Scene and Heard: This week's entertainment news

Des O'Driscoll shares the latest from the entertainment world

GIG WISE: The recent Bros documentary didn’t always paint its subjects in a good light, but the film does seem to have led to a bit of a career revival from the brothers Goss, who’ve announced an appearance at the Marquee in Cork for June 26.

Jools Holland is also Ireland-bound, complete with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, in October, for gigs at the Speigeltent Festival, Wexford (16); Cork Opera House (17); and INEC, Killarney (18). Tickets for the Cork gig go on sale on Monday, from €69 plus booking fees.

All Together Now’s latest roster announcement really does indicate they’re aiming for the older demographic who might have gone to Electric Picnic. As well as The National, Curraghmore Estate in Co Waterford, will also host the likes of Patti Smith, Hot Chip, and Father John Misty.

For fans of jazz and other forms of improvised music, the Spectrum festival in Dublin (March 7-10) will feature Peter Brotzmann and various other acts from home and abroad.

English singer-songwriter Freya Ridings has sold out her gig at Cyprus Avenue in Cork next Thursday, but there are still tickets left for Jack O’Rourke at the same venue on Friday.

Bell XI have also sold out St Luke’s tomorrow, but at the time of writing there were some tickets left for their Sunday gig.

FILM TIPS: Irish horror The Hole in the Ground got plenty praise at the Sundance festival in the US, and it’s available in some Irish cinemas from today. Seána Kerslake, (Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope) stars as the distraught mother trying to find out if a strange sinkhole in the woods is linked to the changes in her young son.

Other options this weekend include On the Basis of Sex, the dramatisation of the early life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the veteran US Supreme Court Justice.

The title of the film comes from the battles the then-lawyer had to reverse gender-based laws.

As well as its Sonic Youth screening next week, Triskel in Cork has announced another event for film buffs with the visit of cinematographer Nick McLean on March 8. As well as being director of photography on 90 episodes of Friends, the American has worked on such films as The Deer Hunter and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

In Dublin, the city’s annual film festival is currently under way and highlights over the weekend could include Shadow, from Chinese master Zhang Yimou.

ON THE TELLY: The big event in TV-land next week is the return of Alan Partridge to the BBC, with Steve Coogan’s character fronting the This Time show from Monday. The Lancashire actor/director has done some decent other stuff, most notably the film Philomena, but in comedy has never managed to surpass the bungling broadcaster we first saw on The Day Today in 1994.

For a film choice over the weekend, some viewers will love romantic musical La La Land on BBC Two tomorrow. Others will hate it.

COMEDY CAPERS: Jason Byrne is back on our TVs as a judge on Ireland’s Got Talent, but that hasn’t stopped him from continuing his live shows, with appearances at the Everyman in Cork tonight and tomorrow.

Other upcoming comedy gigs on Leeside include Brendan Grace at Cork Opera House next Wednesday and Thursday, followed by Ross Browne on Friday.

ALL AND SUNDRY: The new stage adaptation of Edna O’Brien’s The Country Girls opens at the Abbey in Dublin tomorrow for a run that lasts into April, when it will then tour to Cork Opera House; Town Hall Theatre, Galway; and Lime Tree Theatre, Limerick.

The Music Cork conference for people involved in the music industry will have its third incarnation on May 1-3 at the Clayton Hotel in the city, with speakers from record labels and other components of the business. A related music trail will also provide acts with a handy showcase opportunity.