He has battled cancer and is about to turn 75, but Rod Stewart’s two gigs in Ireland next week are a sign he has no plans to retire any time soon, writes Richard Purden

Amanda Palmer’s gigs go way beyond just music as she brings her own experiences to bear on abortion and other issues, writes Ed Power.

Every place likes to think it has a unique relationship with a visiting star, I guess, but there's no two ways about it, Tommy Tiernan seems to be at his outrageous best when he's in the capital of the south.

In advance of his Cork gig, Tommy Tiernan tells Ellie O’Byrne about his comedy influences, his obscure taste in film, and his love of Chris De Burgh.

Ultan O’Brien is from Ennis, Co Clare, and plays fiddle with Slow Moving Clouds. The group play in Coughlan’s of Cork tomorrow night, and at St John the Baptist Church in Dublin on Friday, writes Des O’Driscoll

Dublin-born Fiachna Ó Braonáin, 53, is a guitarist with Hothouse Flowers.

Our Arts Editor selects his highlights of the year...

British composer Gavin Bryars has created hundreds of pieces but ‘Jesus Blood...’ is still the one people come to hear, writes Don O’Mahony.

Here are all the latest headlines this morning

Des O’Driscoll shares the latest news from the entertainment world.

Are you all set for the Christmas? There are just two sleeps left. Two sleeps and it will all be over, writes Michael Clifford.

Kerry’s Gemma Sugrue is ready to take the spotlight and is writing the authentic music she wants to express, she tells Ellie O’Byrne.

Des O’Driscoll sits down with musical director Anth Kaley.

Des O’Driscoll shares the latest news from the world of entertainment.

MUSIC NEWS: We haven’t heard much from Tom Waits in recent years, but ANTI-records has announced the re-release of the seven albums the 67-year-old had put out on the label. 

Joe O’Leary, formerly of the band Fred, runs Levis Corner House in Ballydehob, Co Cork. On Friday, the pub hosts two shows by Steve Poltz as part of the Culture Night celebrations.

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Declan McCarthy is the director of the Baltimore Fiddle Fair and is also involved in Skibbereen Arts Festival, which begins this weekend and runs until August 6.

Anne Rynne knew she’d be referred to as the sister of Barry and Christy Moore, but that didn’t stop her recording her first album at the age of 68, writes Trish Flanagan.

We’re guinea pigs, aren’t we?

A new book in aid of an Irish charity asked people to recall their favourite concert, writes Don O’Mahony.

Everyman, Cork

Jason Bourne 4/5

SINGER and musician Camille O’Sullivan goes all out on make-up and costumes for her exotic stage shows, but she wants her three-year-old daughter to have a different focus.

Weekend number 2 of Cork Midsummer Festival features a tour of local homes to view their art, dancing with buckets, and more, says Ellie O’Byrne

As a promoter, Paul Charles has a reputation as one of the nice guys of the Irish music

Cork songwriter Jack O'Rourke has joined the likes of Gotya, The Band Perry, Amanda Palmer and Mick Flannery by becoming a winner in the prestigious International Songwriting Competition. Jack's song 'Silence' received first place in the Lyrics Category, judged by industry legends such as Tom Waits and Bill Withers. 

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Mick Flannery, 32, is from Blarney, Co Cork. His upcoming gigs include Róisín Dubh, Galway, Dec 28; Dolans Warehouse, Limerick, Dec 29; and Cork Opera House, Dec 31.

MAURICE SEEZER is a songwriter, film music composer and founding committee member of the Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival.

MUSICIAN and psychotherapist Eamon Keane is a Renaissance man. 

ALEC Ounsworth likes not being famous. For a few scary months in 2005 he was on the cusp of something akin to celebrity (the indie rock equivalent at least). The experience did not agree with him very much.

Song Reader

The Lonesome Heart is Angry

Agnes Bernelle is remembered in Ireland as an artistic director of the Project Arts Centre, in its early days, but she played many more parts in an extraordinary life.

PETE Seeger was born in Patterson, New York, on May 3, 1919, and was 94 when he passed away last week in a hospital in New York City.

U2 are to go back to their spiritual home by returning to the record label that discovered them in the 1970s.

Rock superstars U2 are to go back to their spiritual home by returning to the record label that discovered them in the 1970s.

LIVE MUSIC: Leonard Cohen - O2, Dublin