Author: leftofthedialmusic

Competition – The The / Collins Barracks, Dublin

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Visit www.facebook.com/leftofthedialmusic to enter!

Our friends in Singular Artists have given us a pair of tickets to UK post-punk band The The return to Ireland @ Collin’s Barracks, Dublin on August 25th as part of the Wider Than Pictures series.

The band are bringing their Ensouled world tour to Dublin in 2024, the band’s first since their hugely successful The Comeback Special world tour in 2018.

To win simply Like & Share our latest Facebook Post! The winner will be announced on July 25th!

See www.singularartists.ie

Dan Stuart (ex Green On Red) / May 7th / Little Whelans

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Dan Stuart (aka Marlowe Billings) returns to the Ireland for a very special show on May 7th in Little Whelan’s. Featuring songs from across his solo and Green On Red catalogue along with stories from his novel Marlowe’s Revenge & his time with Green on Red. Tickets are only €22 incl booking from www.whelanslive.com

Dagny Interview

leftofthedialmusic

We caught up with Norwegian pop, indie, dance, synth, electro and disco artist Dagny before her Dublin gig at The Academy! (with thanks to MCD).

  1. You’ve a wide range of songs & sounds but I was wondering what song you think captures you the best? or that you’d recommend to someone who hasn’t heard Dagny before? I would generally make people listen to Somebody or It’s Only A Heartbreak!

So nice to hear – we actually played It’s Only a Heartbreak for the first time live at my Oslo Spektrum show in November! A good starting point could of course be to start at the beginning; with my first single ‘Backbeat’, and do a deep dive from there. Or you could always start with my main single ‘Somebody’ from my debut album Strangers / Lovers. But ‘Heartbreak In The Making’ is very much a song that captures me the best at this very moment. So that’s three good options!

2) Who were some of the bands/singers that made you want to become a singer?

This is a tough one, but I’d say; the Spice Girls (I’m a child of the 90s), Eva Cassidy (she made me wanna pick up the acoustic guitar and become a songwriter at the age of 15) and Feist (I loved her through my teenage years and early 20s). My mother is also a singer (Marit Sandvik) and she’s been a huge influence on me – there was always music in the house when we were growing up and I love when she’s sitting at the piano in our living room at home in Tromso!

3) Is there any moment that you credit that helped get you to where you are now? whether it’s a radio show playing your songs, a specific gig that got the word? or anything else that has you now touring across Europe, selling out the OsloSpektrum etc?

It’s hard to pinpoint one, because it’s been lots of small moments and only when you zoom out do you see the bigger picture! I’m really lucky that most of my team have been working with me since the early years of playing gigs in London, and they’ve been a huge part of the journey. There have been so many amazing musical & career moments that I could highlight, but I don’t think any of them would have happened, had I not made the spontaneous decision to move to London when I was 21!

4) Any advice you’d give to people starting out? or anything you think you’d do differently knowing what you know now?

Oh where to begin – hindsight is a wonderful thing! I think my biggest pieces of advice would be:

1. Find people that you love to work with

2. Trust your gut, always!

3. Take your time and spend time learning your craft, whether it’s songwriting, playing the guitar or singing.

4. Always get a second opinion before signing a contract!

5. Don’t give up. Working with music is a roller coaster: one day you think you’d be better off just quitting and the next day you have the most amazing time and feel like you actually know what you’re doing, ha ha. That’s just part of it and everyone has those highs and lows.

5) Any songs/bands you’ve had on repeat at the moment?

I’ve been listening to Muna a lot in the recent year! And Boygenius! But I’ve also been obsessed with old bangers like ‘Take Your Mama’ by Scissor Sisters and ‘You Got It’ by Roy Orbison. Dunno why,but they just put me in such a good mood. And so far, 2024 has been such a nice year, so I’m drawn to anything that highlights that mood!

6) Finally, have you any good memories of Dublin if you’ve been before? or have you anything on your To Do List for when you’re here for your show?

I’ve been to Dublin a bunch over the years for shows, studio & writing trips, so I’ve got many good memories. Last time we played in Dublin we supported ‘Picture This’ for five nights at the 3Arena, which was amazing! I’m also a huge fan of vintage clothing, so hopefully I’ll get a bit of time to go thrift shopping in town, as I’m told there are some great stores 🙂 And Guinness of course. I always drink lots of beer when in Dublin, and I’m planning to keep that tradition, haha

Peter Case & Sid Griffin – Thursday May 2nd – Little Whelan’s

leftofthedialmusic

Peter Case is a three time Grammy nominated singer-songwriter from the USA who has a most impressive resume. He was the founder of THE NERVES, the very first American indie band to put together a nationwide tour and one of the very first to release their own indie EP. He then was the founder and leader of the legendary The Plimsouls, an incredibly influential L.A. rock and roll band which drew praise from everyone from Elvis Costello to Tom Petty to critics nationwide.

Sid Griffin is best known by his leadership of the Long Ryders, the founding fathers of alt-country and Americana. He is also the proud artist behind four well-received solo albums, was the leader of the wonderful ‘alt-bluegrass’ UK band, The Coal Porters, he was the Resident Musicologist on BBC 6 Music’s Radcliffe & Maconie radio show for over a decade and Sid has written four books. Sid’s most recent book, Million Dollar Bash: Bob Dylan, The Band, and the Basement Tapes, has been reissued twice. The Long Ryders have a brand new box set coming out of their first album this coming February.

One night only. Tickets €28 incl booking.

https://www.whelanslive.com/event/sid-griffin-peter-case/

Competition Time – Wider Than Picture Series

leftofthedialmusic

** Competition Time **

Want to win tickets to the WIDER THAN PICTURES series of concerts? Simply go to our Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/leftofthedialmusic) & Share our Competition posts! All winners will be announced Monday August 21st.

Singular Artists will hold the return of the hugely successful Wider Than Pictures series in the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks – this August.

They have a host of great artists playing including First Aid Kit (Sold Out), Yungblood (23rd), Future Islands (24th), Vamps (25th), Mick Flannery (26th) & Franz Ferdinand (27th).

Tickets remain for some of these gigs but act fast by going to http://www.singularartists.ie or http://www.ticketmaster.ie

Walker Lukens – Ireland & Northern Ireland Tour

leftofthedialmusic

Depending on who’s talking, Walker Lukens is “one of the best songwriters in
Texas” (Free Press Houston), “a non-sexually threatening version of Prince”
(Austin Chronicle), and a “Rhythmic sound effect master” (All Songs Considered).

So, does that make him pop? Rock? “Who cares!” says NPR of the Austin-based
singer, songwriter, podcaster, and producer. “Walker Lukens is loyal to only one
category: excellence.”

Walker is also the co-creator and host of the song writing-confessional podcast called, The Song Confessional, where today’s top bands and songwriters turn anonymous stories into new original songs. Each episode features the “confession” that inspires the original song, the song premiere, and an interview with the songwriter.  

Walker co-owns Paradise Lunch, a recording studio where he produced his fourth studio record, Accessible Beauty, which is out this summer.  Over the years he’s Supported artists like Incubus, Lissie and Sophie B Hawkins.  This will be Walkers first Irish & Northern Irish tour with 7 dates spanning Wicklow, Wexford, Meath, Dublin, Belfast & Mullingar.

Accessible Beauty is Lukens’ fourth studio album, (or the eighth if you count the
four he made exclusively for ADULTSonly, the private vinyl subscription service
he ran during 2020,) and the first album he will tour since ADULT in 2019. Lukens has been releasing music since 2012, including three critically acclaimed LPs of original songs, a collection of Willie Nelson covers without country instruments, and an ambient record– it seems like he never runs out of creativity or songs to sing. More shows promoting “The One Who Loves You” and the forthcoming album will be announced throughout the summer.

After a handful of years off the road indulging every creative whim, Lukens returns in indie-pop singer-songwriter mode– evident with this first catchy track that fans will undoubtedly have on repeat.

Irish Tour Dates

23rd June – Friday – Harbor Bar – Bray Co, Wicklow –  www.theharbourbar.ie

24th June – Saturday – Caseys Of Wexford – Co, Wexford – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090870870220

25th June – Sunday – Boyles Of Slane – Co, Meath – https://www.facebook.com/Boylespub

26th June – Monday – Whelans – Co, Dublin – www.whelanslive.com

28th June – Wednesday – Big Romance (DJ) – Co, Dublin – www.thebigromance.ie

29th June – Thursday – The Tipsy Bird – Belfast, UK – https://thetipsybird-belfast.co.uk/

30th June – Friday – Smiddys – Co, Mullingar – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063754715090