Showing 1-23 of 23 results
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Avoca Handweavers
Sunday brunch has some live jazz accompaniment at this gorgeous department store. The restaurant is upstairs.
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Bank Of Ireland Arts Centre
The arts centre hosts a regular Wednesday lunch-time recital at , usually featuring a soloist with accompaniment. The performers are excellent. It also hosts an irregular evening programme of concerts; call for details.
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Big Top
During the Point Depot's refit, the big gigs in Dublin will be held in a huge, 5000-capacity Big Top in Phoenix Park. We hope it's such a success that they keep it up even after the Point has reopened.
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Bleu Note
The self-proclaimed Dublin home of jazz and blues, the Bleu Note has performed a minor bit of syntactical trickery to ensure that it 'borrows' from the world-famous New York club without actually stealing from it, a balancing act it's in no danger of doing with the musical policy, which remains firmly on the safe side. Blues-infused New Orleans jazz is about as far out as this venue will go. There are two live gigs nightly on Friday and Saturday.
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Boom Boom Room
Most people run for the hills when they hear the words 'avant garde' and 'music' in the same sentence, but this venue has done more to reflect the cultural diversity of the new Dublin - with its absolutely fabulous blend of folk, jazz, blues, electronica and more - than any other. Dubliners are always bemoaning the absence of somewhere they can listen to something genuinely new and different; that just means they haven't been here.
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Brazen Head
Reputed to be Dublin's oldest pub, the Brazen Head was founded in 1198, but the present building is a young thing, dating from only 1668. It's popular with foreign students, tourists and some grizzly locals - Robert Emmet was a regular, while in Ulysses, James Joyce reckoned 'you get a decent enough do in the Brazen Head'.
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Cobblestone
This pub in the heart of Smithfield has a great atmosphere in its cosy upstairs bar, where there are superb nightly music sessions from traditional (especially Thursday) and up-and-coming folk acts.
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Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
The Friday evening traditional céilidh (communal dance) is the big draw at this informal venue, which is really a community club for the preservation of the traditional form, be it played or danced. Other nights feature regular sessions, but you'll find something just as good in the city centre.
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Crawdaddy
Named after the London club where the Stones launched their professional careers in 1963, Crawdaddy is an intimate bar-venue that specialises in putting on rootsy performers - from African drum bands to avant garde Jazz artists and Flamenco guitarists. It's part of the Pod/Tripod entertainment complex.
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Devitt's
Devitt's - aka the Cussak Stand - is one of the favourite places for the city's talented musicians to display their wares, with sessions as good as any you'll hear in the city centre. Highly recommended.
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Helix
Based in Dublin City University, the impressive Helix theatre hosts, among other things, a fantastic array of international operatic and classical recitals and performances. Check the website for details.
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Hub
The Arctic Monkeys, We Are Scientists and comedian Jimmy Carr have all graced the decks at the legendary rock-indie-electronic night Trashed on Tuesdays, hosted by Trev Radiator. Otherwise it's a mixed bag of indie hits and drinks promos for all and sundry.
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Hughes' Bar
Traditional purists love the nightly sessions at this pub, which by day caters to barristers, solicitors and their clients from the nearby Four Courts - all of whom probably need a pint, but for different reasons! Although the playing is very good, the atmosphere is a little lacking and the sessions can be a bit dead.
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International Bar
The upstairs room above this pub hosts three comedy nights a week. Monday night is Comedy Improv, the best of the lot, where the audience throws up subjects for the established comedians to work with. Wednesday night is Comedy Cellar, Ardal O'Hanlon's original creation, where blossoming talent is given the chance to find out if their material is up to scratch, and Thursday night is the International Comedy Club, hosted by Aidan Bishop.
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JJ Smyth's
The best place in Dublin to hear good jazz is at this pub, located in an upstairs lounge where the stage is almost on top of the punters. Sunday's Pendulum Club, run by the Improvised Music Company, is a consistently good night. The intimacy of the place, coupled with the generally high standard of musicians performing here, make this a definite must for any fans of the genre.
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Marlay Park
In recent years, this park in the south Dublin suburb of Rathfarnham has been transformed into a major outdoor venue for some fairly heavy-hitting international acts, with Daft Punk, Aerosmith and The Who just some of the acts who played here in 2007. But it also hosts slightly more muted affairs throughout the summer. The yearly Bud Rising festival takes place here too .
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National Concert Hall
Leaden acoustics and a none-too-aesthetic conversion of University College Dublin's old lecture hall are the main criticisms levelled at Ireland's premier orchestral venue, but the cream of the classical crop perform here throughout the year as part of a rich and various programme of concerts and recitals. There's also a series of excellent lunchtime concerts (around €9 ) from to on Tuesday, June to September.
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Olympia Theatre
This beautiful Victorian theatre generally puts on light plays, musicals and pantomime, but also caters to a range of mid-level performers and fringe talents that are often far more interesting than the superstar acts - this is one of the best places for a more intimate gig.
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Point Depot
The premier indoor venue for all rock and pop acts playing in Dublin, this 8000-capacity warehouse closed its doors for a major facelift in 2007. It will reopen at the end of 2008, and we only hope that it manages to fix the problems that made it one of the most unsatisfactory venues to see our favourite gigs, mostly because the stage was so bloody far away.
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Sugar Club
Table service and a cocktail bar draw in a slightly more sophisticated (read older) crowd who come for the cabaret-style acts performing here regularly.
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Vicar Street
Smaller performances take place at this intimate venue near Christ Church Cathedral. It has a capacity of 1000, between its table-serviced group seating downstairs and theatre-style balcony. Vicar Street offers a varied programme of performers, with a strong emphasis on soul, folk, jazz and foreign music.
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Village
When the live music ends, the club kicks off and takes 600-odd groovers through a consistent mix of new and old tunes, dancefloor classics and whatever else will shake that booty. A great venue, an eager crowd and a top night out overall.
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Whelan's
The traditional pub attached to the popular live music venue was one of the best places to wind down a week over a pint and a chat, until it closed its doors for a major refurb. What it'll become is anyone's guess - we just hope that it keeps its old-fashioned ambience.
Showing 1-23 of 23 results
