IrishMJ

I only heard of Driven Snow recently, which is strange as I follow one of the members on Twitter...  Not sure how I missed out on them till now! Anyway, Driven Snow are Kieran from Deleorentos and Emily from Republic of Loose and, when I heard they were playing the Workmans Cellar in Dublin, I thought I'd head along and see what the craic was. I didn't listen to any of their music beforehand, so I had no idea what to expect, but I figured it would be good, and I wasn't wrong. Whilst the music is not as fast as Delorentos or as funk driven as 'the Loose', it's certainly catchy and Emily has an incredible voice, just wonderful.  Hopefully there will be an album in the future.  It was well worth heading along to catch them live and I'd suggest that you try catch them also if they're playing a venue near you!  Check out their music over on  Spotify .   Strangely enough, I'd also never heard of  Abe Soare , the support act on the night.  Hailing from

It's no secret that I like burlesque shows.  I've been to shows in Las Vegas, San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Dublin and Cork... Different styles in different countries, but all absolutely wonderful. Tonight's show, The Peacock Parlour , is run by the wonderful Foxy P. Cox .  I've been to see the show a few times, both in Dublin and Cork and it's always fun, a heady mix of genders dancing, singing, cavorting away on the stage. What's not to love??? This Valentine's Night, I'm in The Grand Social in Dublin, a venue I am very familiar with, and performing on stage are: King Crimson Bella Curve Kat Moiselle Daria Décolleté Rod Fibula with Carmen Mon Oxide on hostess duties! We were treated to an exotic night of romance, desire, weddings and breakups and, well, the audience loved it.  They whooped and cheered along all night.  I would have too, but I seem to have lost my whooping voice... I've said it elsewhere, I am no fan of Valentine's Day, I disl

Another night, another gig in the Moat Theatre in Naas.  Just a night after 'Nothing Compares', I was back there for the latest Skylarks Music Club gig. Tonight's gig was headlined by Sarah McQuaid with support from Sive . Sarah is currently on an Irish tour.  If she's in a town near you, I'd recommend you go!  Tour details can be found here . Now for some photos: Sarah McQuaid Sive

To mark the first St. Brigid’s Day public holiday here in Ireland, the Brigid 1500 programme of events was launched to celebrate and commemorate St. Brigid in Kildare. As part of the celebration events, Hot Press , in association with Kildare Village , Kildare Co. Co . and Brigid 1500 , put on Nothing Compares: A Celebration of Irish Women Artists in the Moat Theatre . The concert on the night included sets from  Megan O'Neill , Gemma Dunleavy , Tolü Makay , Susan O’Neill , Mary Stokes , Eleanor McEvoy and Imelda May , along with poetry recitals from Ireland 'first lady' Sabina Higgins  and Laura Murphy, Herstory ’s poet-in-residence. Highlights on the night were the audience singing the chorus to Gemma Dunleavy's 'Up de Flats' and then Eleanor McEvoy performing 'Only a Woman's Heart' which brought tears to many eyes. The whole night was MC'd superbly by Trishauna Archer . Right, on to the photos: Megan O'Neill Gemma Dunleavy Tolü Makay Sus