Hot 100: The events you cannot miss this autumn
Fresh from Electric Picnic, the flame-haired pop star (right) brings her searing How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful album to Dublin for her first stand-alone show in the city since 2012.
Quirky indie rocker channels the louche spirit of New York’s ‘70s downtown. Ripped from the pages of his life, Malin’s lyrics are by turns endearing, weird and scattershot. Malin is a purveyor of songs from the gutter that gaze longingly towards the stars.
Mysterious chanteuse returns with her third album. The release date has yet to be 100% confirmed but it seems likely the record will step blinking into the daylight come end of September.
Folk warhorses saddle up for another engaging meander down nostalgia boulevard. All in their seventies, the trio’s outlaw days are quite a way behind them but their music is still full of crackle and fervor.
Curated by The National’s Aaron Dessner, this city-wide festival will also host performances by Wild Beasts, Lisa Hannigan and My Brightest Diamond.
The Rolling Stones guitarist unleashes his third solo LP. It’s been a while – his last extracurricular outing was all of 23 years ago.
Glasgow synth-pop trio had a huge hit with their 2013 debut. But while the singles were strong, the LP suffered from too much filling. Hopefully, they have addressed this weakness second time around.
From Amy Poehler to Jack White, the great and the good are in a tizzy over this Texas soulman whose emotion-soaked voice has drawn comparisons to Sam Cooke and Smokey Robinson.
The eighties veterans shrug off the departure of charismatic bassist Peter Hook and release their eighth studio album. Judging by single Restless, the results will sound a great deal like singer Bernard Sumner’s Electronic side-project.
Revitalised “emo” icons bring their comeback tour to Ireland.
The new Hozier, anyone? As with the Wicklow singer, the Englishman sports an unusual head adornment – a velvet hat rather than a manbun – and specializes in drippy love songs with bluesy overtones. It’s a potent formula, with his first record whooshing to number one.
A Malik down, yet the 1D juggernaut shows little sign of slowing, with their three night residency at Dublin’s largest indoor venue selling out in a heartbeat. For One Direction, this counts as an intimate gig.
The former Smiths guitarist has blossomed as a solo artist lately – though remains sufficiently respectful to his fanbase to sprinkle his set with Smiths hits such as Bigmouth Strikes Again and There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.
The cross-dressing art-rocker stages his greatly anticipated Dublin debut.
Once dismissed as a poor-man’s Bowie, Numan’s contribution to electro-pop has been belatedly recognised, no matter that in recent decades he has focused on Nine Inch Nails style industrial rock.
Wispy English singer-songwriter performs tunes of yearning and quiet devastation.
This Southern United States soul crew saw their second album, Sound and Color, debut at number one in the American charts and received a personal invite to perform with Prince at his Paisley Park studio.
Fashion icon and cult chanteuse, Bethany Cosentino brings her cat-obsessed Fleetwood Mac soundalike project across the Atlantic for a rare Irish tour.
Recorded in Nashville and inspired by pre-rock era American music, The Waterboys Modern Blues album was a zinging return to form. A mammoth Irish tour includes a residency at Dublin’s Vicar Street and what is sure to be a sellout gig in Cork.
The group achieved a double number one with single King and follow-up album Communion. Following an early afternoon slot at the Longitude Festival, the group returns for an already sold out two nights.
The American Idol winner is one of the few talent TV contestants to go onto a long-term career.
“Modfather” Weller has been rejuvenated by a change of record label – this year’s Saturn’s Pattern LP is acknowledged as one of his finest since he was crowned spiritual forefather of Britpop in the 90s.
They never quite fulfilled their destiny to challenge U2 as the world’s biggest band. But Simple Minds have nonetheless carved out a stake in rock history – and have always been especially beloved in Ireland, where their mix of Celtic anthemic rock and stadium show-boating chimes with local sensibilities.
Dance has become the preserve of whiny teenagers such as Avicii and is thus in urgent need of saving. Step forwards Nineties groove monsters Prodigy, whose The Day Is My Enemy album has restored their position at the summit of pounding electronic music.
National frontman Matt Berninger takes time out from the day job to collaborate with Menomena’s Brent Knopf. The gig was originally scheduled for the much smaller Whelan’s, but sold out in less than a minute.
Meryl Streep plays a rock ‘n’ roll star reconnecting with her family. Jonathan Demme directs.
Two children visit their grandmother in writer-director M. Night Shyamalan’s creepy horror.
Joaquin Phoenix stars as a philosophy professor in Woody Allen’s latest offering. Emma Stone co-stars.
Dystopian sci-fi sequel, in which teenagers escape from their protected ‘Glade’ to be confronted with the big, bad world.
Climbers Keira Knightley and Jake Gyllenhaal struggle to survive a brutal storm on Mt Everest.
A photographer is commissioned to document James Dean’s life. Robert Pattinson stars; Anton Corbijn directs.
A rescue mission is launched to save an astronaut left for dead on Mars. Ridley Scott directs Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain.
The true story of Philippe Petit’s high-wire walk between the Twin Towers. Gordon Joseph-Levitt stars; Robert Zemeckis directs.
Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star in Justin Kurzel’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy.
Offbeat futuristic tale of humans mutating into animals, starring Colin Farrell. Yorgos Lanthimos directs.
Origins tale of how Peter Pan (Levi Miller) came to Neverland, directed by Joe Wright. Hugh Jackman stars.
Adam Sandler writes and voices Dracula in this comedy-horror animation sequel.
Daniel Craig returns as James Bond, with Christoph Waltz playing the villain. Sam Mendes directs.
Documentary biopic of Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafazi, including her speech to the United Nations.
Danny Boyle directs Michael Fassbender in a biopic of Steve Jobs, the late Apple CEO.
Maggie Smith plays a transient woman who takes up residence in Dominic Cooper’s driveway. Nicholas Hytner directs.
Teen sci-fi dystopia, with Jennifer Lawrence starring as the iconic Katniss Everdeen.
Cold War spy thriller, starring Tom Hanks, directed by Steven Spielberg, and scripted by the Coen Brothers.
Johnny Depp stars as Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. Benedict Cumberbatch co-stars.
Saoirse Ronan stars in an adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s novel. John Crowley directs.
Pixar’s latest blends dinosaurs and humans, with Frances McDormand and Sam Elliott among the voice talents.
Set in France in the 1970s, this drama stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, with Jolie directing.
Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill star in the sci-fi blockbuster (below), with JJ Abrams directing.
The classic comic strip gets a feature-length animation, featuring Snoopy (Bill Melendez), Charlie Brown (Noah Schnapp), et al. 25.
The true story behind Moby-Dick, starring Chris Hemsworth. Cillian Murphy co-stars; Ron Howard directs.
It has taken some years for Berlin to release its grip on being the hippest city in Europe, but there’s a sense that Warsaw is very quickly catching up with a vast influx of design shops and galleries in old factories in and around the city’s Praga district.
Factor in the amount of new and pop-up bars – including Cud nad Wisla (Bulwar Flotylli Wi´slanej), which is beside the banks of the River Vistula, and you have a city that requires your attention sooner rather later.
Cologne is back on the international map for those of us who love visiting cities for our art and design fix. Art galleries that have opened recently includes Jan Kaps (Julicher Strasse; www.jan-kaps.com , which features exhibitions so hip you’re not really sure where to look.
So for a mix of design and accommodation, you really have to check in (and check out) The Qvest Hideaway, which is a former religious order establishment given a contemporary design makeover.
Despite the fact that we Irish love Spain and visit it as much as we can, the country and its many cities and towns can still surprise us.
Say hello (yet again?) to Malaga, the credentials of which as a serious cultural city break received a serious thrust earlier this year when the first Pompidou Centre outside of Paris opened its doors.
Its centerpiece is a remarkable €5 million glass structure called The Cube, which will house a permanent art collection. Aside from the arty side, it’s difficult to beat Spain for great food, cheap flights, good shopping and access to very fine stretches of beach.
Best new accommodation? It has to be Soho Boutique Hotel (Calle Cordoba 5; www.sohohotelmalaga.com ,which opened last year in the hot-to-trot Soho barrio (south of the old town).
With the recent announcement from President Barack Obama that the US would once again establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, it seems a given that gates, barriers and boundaries will open from this year onwards.
Which means that in order to experience the place before it becomes inundated with tourists, it might be better to visit sooner rather than later.
This said, even the quickest visitor to the island will notice that non-state-owned tourism ventures has seen a growth in private business strategies. This is more noticeable in the busy cultural/tourist hub of Old Havana, which features edgy restaurants such as O’Reilly 304 (“serves up some of the most imaginative cuisine in Havana” – Lonely Planet), and stylish B&Bs such as Casa Alta (412 San Ignacio Street, off Plaza Vieja; www.casaaltahabana.com , which has nightly room rates from €27 (breakfast extra).
If you fancy something different, Che Guevara’s son, Ernesto Jr, has recently launched Harley Davidson motorbike tours of the island (he even leads some tours himself!). See for www.lapoderosatours.com
There was a time when Pittsburgh was the punch line to a very old joke, but the former world-renowned steel town has, over the past five years, assuredly reinvented itself as America’s most renewed city.
Indeed, Conde Nast Traveler has named it as one of the Top 15 places in the world to visit this year. www.visitpittsburgh.com
Enormous food festival, almost 140 food events in 32 towns and villages and eight islands in
Ireland’s original Garden of Edible Eden. www.atasteofwestcork.com
Large family-friendly programme of events and growing each year in one of Ireland’s less-publicised food heavens. www.waterfordharvestfestival.ie
Growers, chefs, authors, food advocates (incl. Joanna Blythman) convene for massive gathering, including debates, demos and plenty of eating www.giyinternational.org/grow_fest
Superb music/art festival also includes Bait pop-up seafood restaurant with Rory O’Connell in stunning Port of Cork venue www.soundsfromasafeharbour.com
These days, the seafood is every bit (or almost!) as important as the craic at the world’s oldest oyster festival www.galwayoysterfestival.com
The unique magic of Dingle and some stunning local and national producers make this a very special gathering indeed. Also incorporates Blás na hÉireann awards. www.dinglefood.com
Anan Irish gourmet capital hosting an always imaginative programme of events in a beautiful
town just made for partying. www.savourkilkenny.com
Symposium of national and international chefs, food enthusiasts and culinary stars gather in Galway, all open to the public. www.foodontheedge.ie
An especially poignant 39th festival in Ireland’s original gourmet capital without longtime champion and supporter, the late Derek Davis. www.kinsalerestuarants.com
Dublin-based market provides the perfect opportunity to shop for edible Christmas stocking fillers from some top producers. www.bordbia.ie
More than just a music event, the official marker of the transition of the seasons also offers literary readings, performance poetry and whatever you’re having yourself.
The brilliant idea borrowed from Paris is now a fixture on the annual calender and the 2015 event will be even bigger than last year’s.
Among the highlights in Cork will be Ignite, a spectacular combination of music and 3D projections on some of the city’s buildings (as seen on Cork City Hall, above).
The event combines Irish talent with foreign visitors to keep up Cork’s reputation as a stronghold of the short form.
A revival of Dancing at Lughnasa and a premiere of Conor McPherson’s new play are among the hot tickets for a festival that has offered some world-class productions in recent years.
The festival spread beyond its traditional city boundaries last year, and this time around its evolution will continue alongside the usual mix of shorts, documentaries and features from Ireland and overseas.
Former festival director Mick Hannigan also helms the IndieCork event on Oct 4-11.
An intriguing read awaits John Banville’s (below left) fans with his 16th novel: Oliver Orme is a painter whose weakness for petty theft and affairs has dire consequences when he steals his friend’s wife.
September 10
A new biography, with access to Frost’s Rolodex of contacts, will provide clues about what made him such an effective interviewer.
Encompassing four centuries and 30 short stories from Anne Enright, Maeve Brennan and new stars such as Eimear McBride and Belinda McKeon, this anthology is for those interested in the country’s passions and peccadillos.
The second volume of Richard Dawkins’ autobiography covers 1976 to 2006, enjoyable, tumultuous years of public debate for him as a result of publishing his landmark books, The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion.
Includes ingredients of a fascinating tale: a family secret, glittering sports career, glamorous wives, jet-setting, who’s who of prominent Irish and American personalities and a dramatic fall.
A voyage around the Irish psyche to find out what makes Irish people so odd. He visits dole queues, pulpits, laboratories and, of course, pubs for some answers.
Historian Niall Ferguson’s books are always big and bold so it’s no surprise he turns to Henry Kissinger’s life, one of the 20th century’s biggest egos, for his latest quarry. Should be enlightening and entertaining.
Few write with as much verve as Robert Harris. The final volume of his Cicero trilogy, full with sex, sandals and sorcery, sees his protagonist trying to ingratiate himself again with Julius Caesar.
Arguably no other travel book captured the Brits’ spirit as well as Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island. Twenty years after its publication, the American writer returns to the island to see what’s changed.
A memoir which promises to unravel some of the mysteries behind the inscrutable musician who grew up as Declan Patrick MacManus in London and Liverpool and shot to fame at 24 years of age.
This inaugural event will be held in the Irish Consulate, New York City. Ten Irish designers will showcase pieces from their spring/summer 2016 collections.
Don O’Neill, creative director, Theia, is special guest. www.irelandfashionshowcase.ie
Enjoy a night of fashion showcasing top Kerry designers and milliners including Tina Griffin and Catherine Kelly. Expect a canapé reception and spot prizes including Best Dressed Lady. Tickets €30; 066 7194500. www.manorwesthotel.ie
The festival, in association with Samsung, returns for 2015 with ambassador Pippa O’Connor. Highlights include the Creative Quarter Fashion Show and Canon Young Fashion Photographer events. www.dff.ie
Fancy a fashion flutter? Then don’t miss the 2015 Listowel Harvest Racing Festival for a chance to win €5,750 in prizes for Best Dressed Lady, Best Dressed Couple, Jazziest Headpiece and Most Glamorous Young Racer. Info: 068-21144; www.listowelraces.ie
Join River Island and IMAGE Magazine for an exclusive in-store party to celebrate Zoë Jordan’s capsule collection. www.riverisland.com and in-store. www.image.ie
This showcases collections from 11 established Irish fashion designers as part of the Irish Design 2015 (ID2015) international programme of events and activities. www.londonfashionweek.com
Don’t miss A Celebration of Irish Design at Ballymaloe House and the Style at MSL boutique showcase. www.corkfashionweek.com
This returns for its 20th season to the iconic Belfast Fashionweek HQ with stylish events and catwalk shows. www.belfastfashionweek.com
Join U Magazine at the Highstreet Style Awards in association with TRESemmé. Support your favourite store by casting your vote online. Winners will be announced on the night which also features a catwalk show and spot prizes. www.umagazine.ie
H&M teams up with Balmain for their latest collaboration. Expect lavish beading and luxurious details teamed with an insouciant edge across lines for women and men. #hmbalmination Available in 250 stores worldwide and at www.hm.com
This four-part drama hopes to fill the large Love/Hate shaped gap in the schedules. Wexford playwright Billy Roche has set the tale of a disastrous bank robbery in his home county.
The final series will run through 1925 to 1927 over eight episodes, with the Christmas Day special being the last show ever.
The crosstown rivals had a bit of a surprise win over RTÉ in the bidding for this event, and have assembled a decent team with the likes of Matt Cooper, Keith Wood and Peter Stringer. Ireland’s first game is against Canada on Sept 19.
It hasn’t been doom and gloom for everybody since the bubble burst in 2007. As David McWilliams shows, certain people have actually increased their income, and the increasing gap between between rich and poor in Ireland has all sorts of knock-on effects.
Daniel O’Donnell and Peter Andre aren’t two names you’d often see in the same sentence, but both men will be putting their best foot forward for the new series of the dance competition.
Second series of the superb but unsettling French drama about a town where dead people return to try and pick up their lives from the time before they expired.
With the Catholic Church still holding huge power over the state’s education system, some people have been forced to go it alone in trying to provide an alternative.
This two-part documentary follows the efforts of those involved in Hansfield Educate Together to set up a secondary school in Dublin.
Irish comedy genius Sharon Horgan had one of the hits of the year with the first series of this show earlier in the year, and Channel 4 has wasted no time in getting the second season to the screen.
We saw Sharon go into labour last time out – presumably this season revolves around her and Rob’s experience as new parents.
Party like it’s 1999? Chris Evans has some big boots to fill in the coming months – Jeremy Clarkson’s as the new presenter of Top Gear and, perhaps more worryingly, those of his younger self as he revives his formerly, phenomenally successful talk show.
After eight seasons, the adventures of Mark and Jeremy have probably reached their sell-by date, but this final series may recapture some of the magic of when it offered the best laughs on TV.
