{"id":367528,"date":"2026-03-27T05:54:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T05:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/367528\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T05:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T05:54:10","slug":"gorillaz-jackie-nickerson-and-the-other-best-things-to-see-in-ireland-in-the-week-ahead-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/367528\/","title":{"rendered":"Gorillaz, Jackie Nickerson and the other best things to see in Ireland in the week ahead \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Event of the weekGorillazTuesday, March 31st, SSE Arena, Belfast, 6.30pm, \u00a392\/\u00a381 (sold out); Wednesday, April 1st, and Thursday, April 2nd, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, \u20ac94.25\/\u20ac84.25 (sold out), ticketmaster.ie<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1998 Damon Albarn<\/a>, Blur<\/a>\u2019s frontman, and the comic-book artist Jamie Hewlett created the \u201cvirtual\u201d band Gorillaz<\/a> in response to the emergence of manufactured boy bands. \u201cLet\u2019s make a manufactured band,\u201d Albarn recalled saying to Hewlett, \u201cbut make it kind of interesting.\u201d Fast-forward to 2026 and that\u2019s exactly what Gorillaz \u2013 who since 2010 have toured with fully visible live musicians \u2013 have achieved. The band\u2019s recently released ninth studio album, The Mountain, includes wide-ranging collaborations on songs that explore various aspects of grief. Expect some of those at these concerts, as well as tracks from the band\u2019s previous albums, of course. Albarn will be joined on stage by the guitarist Jeff Wooton, the drummer Jaega Mckenna-Gordon and the (Dublin) keyboardist Ruth O\u2019Mahony-Brady. <\/p>\n

GigsNils Petter Molvaer GroupFriday, April 3rd, Triskel Arts Centre, Cork, 8pm, \u20ac37.50, triskelartscentre.ie<\/a>\"NilsNils Petter Molvaer <\/p>\n

Ever since Khmer, his debut solo album, from 1997, the Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer has sided with the fusionists. Long considered a pioneer of future jazz \u2013 jazz blended with funk, electronics, hip-hop beats and improvisation \u2013 he continues to map out alternative routes that jazz can take. Molvaer is a rare visitor to Ireland, so his welcome appearance with and his group (Jo Berger Myhre on bass, Erland Dahlen on drums and sampling, and Sven Persson as sound engineer) forms part of Triskel\u2019s international jazz programme.<\/p>\n

God Is an AstronautFriday, April 3rd, Academy, Dublin, 7pm, \u20ac34.20, ticketmaster.ie<\/a>; Saturday April 4th, Cyprus Avenue, Cork, 7pm, \u20ac25, cyprusavenue.ie<\/a><\/p>\n

As God Is an Astronaut, the Wicklow-based twins Neils and Torsten Kinsella have been presenting instrumental postrock psychedelic music for almost 25 years. These two shows come at the end of an extensive tour of Europe, several countries of which (including Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands) have shown the brothers far more attention than Ireland. Anyone with a liking for hypnotic melodies, motorik rhythms and cinematic, long-form music should investigate.<\/p>\n

All Kinds of EverythingFrom Thursday, April 2nd until Sunday, April 5th, various times, prices and venues, Derry city, allkindsfest.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Last year the Derry-based electronic-music event Celtronic closed its doors after 25 editions, but the people behind it return, unbowed, with All Kinds of Everything. (The festival title is a cheeky nod to Dana, the Derry singer who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970 with the song of that name.) The inaugural event aims to celebrate the best new music across many genres, not just nationally and internationally but also locally. Alongside music will be film screenings, studio collaborations and public interviews at venues such as the Nerve Centre, Sandinos, Cult\u00farlann U\u00ed Chan\u00e1in, the Guildhall and the Playhouse. Music acts include Soak, Chalk, Curtisy, God Knows, Piaras \u00d3 Lorc\u00e1in, Niamh Regan, Cardinals and The Wran.<\/p>\n

MusicalThe Ballad of Johnny & JuneFrom Monday, March 30th until Saturday, April 11th, Bord G\u00e1is Energy Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, \u20ac68.40\/\u20ac63.40\/\u20ac52.30, ticketmaster.ie<\/a>\"TheThe Ballad of Johnny & June <\/p>\n

As well as reliably charting the love affair and creative relationship between the US country singers Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter, this jukebox musical also focuses on their dependence on drugs and alcohol. The crucial involvement of their son, John Carter Cash, in the development of the show ensured that his parents\u2019 story would be rooted in truth. \u201cI feel like they\u2019d be happy with this,\u201d Carter Cash told the Los Angeles Times. \u201cIt stands alone, and it\u2019s like nothing else that\u2019s ever been done about Johnny and June.\u201d Christopher John Grant and Christina Bianco feature. The Tony Award winner Des McAnuff directs. Also, Tuesday, August 4th until Saturday, August 8th, Grand Opera House, Belfast; goh.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

StageSingle White FemaleFrom Tuesday, March 31st until Saturday, April 4th, Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, \u20ac49.50\/\u20ac41.05\/\u20ac35.45, ticketmaster.ie<\/a><\/p>\n

Juggling single parenthood with the launch of her tech start-up, Allie (Lisa Faulkner) advertises for a lodger to help ease the financial pressure. The arrival of the initially agreeable Hedy (Kym Marsh) is a bonus until the ostensibly ideal relationship starts to crack. Based on SWF Seeks Same, John Lutz\u2019s 1990 book, and Single White Female, the psychological thriller of a film made of it two years later, this new production updates the original story of friendship, trust and obsession to include the disturbing stalking and trolling aspects of social media. Age guidance is 15+, as the play contains depictions of violence and online bullying, as well as scenes of a sexual nature. <\/p>\n

Visual artJackie Nickerson: StatesideFrom Saturday, March 28th until Saturday, May 9th, Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, Co Louth, highlanes.ie<\/a><\/p>\n

The work of the conceptual documentary photographer Jackie Nickerson derives from years of research into identity and environment. Previous projects include farm workers in South Africa (Farm, from 2002) and religious communities in Ireland (Faith, from 2006). Nickerson\u2019s latest exhibition is a visual diary of a fractious decade she spent travelling and working across the United States, where she photographed Chicago streets, Utah landscapes, military installations in Hawaii, and suburban homes. With an eye less on specific locations than on recurrent themes, the exhibition explores, Nickerson says, \u201cthe functionalism that fuels America\u2019s economy\u201d. An accompanying book is published by Steidl, with texts by Tom Downey and Colm T\u00f3ib\u00edn.<\/p>\n

Still runningWild SwimmingUntil Saturday, April 4th, Bewley\u2019s Cafe Theatre, Dublin, 1pm, \u20ac15\/\u20ac10, bewleyscafetheatre.com<\/a>\"WildWild Swimming: Gemma Allan and S\u00edofra N\u00ed \u00c9il\u00ed <\/p>\n

Time-travelling on\/off friends, gender rights, a marine setting, cultural evolvement and several hundred years to put the world to rights form the basis of Marek Horn\u2019s probing play. Fourth walls are shattered with wit and conviction by Gemma Allan and S\u00edofra N\u00ed \u00c9il\u00ed, while audience participation with water pistols is encouraged. Alisha Finnerty directs.<\/p>\n

Book it this week<\/p>\n

International Literature Festival Dublin, May 15th-24th, ilfdublin.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Shania Twain, Thomond Park, Limerick, July 7th, ticketmaster.ie<\/a><\/p>\n

Ilana Glazer, Vicar Street, Dublin, July 18th, ticketmaster.ie<\/a><\/p>\n

Faye Webster, Collins Barracks, Dublin, August 27th, ticketmaster.ie<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Event of the weekGorillazTuesday, March 31st, SSE Arena, Belfast, 6.30pm, \u00a392\/\u00a381 (sold out); Wednesday, April 1st, and Thursday,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367529,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[653,7045,7726,14772,61,60,87211,43,165470],"class_list":["post-367528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-blur","tag-damon-albarn","tag-derry","tag-gorillaz","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-johnny-cash","tag-news","tag-shania-twain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}