One Of Ireland's Best Loved Bands Release More Tour Dates
To be honest, it's absolutely no surprise that Picture This have announced a tour for 2017 following a sold out UK and Irish Tour this year!
I travelled over to King Tuts in Glasgow to review their first ever headline show in Scotland and it was absolutely phenomenal, and I believe the three gigs in the Olympia Theatre were very very special too.
Throughout this upcoming tour, the lads will revisit Dublin, Belfast, London, Cork and Glasgow, as well as adding a date in Birmingham too!
Tickets are on sale next Wednesday (November 30th), check out the full dates below!
Irish Band Smash First Headline Show In Scottish Capital
Last week's gig at The Liquid Room was the first time Walking on Cars had ever headlined in Edinburgh and judging by the reaction, it certainly won't be the last.
It was also my first time in the city and I have to say, aside from the music, the two days that I spent there travelling around, I completely fell in love with the place and I'll definitely be making a return too!
You might remember I reviewed Walking on Cars' gig in London a while back and I was full of praise. I guess the reasoning behind me heading over to Scotland was to see what response they got. Here in Ireland, we all know that they are a huge, huge success. A sold out show in the 12,500 capacity 3 Arena justifies that!
The Liquid Room however, held around 800 people which suited me perfectly. I love intimacy when it comes to gigs and I think the band also fed off that buzz.
They played every song off their critically acclaimed debut album "Everything This Way" and pretty much every word was sang back to them, which I always find fascinating when I'm in another country!
Of course, the crowd favourite was the very last song which is what lead-singer Patrick Sheehy described as "putting Walking on Cars on the map here in Scotland." Which song am I talking about? Speeding Cars. You can check out the video for that track below!
I'm not usually a huge fan of clichés but practice certainly does make perfect and it's clear to see that all the touring that the band have done over the last number of months and even years has undoubtedly made their performances absolutely faultless.
There's an energy, a passion and an excitement that just oozes from the stage and that keeps the audience engrossed for the duration of the show.
A quick mention to the support act as well, Mr Tor Miller. I have to hold my hands up and say that I wasn't overly familiar with his music before the gig but he did impress me and will more than likely feature on the blog in the not too distant future.
Walking on Cars still have plenty more tour dates to get through; you can check out the full listing on their website www.walkingoncars.com
This girl is, undoubtedly, the most talked about 12 year-old in the entire world at the moment. The 2016 AGT Winner has racked up hundreds of millions of views on her videos online and has also received high praise from the most powerful names in the entertainment business, with Simon Cowell claiming she is "the next Taylor Swift" an Howie Mandel stating that she is an "absolute superstar".
Since winning the show, Grace only seems to be going from strength to strength and has signed a record deal with Simon Cowell and Columbia Records, performed during the half time interval of a New Yorks Knicks game and also made an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon!
Just over six hours ago, Grace released the lyric video for the song she actually performed for her audition and astonishingly, it already has 145,000 views. I can honestly say that this song is one of my favourite this year and I'm incredibly excited to see what the future holds for Miss VanderWaal.
I would highly highly recommend keeping up to date with her on Twitter and Facebook because things are about to take off fast! Her debut EP "Perfectly Imperfect" will be available everywhere from December 2nd.
Dublin Singer/Songwriter Releases 'Back To Square One'
If you check out the blog regularly, you'll be aware that a while back I posted an in-depth interview with Ryan O'Shaughnessy, talking about his Britain's Got Talent experience, what he's learnt since then and what the future holds. He also popped in to KFM Radio for a chat and live session, and I have to say, having heard his story and listening to his music, this album was one I have really been looking forward to.
The name for the release is perfect because what I gathered from talking to Ryan on both occasions was that he felt as though he was starting his musical career again, but the music contained within the album portrays his maturity and experience as an artist.
If you're wondering how the hell you can listen, yesterday it was made available on all good music platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
Also, if you live in either Dublin or Toronto, I've got some good news; to celebrate the release of the new album, O'Shaughnessy has announced a couple of shows in both cities.
DUBLIN DATES
16 Nov - The Grand Social (Official Album Launch)
28 Dec - Ollie's, Skerries
TORONTO DATES
24 Nov - The Cavern Bar
01 Dec - The Cameron House
02 Dec - Lee's Palace
Here's a little taster of one of the tracks on the album 'Waste Another Day'. Credit to the incredible Christian Tierney for the video.
For anyone who was of the impression that Picture This were just a success in Ireland, I can assure you that after seeing them perform to an adoring crowd in Scotland, that couldn't be further from the truth!
Thursday night's gig in the iconic King Tuts venue brought the band's four-date UK Tour to a close, having played in Manchester, Bristol and London earlier on in the week.
If you're unfamiliar with Tuts, it holds around 300 people and when Ryan Hennessy got on stage, he announced that they sold it out, so as you can imagine, it was jammed.
It was the first time the band had played in Scotland and judging by their energy and stage presence, it was clear that they meant business right from their very first song - 'Saviour'.
Among their well known material, the guys sampled some new tracks which were instant hits with the fans.
Obviously, songs such as 'Take My Hand', 'You & I' and 'Let's Be Young' got the best reception from the crowd, but for me personally, Hennessy's performance of a track called 'Jane' was the highlight. Before singing he spoke to the crowd, saying that usually artists would ask for people to take out their phones and hold up their lights, but instead, he wanted all phones away and everyone to be actually present in the room for the performance! An incredible performance and an incredible reaction.
From a Scottish point of view, some of the best news they got was at the very end of the show when Jimmy Rainsford declared that they would "definitely be back!". No doubt the next time, the venue will be a whole lot bigger!
Also, just a quick word for the support act, Cape Cub, who traveled with the guys for the duration of their UK Tour. Trust me, they are a band that you should be keeping on your radar. We already featured their track "Swim" on the blog, but with a new release now available on Spotify, iTunes etc, 2017 promises to be an exciting year for them.
As for Picture This, they still have upcoming gigs in Dublin and Belfast, all of which are sold out, so chances are, you'll have to wait until next year to see them!
Irish Singer/Songwriter Set To Launch 'Morality Mortality' On November 24th
This is a guy I've been keeping a close eye on over the past 6 months or so, and I have to say, it's been great to follow his success of late.
Marc O'Reilly has just released his new album 'Morality Mortality' via Virgin Records and already it appears to be going down a treat! Radio stations up and down Ireland are beginning to sit up and take notice of his music and he's currently on a 40-date European Tour which sets him up nicely for an international breakthrough.
The highly-regarded music magazine Hot Press reviewed the album as being 8/10 saying that 'Marc O'Reilly is an incredibly gifted guitar player and songwriter and with 'Morality Mortality' will surprise and charm you in equal measure.'
A great track called 'Of Nothing' was the first single from the album and European radio stations are beginning to add it to their playlists. I've attached the video for the track below so you can check it out for yourself!
Regarding live shows, as I said, Marc is currently touring Europe and you can find out what cities and venues he will be playing over the next couple of weeks on his website www.marcoreillymusic.com
The main event will take place on November 24th however back in the iconic venue of Whelan's in Dublin as he officially launches his new album and it promises to be a really special night! Once again, for tickets, check out the website!
Dublin Based Band Offer A Little Taster Of What's To Come On Their Upcoming Album
I guess I just stumbled upon these guys by chance. Sorting through a couple of CDs and press releases at the radio station that I work for, I decided to give their single a quick listen, and boy am I glad that I did!
Immediately, Oddsocks hit all the right notes with me and I knew that I had to feature the new single on the blog along with a bit of info on their upcoming album release and launch tour!
November 18th is the all important date for your diaries because that's when their highly anticipated and progressive new album will be released for the world to hear! "The Sound Of The City" features punk-pop and soul performances along with the strong influence of producer Rian Trench. The lads also say that this record portrays a defined new direction for the band.
The actual album campaign itself kicked off last week with that release of the leading video/single "What You Trying" and you can check that out below and let me know what you think.
To mark the release of the album, Oddsocks will be playing in well known venues around Ireland over the next number of weeks and have announced that a host of guest musicians will join the core group for the live shows in what promises to be a multidimensional sonic feast!
Those dates include:
Nov 18 - The Sound House, Eden Quay, Dublin
Nov 19 - 5th On Teeling, Sligo
Nov 25 - Eddie Murphy's, Thomastown, Kilkenny
Nov 26 - Nellie Fred's, Dingle, Kerry
Dec 02 - Coughlan's Live, Cork
Dec 03 - The Harbour Bar, Bray, Wicklow
For more information on how to get your hands on tickets and stuff, log onto www.oddsocksmusic.com
On a night when the Irish rugby team were creating history by defeating the All Blacks for the first time ever, Christy Dignam and the lads from Aslan were playing to an adoring crowd live at the Osprey in Naas.
I can say with my hand on my heart that Aslan are one of my all time favourite Irish bands and seeing them in my home county was an absolute pleasure.
Christy began the set by first of all apologising (light-heartedly) to the crowd! The reason behind that being that it has been years since the band have played in Kildare, but hey, absence makes the heart grow fonder eh?
The venue was absolutely packed to the rafters and from the minute Aslan walked on stage, all who were in attendance danced and sang every word!
Naturally, songs like 'Crazy World', 'Chains' and 'This Is' were real favourites but for the night that was in it, following Ireland's aforementioned victory, the band's rendition of 'Willie MacBride' went down a real treat and was met by rapturous applause and chants of "olé olé olé".
It's a known fact now that lead singer Christy Dignam has had a long battle with cancer and you can read more about that by checking out the interview I did with guitarist Billy McGuinness on the blog a while back BUT I have to say, it brought a smile to my face and gave me shivers down my spine to see Christy up on stage where he belongs, doing his thing!
I would highly recommend getting out to see the lads over the month of December. Their upcoming gigs are:
03 Dec - HMVSOUNDGARDEN, Sligo
10 Dec - Seapoint Ballroom, Galway
16 Dec - Project Club, Waterford
27 Dec - Vicar Street, Dublin
29 Dec - Vicar Street Dublin
Donegal Based Band Are Definitely Worth Keeping An Eye On
I have to say, the Irish Music Industry is in a really really good place at the moment. It seems as though everywhere you look, great new bands keep appearing!
Wolves of Youth would definitely be one of my tips for success in the coming twelve months. The four piece band hail from Donegal and were formed back in 2014 and have already brought quite a bit of attention upon themselves with slots at festivals such as Electric Picnic, Sea Sessions and Indiependence.
Following on from a busy summer, the guys have been in studio with producer Philip Magee, working on some new material! One such track is called "Say Something", which has been getting a great response since it's release on November 1st. In the space of just three days, the official audio video on Youtube is just shy of 1,000 views and it's just approaching the 1,000 mark on Spotify too.
I'll throw the official audio video down below for you to have a listen for yourself aaaand if you like what you hear, check out their other tracks on Spotify too.
Gig wise, the band are playing Tivoli Backstage Dublin on November 12th and will also be supporting the incredible Irish band The Academic on the last date of their upcoming Irish Tour in Galway on December 17th!
