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Dublin Gig Guide: December 18th 2017 – January 8th 2018

December 14, 2017

With the Christmas period upon us, we will be closing from the 20th December until January 4th so this weeks Dublin Gig Guide will cover everything that's on up to and including January 8th! It's a double helping of Gigs!! Plenty of stuff on for all the family, but as you know we focus on live gigs! As many of you will expect, there is a lot of familiar faces around Dublin at Christmas time with performances from the likes of Glen Hansard, Damien Dempsey before Christmas and the one and only, Christy Moore playing a number of dates in the new year!

Some early Christmas performances for Little Green Cars in The Grand Social on the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st with all shows sold out! The mini tour included two performances at St. Luke's Cathedral in Cork and a gig in Thurles! We are yet to hear is they have a new album in the works.... watch this space. For those who know Gogol Bordello, they need no introduction. They have a new album out and frontman Eugene Hütz says “Seekers and Finders is just a very magical and playful record for us,”The album is the seventh in their wide-ranging oeuvre and they out on some show. As expected this gig is SOLD OUT! They play The Academy on December 19th.

Jimmy Barnes, once the frontman for the band Cold Chisel will play a sold out show in Whelan's this Christmas period on the 20th December. The ‘Stories & Songs’ show see Jimmy Barnes, surrounded on stage by his children Mahalia and Jackie and son-in-law Ben Rodgers, bring the book to life, while baring his heart and soul. The shows have received unanimous rave reviews and is bound to be a very special night! While those looking for some old classic Rock 'n' Roll be sure to check The Strypes as they will be performing a number of shows on the 21st and 22nd including an all ages gig!

Imelda May sees herself playing at the 3 Arena on Friday the 22nd December in promotion of her most recent album 'LIFE. LOVE. FLESH. BLOOD' was released in April of this year to rave reviews! Born and raised in The Liberties area of Dublin, has become one of Ireland’s most celebrated female artists in history. Discovered by Jools Holland, who asked Imelda to support him on tour, Imelda has gone on to perform alongside legendary artists including Lou Reed, Bono and Smokey Robinson. Her previous album ‘Tribal’ debuted at #1 in Ireland and #3 in the UK.

One of the best Irish exports of recent years Raglans, make their return to home soil after a number of shows in Germany and almost a year exactly since they released their 5-track EP 'Again & Again'. They play a special Christmas show at The Bowery alongside MUNKY & WOLFF! Also performing on December 23rd is Damien Dempsey. Returning to the old familiar stage at Vicar Street, Damo is always on hand to perform at Christmas time and this year is no different, playing three shows altogether with his full band with his first two nights 21st & 22nd already sold out!

St. Stephens Day is always a busy day with gigs taking place in most venues across the city as many will be dying to get out after the Christmas festivities! This Stephens day, techno is the order of the day with Surgeon & New Jackson playing at WigWam (formally Twisted Pepper) and Krystal Klear will be performing at Wah Wah Club! Both will be great nights to wash away the Turkey and Stuffing! Aslan and Paddy Casey play Vicar Street & Whelan's on the 27th while December 28th we have an influx of Post-Rock's finest as And So I Watch You From Afar & Overhead, The Albatross will be playing! Two gigs you must see at some stage in your life! OTA play Workman's and ASIWYFA will be playing at The Academy!

The Irish Pop-rock band from the 1980's Something Happens fronted by NewsTalks Tom Dunne, will be playing a once off show at Whelan's on the 29th be sure to check it out for some nostalgic hits!

New Year's Eve has a number of events on but the standout ones would have to be Delerentos NYE party at Whelan's and HamsandwicH's NYE party at The Bowery in Rathmines! As you can imagine, Delorentos will be playing on the night and have announced that they will be releasing new music in 2018, so you can expect some new tunes! While down in The Bowery, HamsandwicH will be hosting their own NYE party at The Bowery with special guest Lisa Canny! Tickets for both events are available from Ticketmaster.

There is a quiet few days as we all head back into the January slump however a few more events to keep you occupied take place in early January. I Heart Bowie at Whelan's for the third year running. Music on the night from the usual houseband & very special guests! And closing out this Dublin Gig Guide for the Christmas/New Year season we have Dave Keenan playing at Whelan's! A great performer, Keenan says "I will be joined by some very special guests throughout the night and I give my word that I will strip down to my soul, sing and speak honestly and encourage us all to walk together through avenues of experience and expression."

So that's it from us folks! We hope you enjoy all our listings and have a fantastic Christmas & New Years! We'll see you again in January!