera to show tunes to gangster rap to bubblegum pop. My musical tastes are as wide and varied as you could imagine, so trying to put down on paper my favourite musical moments of the year isn’t an easy task, or a neat and tidy one at that, especially for such a brilliant year in music.

There isn’t much in Galway city that can compare to the atmosphere of the Galway Arts Festival. The air is electric, the sights are incredible, and the sounds are, most years, pretty incredible. This years’ Arts Festival, however, took the annual event to a whole other level. Between the big names at the Big Top, such as Blondie and KT Tunstall; the local favourites Alabama 3 and Cathy Davey at the Roisin; and some wonderfully unique worldly performances from the likes of Tinariwen, Mayra Andrade, and Omara Portuondo; it would be an understatement to say that the Galway Arts Festival wasn’t the very peak of this year’s musical calendar.

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