MusicTown 2017
announces first programme highlights
Festival dates: 7 – 17 April 2017
Today, Monday 6 March, the first programme highlights for MusicTown 2017 were announced. Now in its third year, MusicTown celebrates the rich music heritage and contemporary artistic lifeblood of Dublin City, one of the world’s most musical cities. Full programme details will be announced in the coming weeks.
Just some of the Festival highlights include, the first concert of the inaugural Dublin International Choral Festival, Craig David, Celebrating the 275th Anniversary of the World Premiere of Messiah Our Lady’s Choral Society perform excerpts from Messiah, world music Concert Globe, Brady and Irvine: A Tribute, John Prine, Bronagh Gallagher, a performance from Music Together, Young Hearts Run Free & Nialler9 present Darkness to Light, Handel’s Acis and Galatea, Melanie C, Sound of Silents 2017 – An improvised music and silent film project, Yussef Kamaal, The Egyptian Book of the Dead is the inspiration for a recital of songs at Chester Beatty Library, Ficino Ensemble, Mary Black, Katie Kim and Crash Ensemble, 5 exciting events from the RIAM, Matt Simons, Weyes Blood, Kevin Rowland, Dylan Tighe’s Wabi-Sabi Soul: 3D Listening Event, Kid ink, The Fureys, Chelsea Wolfe, PWR BTTM, Ryley Walker, a musical Walking Tour on Easter Monday and events for children including a delightful music, storytelling, and puppetry performance The Quiet Tree and a fun participatory contemporary music event for children entitled Our Tunes.
Over 11 days and nights in April the beat of the city will be set by the eclectic mix of musical performances and events taking place across Dublin.
Founded by Dublin City Council, and programmed by Aiken Promotions, this jam packed programme running from 7-17 April, encompasses and celebrates the various types of music created, performed and waiting to be enjoyed in the city; from classical to pop, trad to rock, psychedelic to opera, electronic and everything in between. A myriad of concerts, masterclasses, collaborations and workshops, bringing together an exciting mix of composers, singers, musicians, producers, DJS, and artists right across the musical spectrum, to celebrate the best, the next and the unexpected.
MusicTown Executive Director and City Arts Officer, Ray Yeates said, “There is much more that connects music of all kinds than divides it and MusicTown seeks to showcase the best of Dublin’s music while also encouraging new audiences to try new musical experiences. Handel’s music also has a special place in MusicTown and his work remains a role model for collaboration and innovation.”
Some highlights of MusicTown 2017 include the following.
- The very first concert of the inaugural Dublin International Choral Festival will be performed as part of MusicTown 2017 in the historic surrounds of St Patrick’ Cathedral. Featuring Irish and visiting choirs they will perform a variety of choral repertoire on Saturday 8 April. The following night, the Dublin International Choral Festival – Closing Gala Concert, will take place in the same iconic venue, featuring participating choirs and special guests performing a repertoire of choruses from The Messiah with orchestra under the direction of David Brophy.
- Craig David will play 3Arena Dublin on 7 April. Having sold over 15 million albums, achieving 16 Top Ten hits and multi-platinum status in more than 20 countries, taking over festival stages around the world, selling out headline tours in seconds, to securing a residency at the iconic Ibiza Rocks Hotel …It’s official, Craig David is back and in a big way.
- Celebrating the 275th Anniversary of the World Premiere of Messiah in Mr Neal’s Musick Hall in Fishamble Street April 13 1742, Our Lady’s Choral Society perform excerpts from Messiah with The Dublin Handelian Orchestra and soloist Peter O’Reilly (tenor). Conducted by Proinnsías Ó Duinn. Sunday 13 April at 1pm in Fishamble Street.
- For one night only, Globe comes to Smock Alley Theatre on 13 April. Experience this world music concert which combine virtuoso individual performances and different instrumentation from around the world. The show features world-class performers (including Robbie Harris), who trade and fuse their music and singing skills to achieve extraordinarily original, exquisite and powerful soundscapes.
- Brady and Irvine: A Tribute. Members of Dublin’s burgeoning young folk scene will perform songs from the repertoires of Paul Brady and Andy Irvine on the forty-year anniversary of the timeless, iconic album. The Line-up, on 7 April at Liberty Hall, will include Radie Peat (Lynched), Ye Vagabonds, Lisa O’Neill, Ian Lynch (Lynched), Landless and more.
- Two time Grammy-winner, singer-songwriter, John Prine will play the Bord Gais Energy Theatre on 13 April. Forty-five years into a remarkable career that has drawn effusive praise from Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, Roger Waters, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and others who would know, Prine is a smiling, shuffling force for good. His songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Tom T. Hall, the Everly Brothers, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Norah Jones, George Strait, Miranda Lambert, and many others. But his genius isn’t found in his resume, it’s found in the brilliance of lyrics from his large catalog of songs.
- Following the release of her most recent album gather your greatness last year, Bronagh Gallagher will take to the stage, with her band, for an unforgettable night at Whelans on 7 April.
- Music Together was established to organise workshops for adult musicians with disabilities, leading to annual performances in Greystones Arts Festival and Brayfest. As part of MusicTown 2017 Music Together Ireland with the support of Sunbeam House Services will present Heartbeat of the City in The Atrium, Trinity College on 13 April.
- Young Hearts Run Free and Nialler9 come together for a once-off collaboration especially created for MusicTown on 9 April, Darkness to Light, which will bring new and established Irish artists in different creative fields together under a shroud of mystery. All profits from Darkness to Light will go to the Simon Community.
- Opera Theatre Company presents one of Handel’s most treasured works, Acis and Galatea, at O’Reilly Theatre Dublin on 11 April. Sung in English, this production will be conducted by renowned Baroque specialist Peter Whelan and directed by Tom Creed, with a cast including Eamonn Mulhall, Susanna Fairbairn, Edward Grint and Andrew Gavin and featuring the dazzling Irish Baroque Orchestra.
- With her stunning seventh album ‘Version Of Me’ released on her own Red Girl Records label last October, Melanie C is back on the road and will play Vicar Street for one night only as part of MusicTown on 13 April.
- Bottlenote and the Irish Film Institute present Sound of Silents 2017 – An improvised music and silent film project drawn from collections at the IFI Irish Film Archive. The selection of films has a distinct German inflection and includes a captivating array of Irish social, cultural and political life as represented in newsreels, ethnographic films and early documentaries from the early days of cinema to the 1950s. The programme on 8 April will be accompanied by a series of improvised scores performed by six leading musicians working between the fields of Irish traditional, improvised and electronic musics. Shane Latimer, Seán MacErlaine and Ailbhe NicOireachtaigh will be joined by three musicians from the Ruhr area of Germany to collaborate to create these improvised scores: Saxophonists Julius Gabriel and Florian Walter and electronic artist Achim Zepezauer.
- On 13 April, ChoiceCuts presents Yussef Kamaal – Future Jazz Series at The Sugar Club, an enthralling new voice in British music. Comprised of keyboardist/producer Kamaal Williams and drummer Yussef Dayes, the duo are rhythmic improvisation incarnate. Taking their cues from ‘70s jazz-funk refracted through the bass-heavy sounds of London club culture, the pair have recently released their debut LP, ‘Black Focus’.
- On Sunday 15 April the Ficino Ensemble will perform at the Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle. The Ensemble was formed by Artistic Director Nathan Sherman in 2012 as a flexible chamber music group that performs all the great music for small ensembles, ranging from string trios to works written for larger ensembles. For MusicTown 2017 they will perform: Philip Glass: String Quartet No 3 (Mishima), William Walton: String Quartet in A minor and Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Quintet op. 115
- Following on from her final (Last Call) tour abroad, which brought her to the USA, Japan, Belgium, Holland, Germany, the UK and Australia, Mary Black is back in Dublin and will perform at Vicar Street on 15 April accompanied by her world famous band of musicians: Bill Shanley (guitar), Pat Crowley (piano and accordion), Nick Scott (double bass) and Richie Buckley (saxophone).
- In the Chester Beatty Library on 9 April will be a concert entitled The Book of the Dead, created and presented by Lorcán Mac Mathúna and also featuring Martin Tourish and Éamonn Galldubh. The Egyptian Book of the Dead is the inspiration for this recital of songs concerning supernatural encounters at the approach of deaths hour –‘the moment of truth’.
- Katie Kim and Crash Ensemble are excited to bring their collaboration “Salt Interventions” to the Grand Social for a debut Dublin show on 8 April. This performance will feature arrangements from Katie Kim’s critically acclaimed recent album “Salt”. Katie has a long history of collaborations with a selection of Irish and international artists including David Kitt, Adrian Crowley, Milosh, and The Waterboys. This collaboration with Crash Ensemble, builds on Katie’s collaborative nature but approaches it in a different manner concentrating on her newly finished third album “Salt” which was released October of 2016 to critical acclaim.
- During MusicTown the RIAM programme of events will offer audiences an array of distinctly different performances showcasing the talents of its students and staff with performances taking place both on-site at the Academy’s premises on Westland Row and in such fascinating Dublin spaces as the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital and No 6 Kildare Street.
Drumming – RIAM Percussion Day at the Royal Irish Academy of Music on Sunday 9 April (Free): A day-long percussion extravaganza featuring workshops, masterclasses, an array of pop-up performances and highly-charged collaborative concerts by percussionists from Ireland and special musical guests.
The historic Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital is the elegant setting for a concert featuring popular music and dances from Georgian Dublin on 9 April – The Dublin Gaities, a term used for all forms of entertainment in Dublin in the 18th Century. Baroque specialist Claire Duff (violin), David Adams (harpsichord) and dancers Mary Collins and Steve Player, lead Academy students in a delightful programme of instrumental music, song and dance from the period. Mary Collins will also share the wealth of her knowledge of the form during the period and the role which dance professionals played in a free admission event at the RIAM on 7 April.
On 10 April the Academy will present a very special musical event entitled Writer’s Choice in the elegant surroundings of No 6 Kildare Street, historic home of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland where audiences can hear a number of musical works which have inspired, captivated or hold special meaning for a selection of Irish writers performed by prize-winning students of the Academy. Full details to be announced.
An innovative musical project, The Golden Age and Celtic Tiger Dublin at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, will see RIAM musicians, led by composer Kevin O’Connell and Early Music specialist, David Adams, explore music in the Irish capital during the 18th century by composers including Handel, Geminiani and Carolan, and also present a number of original works by RIAM composers (free, 11 April).
Charismatic violinist Daniel Rowland will work with some of the Academy’s finest young string players, sharing the enormous wealth of his experience with participants and audience alike in Meet the Master at the Royal Irish Academy of Music on 11 and 12 April (free). Recognised on the international scene as a highly versatile and adventurous performer, he has performed with artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, Ivry Gitlis, Heinz Holliger, Elvis Costello and Lars Vogt and is a frequent guest at many of the foremost international chamber music festivals.
- Matt Simons will headline The Button Factory on 9 April.His 2015 single “Catch & Release” remix hit #1 on Spotify’s Viral charts in 10 countries, peaking at #16 on the Global Viral chart, hit the Top 200 on iTunes in 28 countries and racked up 10 million Soundcloud
- On 14 April experience the Ardú Vocal Ensemble – Miserere – A Choral Masterpiece for Good Friday (Featuring Les Petits Chanteurs De Strasbourg & Ardú Apprentices) at City Hall. Ardú Vocal Ensemble is one of Ireland’s premier vocal groups and have pioneered the genre of modern a cappella in Ireland. Les Petits Chanteurs de Strasbourg comprises three children and youth choirs and a male voice choir, with a total of 90 to 100 singers.
- Described as the folk music of the near future, experience Natalie Mering, the being behind Weyes Blood at The Workman’s Club on 15 April. Mering embeds her song in a harmonic gauze of arpeggiated piano, acoustic guitar, druggy horns, and outerspace electronics.
- On 8 April Kevin Rowland – legendary frontman and artistic visionary of Dexys Midnight Runners – will be guest of honour in The Grand Social. Presenting his own uniquely brilliant interpretation of the modern DJ set, Kevin expresses a deep love of known and neglected gems, thrillingly finding gaps within verses to occasionally add his own emotive vocals, he revels in the chance to underline the profound lyrics of overlooked singles.
- Kid ink cruises past all boundaries and is returning to Dublin on 10 April to play Vicar Street. The Los Angeles rapper, producer, and performer can seamlessly slip from an irresistible hook into an impeccable verse, effortlessly bobbing and weaving between the club and the streets. There’s absolutely nobody quite like the tattooed from head-to-toe impresario.
- On 11 April at the Savoy Cinema, be part of a unique immersive event, Wabi-Sabi Soul: 3D Listening Event, which invites the audience to contemplate, in revelatory sonic and textual detail, the words and music of Dylan Tighe’s acclaimed second album Wabi-Sabi Soul. Featuring a 5.1 surround-sound mix by Sean Coleman and lyrics in bespoke 3D designed by José Miguel Jiménez, this event proposes a highly innovative fusion of music, 3D and cinema surround-sound to create a new way of listening to, and seeing, new Irish music.
- Legends of Irish Music & Song, The Fureys return to Vicar St on 8 April for another great night of Irish Music, Songs and stories including their timeless classics ‘I will love you’, ‘When you were sweet 16’, ‘The Green fields of France’, ‘From Clare to here’, plus songs from their latest CD ‘The Times they are a changing’.
- As part of MusicTown 2017 Chelsea Wolfe will play Whelan’s on 15 April. Sleep paralysis plagues singer/songwriter Chelsea Wolfe and that strange intersection of the conscious and the unconscious has inadvertently manifested itself within her work. Across the span of her first four albums, there is an underlying tension, a distorted and nebulous territory where dark shadows hover along the edges of the sublime and the graceful.
- At The Workman’s Club on 10 April catch, PWR BTTM, formed in 2013 after guitarist Ben Hopkins and drummer Liv Bruce bonded over bringing drag culture and performance art into the D.I.Y. scene while studying at upstate New York’s Bard College. Their first EP, Cinderella Beauty Shop, with its raw pop-punk and garage rock sound drew comparisons to the likes of queercore pioneers Pansy Division and God Is My Co-Pilot, with their debut album, Ugly Cherries earning rave reviews for their take on queer punk.
- Ryley Walker will play Whelan’s on 16 April. Last year saw the release of the fourth album from Rockford, Illinois virtuoso guitarist and songwriter Ryley Walker, entitled Golden Sings That Have Been Sung. ‘Through those fingers flow many woody and august antecedents: difficult homegrown masters like John Martyn or Bert Jansch, wayward American travellers like John Fahey, more canonical voices like Tim Buckley; the jazzy post-rockers of his adopted Chicago. Later in the set he’ll cover Tim Hardin’s If I Were a Carpenter.’ The Guardian ****
- On Easter Monday (17 April) take part in a free musical walking tour in the city centre, In Your Easter Bonnet, led by a children’s choir.
There are a number of events especially for younger audiences too:
- The Quiet Tree is an intimate traditional music performance specifically designed for young children (aged 3-6) and their families on 7 April, Richmond Barracks. Delightful music, storytelling, and puppetry performance which takes children and accompanying adults on an adventure through the forest where they will explore musical instruments, sing, dance, and help Ornaith the owl, Sorley the snail, and Faolán the frog bring the little oak tree to life through music.
- A free, fun participatory contemporary music event for children (aged 6-10) Our Tunes will take place on Sat 8 April at the Contemporary Music Centre. No musical expertise is required for this event, presented by Adrian Mantu, cellist with ConTempo Quartet and will include composer Karen Power and several musicians.
For more on MusicTown 2017 go to www.musictown.ie
Be part of the conversation on twitter and facebook @musictowndublin
MusicTown 2017: first announcements
details:
Craig David
3Arena Dublin
Date: Friday 7 April
Tickets: €33.50 / €49.65 / €60.45
Booking: ticketmaster.ie
Brady & Irvine: A Tribute
Liberty Hall
Date: Friday 7 April
Tickets: €22.50
Booking: Eventbrite.ie
Ardú Vocal Ensemble – Miserere – A Choral Masterpiece for Good Friday
(Featuring Les Petits Chanteurs De Strasbourg & Ardú Apprentices)
Dublin City Hall
Date: Friday 7 April, 6pm
Tickets: €20
Booking: ArduMusic.com
Bronagh Gallagher and her band
Whelans
Date: Friday 7 April
Tickets: €15
Booking: Whelanslive.com
The Quiet Tree
Richmond Barracks, Inchicore
Date: Friday 7 April, 2pm
Tickets: €7 per family (1 adult X 2 children aged 3 – 6years)
Booking: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-quiet-tree-tickets-32495585170
Sound of Silents 2017 – An improvised music and silent film project
Cinema 2, IFI, Eustace St., Dublin 2
Date: Saturday 8 April, 14.00 & 20:30
Tickets: €10 / €12
Booking: IFI Box office / www.ifi.ie
Dublin International Choral Festival Concert
St Patrick’s Cathedral
Date: Saturday 8 April
Tickets: €5
Booking: ticketmaster.ie
Katie Kim and Crash Ensemble: Salt Interventions
The Grand Social
Date: Saturday 8 April
Tickets: €15
The Fureys
Vicar Street
Date: Sat 8 April
Tickets: €30
Booking: ticketmaster.ie
Kevin Rowland DJ Set
The Grand Social
Date: Saturday 8 April
Tickets: €10
Booking: tickets.ie
Darkness to Light
D-Light Studios, 46 North Great Clarence Street, North Strand, Dublin 1
Date: Sunday 9 April
Tickets: €12-€20
Booking: Eventbrite.ie
THE BOOK OF THE DEAD
Chester Beatty Library
Date: Sunday 9 April, 2pm & 3.30pm
Tickets: Free
Matt Simons
The Button Factory
Date: Sunday 9 April
Tickets: €15
Booking: ticketmaster.ie
Kid Ink
Vicar Street
Date: Monday 10 April
Tickets: €33.50
Booking: ticketmaster.ie
Dublin International Choral Festival – Closing Gala Concert
St Patrick’s Cathedral
Sunday 9 April
Tickets €10
Booking: ticketmaster.ie
The Dublin Gaities
The Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital
Date: Sunday 9 April, 3pm
Tickets: €7/€5
Booking: www.riam.ie
Drumming – RIAM Percussion Day
The Royal Irish Academy of Music
Date: Sunday 9 April, from 12 noon to 6pm
Tickets: Free Admission Event at www.riam.ie
Writers’ Choice
Royal College of Physicians of Ireland
Monday 10 April
Tickets: €8/€5
Booking: www.riam.ie
PWR BTTM
The Workman’s Club
Date: Monday 10 April
Tickets: €13
Booking: ticketmaster.ie
Handel’s Acis and Galatea
O’Reilly Theatre Dublin
Date: Tues 11 April
Tickets: €38/€35
Booking: www.opera.ie
Wabi-Sabi Soul: 3D Listening Event
Savoy Cinema, O’Connell Street
Date: Tuesday 11 April.
Tickets: €8 (+ booking fee). Admission Includes Free album download.
Booking: https://dylantighewabisabisoul.eventbrite.ie
Meet the Master
Royal Irish Academy of Music
Dates: Tuesday 11 April (2.00 pm to 9.00 pm) and Wednesday 12 April (9.00 am to 4.00 pm)
Tickets: Free Admission Event at www.riam.ie
The Golden Age and Celtic Tiger Dublin
Royal Irish Academy of Music
Date: Tuesday, April 11th at 7.00 pm
Tickets: Free Admission Event at www.riam.ie
MUSIC TOGETHER
The Atrium, Trinity College
Date: Thursday 13 April
Tickets: Donations will be invited to Music Together’s Summer project
JOHN PRINE
Bord Gais Energy Theatre
Date: Thursday 13 April
Tickets: €44.05 – 54.65
Booking: bordgaisenergytheatre.ie / ticketmaster.ie
Yussef Kamaal – Future Jazz Series
The Sugar Club
Tickets: €17.50 ex booking fee 20 on door
Our Lady’s ChoRAL SOCIETY perform extracts from Handel’s Messiah
Fishamble Street
Date: Thursday 13 April, 1pm
Globe
Smock Alley Theatre
Date: Thursday 13 April
Tickets: €20 / €18
Booking: https://smockalley.ticketsolve.com/#/show
MELANIE C
with Special Guest ALEX FRANCIS
Vicar St Dublin
Date: Thursday 13 April
Tickets: €39.05
Booking: ticketmaster.ie
Wyes Blood
The Workmans Club
Date: Saturday 15 April
Tickets: €13
Booking: ticketmaster.ie
Mary Black
Vicar St Dublin
Date: 15 April
Tickets: €35
Booking: ticketmaster.ie
Ficino Ensemble
Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle
Date: Saturday 15 April 2017, 4pm
Tickets: €15 plus booking fee
CHELSEA WOLFE
Whelan’s
Date: Saturday 15 April
Tickets: €20
Booking: ticketmaster.ie / whelanslive.com / tickets.ie
Our Tunes
Contemporary Music Centre
Date: 15 April
Tickets: Admission free
Ryley Walker
Whelans
Date: Sunday 16 April
Tickets: €16
Booking: ticketmaster.ie / whelanslive.com
IN YOUR EASTER BONNET
Walking Tour
Date: Monday 17 April
Tickets: Free
Press information: Sinead O’Doherty, Gerry Lundberg Public Relations t: 01 679 8476 / 086 259 1070 pr@gerrylundbergpr.com