One night, hundreds of free events, and a city that doesn’t know how to sit still. Here’s where to specifically find the gigs among all that free culture.

Culture Night / Oíche Chultúir is brought to you by the Arts Council; it is a national moment, celebrating culture, creativity and the arts and seeks to actively promote the belief that this rich and varied culture is alive, treasured and nurtured in people’s lives, today and every day. It is delivered nationwide in cities, towns, villages and rural locations as well as online and through our media partners.
Official Culture Night

Ian Richard Devaney (Nation of Language)

Culture Night is back on Friday 18th September, and for one evening Cork throws its doors wide open — free events from 4pm right across the city and county, mostly ticket-free. There’s no headliner to build the evening around. It’s more a case of picking your starting point and letting the night take you somewhere. If you follow the music, though, there’s a proper trail to follow.

Cork City: The Gigs

OUTRI and Justin Grounds at Plug’d Records (7.30pm)

We start at Plugd Records possibly the pick of the night — OUTRI (Ian Paterson, solo bass and electronics, over from Newcastle) and Justin Grounds (solo violin, electronics and ¼” tape, the West Cork-based composer bringing an improvised set) share a bill built entirely around loops, texture and live composition. Doors 7.30pm, suggested donation €10, DJ set after.

RTÉ 2FM Rising x Culture Night (Live at St. Luke’s)

Another one for your diary is RTÉ 2FM Rising x Culture Night at Live at St. Luke’s, 8pm — a showcase of new Irish talent, with MOIO, Mischa and the Bear, Run The Red and Chubby Cat all on the bill, plus a live DJ set from RTÉ 2FM’s Graham Smyth. It’s being broadcast live on 2FM and already looking like the tickets, although free, are slim on the ground.

Jack O’Rourke and more at Coughlan’s (9pm)

Coughlan’s runs Culture Night LATE from 9pm through to 1am — Jack O’Rourke & Band open Live at the Nest at 9pm, a trad session takes over the Tom Waits Area at 10pm, and DJ Ronan Leonard closes out Live at the Nest from 10.30pm. As solid a way to end the night as Cork offers.

The Devil’s in the Dance Hall at Cork City Hall (5pm)

Over at Cork City Hall it’s something a little different. The Devil’s in the Dance Hall takes a different route into the same tradition, 5pm — Edwina Guckian’s performance draws on the true story of Jimmy Gralton, the Leitrim socialist whose dance hall sparked the 1935 Dance Hall Act, and folds in swing and set-dance steps that Guckian teaches the audience as it goes. Dance as a defiant act, staged in one of the city’s grandest rooms.

Irish Baroque Orchestra at Triskel

Over at Triskel, the Irish Baroque Orchestra go off-script for Handel’s Band Off Duty — baroque virtuosity colliding with Irish traditional music, curated by violinist Marja Gaynor with uilleann piper David Power and soprano Aisling Kenny. Free but ticketed, with booking opening 10am on the day, so don’t sleep on it. While in the building, why not pop upstairs in the Triskel SAMPLE Project Space, where artist in residence Sarah Long will launch I Want To Talk About Ireland, an “autofictional work exploring dreams, language and nationhood through a feminist lens”, with a live performance on the night.

Barrack Street Band at Elizabeth Fort (5.15pm)

For something with a bit of altitude, Elizabeth Fort hosts Barrack Street Band and Friends from 5.15pm — the Barracka, Cork’s own brass institution, joined by Voices of Peace, the Ukrainian Voice music group and the Sunshine International Youth Ensemble, with the whole city laid out below you. And if you’re just drifting, the English Market stays open late with local musicians playing among the stalls and wine on the go — as good a place as any to start the night.

Culture Night at The English Market (6pm-9pm)

Cork’s beloved English Market is a treat on a regular day but the experience is enhanced on the rare occasion you get to visit when it’s dark. On Culture Night 2026, the gates will spring open from 6pm, giving folks the chance to explore the many delights until 9pm. No details have been released yet but officially:

Local musicians will add to the lively atmosphere throughout the evening.

And so much more

And the events keep on coming. I’ve not even focused on live traditional music at Parnell Place Bus Station (7pm–9pm); Cork Light Orchestra at Cork City Gaol (5.30pm); free Culture Buses running three hop-on-hop-off routes from City Hall with local electronic artists soundtracking the journey — last bus leaves City Hall at 8pm; live music on the Cork City Hall plaza; the music-in-motion parade finishing outside Cork City Library by the Kabin Crew (5.30pm) not to mention a songwriting, beat-making, rap and recording workshop inside the Rory Gallagher Music Library (4pm) before Kabin Crew perform their brand new song Making Better Happen outside The GPO (6.30pm).

Check out culturenight.ie/location/cork-city for more events.

Cork County: Further Afield

David Murphy & Ether Ensemble (Gougane Barra, 7.30pm)

Further out, the pick of the county has to be David Murphy at St Finbarr’s Oratory in Gougane Barra, 7.30pm — pedal steel guitar and ancient Irish harp tunes with his band Ether Ensemble, support from Nóra and Ellen de Búrca singing sean-nós. It’s one of the most striking settings in the country full-stop, never mind for a gig, tucked into the lake and the mountains, and worth the drive on its own merits.

The Fynches at St. Matthew’s (Baltimore, 8pm)

70’s throwbacks The Fynches will treat Baltimore to an acoustic version of their lush folk-rock sound with a special Culture Night appearance live from St. Matthew’s Church. With a second album on the way in early 2027, this may be a chance to catch a stripped-down version of their tunes. Again free, but book tickets here.

éist x Ár n-Áit (Skibbereen, from 4.30pm)

An afternoon and evening of live music, DJs and collaboration celebrating the cultures and creative communities of contemporary West Cork and beyond, broadcast live on ÉIST Radio. Local talent Múiris opens at the Rock Amphitheatre before the evening moves to Ár n-Áit for Cork drummer and composer Dan Walsh’s FIXITY (free jazz, rock, noise and improvisation), Dublin’s Living Things (Afro-soul, Afropunk energy and progressive groove) and a headline set from Yankari Afrobeat Collective — Segun Akano’s Nigerian-rooted, horn-driven Afrobeat outfit. DJ sets from Frawl (Love Universal), Shane Breen (VCR) and Swiss (King Street Sounds), with around 20 musicians and artists contributing to an “all-artist jam”.

How I Became A Wave at St. Catherine’s Cultural Centre (Kinsale, 8.30pm)

Pat Carey’s shapeshifting orchestral folk project, How I Became A Wave, built around a small orchestra of guitar, cello, violin, pedal steel, keyboard, saxophone and percussion, with support from Limerick harpist Róisín Harbison. How I Became A Wave’s début album, released this March, was called “flawless” by The Irish Times and “deeply compelling” by Hot Press.

And more

If you’re located west, Briery Gap in Macroom has The Irish Guitar Quartet at 5pm — Jerry Creedon, David Keating, Aengus Kirakowski and Redmond O’Toole running from Baroque through to contemporary fusion. And out on Heir Island, The Stonewall Builder — A West Cork Musical brings singer-songwriter Liz Clark’s concert-theatre piece, drawing on her years as a resident musician in community hospitals, to the gallery at Island Cottage from 4pm.

Whatever corner of Cork you end up in, Culture Night rewards a bit of wandering. Pick one anchor event, then see where the night takes you.

For the full county-wide programme — theatre, workshops, exhibitions and more beyond what’s listed here — check culturenight.ie.

This post may update as more details become available closer to Culture Night 2026.

Culture Night Cork 2026 — FAQ

Is Culture Night free?
Yes — the vast majority of Culture Night events, including everything listed above, are free to attend. A small number, like Triskel’s Handel’s Band Off Duty, are free but require a ticket booked in advance, so check individual listings before you head out. Some venues may request a donation to support the artist.

Do I need to book in advance?
Most events are walk-in, no booking required. However, space is limited for the smaller venues. A handful of ticketed-but-free events open booking at a set time on the day itself — for that one, 10am Friday 18th September.

What time does Culture Night start?
Most events run from late afternoon through the evening, typically from around 4–5pm, with some — like Coughlan’s LATE — running through to 1am. There’s no single start time for the night as a whole; it’s a rolling programme across the city and county.

Is Culture Night just in Cork city?
No — it runs right across all of Ireland. See culturenight.ie for your area.

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New Music

Sorcha Richardson leads the first Autumnal plalist off with Ellen Forever from her new album, Draw The Outline. Richardson was in Cork only yesterday, appearing in-store at Plug’d Records. Sadly bassvictim had to pull out of last week’s End of the Road festival but they’re back with a blown-out electroclash earworm Jagódki (Blueberries) and Jess Williamson with the slow-burn country of High Heels and Blue Jeans with new-find Nina Winder-Lind (The New Eves) continuing the EOTR-connection with Headfirst from her debut Wild Love. Damien Dempsey, Florence Road and This Is Lorelei are tucked in there snugly too plus a celebration of CMAT‘s new live from Saint Anne’s Park E.P.

The playlist in full features:
Sorcha Richardson – Ellen Forever
Bassvictim – Jagódki (Blueberries)
This Is Lorelei – Oh No Now My
Jess Williamson – High Heels and Blue Jeans
Nina Winder-Lind – Headfirst
Florence Road – 7563
Damien Dempsey – The Mickey Dam
CMAT – When A Good Man Cries (Live at St Anne’s)

Click on the player below to start the playlist.

Tour News

Gigs on the way:

• Sorcha Richardson will play the Gleneagle INEC Club, Killarney on 5th November 2026, The Academy, Dublin on 6th November 2026, and the Savoy Club, Cork on 8th November 2026..
• Florence Road will kick off their first Irish headline tour at City Hall, Cork on 27th November 2026, taking in Kilkenny, Galway, Limerick and Belfast before closing with two nights at Olympia Theatre, Dublin on 15th-16th December 2026.
• Damien Dempsey will play his annual Christmas run at Vicar Street, Dublin across multiple nights in December 2026, with dates on the 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 22nd and 23rd.

See the Cork Gig Guide for more.

Like any of the above artists? Why not pencil in a reminder to pick up some merch the next time Bandcamp Friday comes around.

Support low trees by becoming a patron: thegmanworld.substack.com

Based in Cork? Why not support your local record shop by picking a new record up from one of these great record shops?

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New Music

This week’s playlist kicks off with the mysterious THEATRE and their latest track, Gaudetete, taken from their debut release: Incarnate. The Limerick quintet have been building their live shows and big sound with high profile support slots throughout the past 18 months. Expect to see their name in the bigger print more and more.

The playlist in full features:
THEATRE – Gaudete
Julia Jacklin – Get Away From Me (I Think I’ll Love You Soon)
Cardinals – The Burning of Cork
La Sécurité – Deny
Violet Grohl – Bug In The Cake
Chanel Beads – Dust in the Wind
Gurriers – Nobody’s Coming To Save You
Your Brother’s Keeper & Gary Bartz – Mantra

Note: catch a 2016 interview with Julia Jacklin I published for thumped.com here.

Click on the player below to start the playlist.

Tour News

Gigs on the way:

• Theatre feature at Love Is a Stranger with Jean Pack, FIXITY, Sorcha Richardson & more in Ballyvolane House, County Cork – 17th-18th July 2026
• Cardinals & Gurriers will both feature at All Together Now, Curraghmore House, County Waterford – 30th July-2nd August 2026
• Julia Jacklin is set to play an in-store at Spin Dizzy Records – 28th June 2026 before returning to play The National Stadium, Dublin – 15th February 2027
• Violet Grohl will feature at the 2026 edition of Electric Picnic

See the Cork Gig Guide for more.

Like any of the above artists? Why not pencil in a reminder to pick up some merch the next time Bandcamp Friday comes around.

Support low trees by becoming a patron: thegmanworld.substack.com

Based in Cork? Why not support your local record shop by picking a new record up from one of these great record shops?

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Everyone’s eyes are on Barcelona (for various reasons). I find myself heading to Primavera Sound Porto — and that suits me nicely.

You’d be forgiven for thinking Primavera Sound only happens in one city. The Barcelona edition — held at Parc del Fòrum from 4th to 6th June — announced The Cure, Doja Cat, My Bloody Valentine and Gorillaz as headliners and had sold out in record time. All of the focus understandably pointed to Catalonia.

All eyes may be on Barcelona. But mine are on Porto.

Yet later this week, Primavera Sound Porto 2026 runs from 11th to 14th June at the Parque da Cidade. The younger sister festival has a trimmed down yet still heavy-hitting line-up that would hold its own against anything happening this summer if there was a pound-for-pound match-up. And I’m delighted, and unexpectedly, to find myself heading along.

Primavera Porto

It’s crazy to think that this is the 13th edition of Primavera Sound Porto — a festival with its own identity, its own pace, and its own argument to make about what the best week of the European summer looks like. It doesn’t feature 100+ acts, but the standard of the entire line-up is of the highest level. Porto also operates at a more considered register. The Parque da Cidade, a vast Atlantic-facing urban park on the city’s western edge, is a different kind of space. Porto operates at a more considered register. Less arena, more open air. Less queue management exercise, more festival.

“Porto operates at a more considered register. Less arena, more open air. Less queue management exercise, more festival.”

The Headliners

The xx make their long-awaited return — fourteen years since their last Primavera appearance. Gorillaz arrive in touring mode for The Mountain, their new album. I am particularly excited about catching their all-in, multimedia extravaganza. I’ve never had the pleasure of attending a standalone Gorillaz show so it makes it a special treat to be able to catch them in Porto. And then there’s Massive Attack, making their Primavera Sound Porto debut. A Bristol institution playing Atlantic-facing Portugal at dusk creeps up on the definition of idyllic.

The So Called Tier Two

And then we drop down a level, but we’re only talking the font size on the poster here. I consider a festival good if you have the privilege of catching at least five really good acts. Looking below, at the end of Thursday night alone we could tick that box as the incendiary Idles, world-in-their-pocket Kneecap, fiery Viagra Boys and swoony Nation of Language launch day one of the festival

Have I even mentioned Agriculture, Gelli Haha, Panda Bear, The New Eves, Melt-Banana? Excitement is building. All eyes may be on Barcelona. But mine are on Porto.

Primavera Sound Porto 2026 takes place 11–14 June at Parque da Cidade, Porto.
Tickets and full lineup at primaverasound.com/porto

Nation of Language are on the bill on opening night — and if you haven’t heard their recent cover of Bruce Springsteen‘s Tougher Than The Rest, it’s worth your time.

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Based in Cork? Pick up a record from one of these great Cork record shops.

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Last month, Brooklyn’s Nation of Language slipped out a cover of a lesser known Bruce Springsteen tune. Turning to The Boss’ much misunderstood 1987 release, Tunnel of Love, the trio have released a striking version of Tougher Than The Rest. Having made their debut on the label last year with Dance Called Memory, Ian Richard Devaney (vocals, guitar, synth), Aidan Noell (synth, backing vocals), and Alex MacKay (bass) have made the single available in a limited run of 1000 copies via Sub Pop. Recorded using a Yamaha CS-80 — the same synth used on Springsteen’s original Tunnel of Love sessions in 1987, singer Ian Richard Devaney had this to say:

Like any good New Jersey resident I grew up listening to Springsteen, but this song somehow slipped by me during that formative era. I was really only exposed to it within the last few years, and it’s followed me around since then. I can remember finishing a particularly emotional show somewhere deep in last year’s tour, and our sound engineer Skinny started playing it as our exit music. It caught me so hard that I stayed there, just offstage, and listened to the rest of the song blasting, mixed with the sounds of all of the people milling about the venue.
Ian Richard Devaney

Ian Richard Devaney (Nation of Language)

The release is available via subpop.com

Listen to Nation of Language’s version of Tougher Than The Rest on the player below.

• Nation of Language play Primavera Sound Porto 11th June 2026.

For more on Nation of Language visit nationoflanguage.com

The Original

Listen to Bruce Springsteen perform Tougher Than the Rest below.

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New Music

David Byrne kicking things off (with guest Hayley Williams) sets us up nicely ahead of the Talking Heads legend bringing his Who Is the Sky? tour back to Ireland in a fortnight’s time (Saint Anne’s Park, Dublin, 7th June). Gilla Band are back with Giraffe after a long silence, still doing the thing nobody else does. The Belair Lip Bombs appeared on my radar only recently thanks to an impressive KEXP session. St. Vincent keeps going bigger. Kristin Hersh has a new album incoming, and she’s coming to Ireland (and Cork) in October. Aja Monet closes it out on a completely different frequency.

Click on the player below to start the playlist.

Tour News

Gigs on the way:

• David Byrne: 7th June 2026 — St. Anne’s Park, Dublin (outdoor show, with Arlo Parks)
• Kristin Hersh — a whole run of Irish dates confirmed: 8 Oct — Spirit Store, Dundalk 9 Oct — Hawk’s Well Theatre, Sligo 10 Oct — Cleeres, Kilkenny 11 Oct — Skelper Quane’s, Kerry 12 Oct — Róisín Dubh, Galway 13 Oct — Cyprus Avenue, Cork
• Gilla Band — All Together Now festival, Curraghmore House, Portlaw, 31 July 2026.

See the Cork Gig Guide for more.

Like any of the above artists? Why not pencil in a reminder to pick up some merch the next time Bandcamp Friday comes around.

Support low trees by becoming a patron: thegmanworld.substack.com

Based in Cork? Why not support your local record shop by picking a new record up from one of these great record shops?

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New Music

Playlist 777 — lucky for some. Kneecap kick things off with Fenian, as Belfast’s finest continue their unstoppable run into arena and festival headliner territory. Have you heard that they’re coming to Cork? Death Cab for Cutie return with Punching the Flowers, the first taste of their new album I Built You A Tower — and they’re coming to Dublin in September, so worth noting. Cat Clyde brings some moody Canadiana with Dark Back, and The Love Buzz keep it loose with Freeloaded (Cool Kitten). The Last Dinner Party‘s Big Dog (On The Road) from From The Pyre is hot off the presses too. Laurie Shaw and Lemoncello both float through nicely, while The Messsthetics and James Brandon Lewisteam-up brings something altogether more angular to close things out.

Click on the player below to start the playlist.

Tour News

Gigs on the way:

• Kneecap — 6th July 2026, Live at the Marquee, Cork (on-sale today)
• Death Cab for Cutie — 16th & 17th September 2026, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin
• Lemoncello – 23rd September, Cyprus Avenue Cork and more Irish dates

See the Cork Gig Guide for more.

Like any of the above artists? Why not pencil in a reminder to pick up some merch the next time Bandcamp Friday comes around.

Support low trees by becoming a patron: thegmanworld.substack.com

Based in Cork? Why not support your local record shop by picking a new record up from one of these great record shops?

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New Music

This week opens with the first new music from the inimitable Beck in quite some time — his first release since 2023 (I think). Ride Lonesome sits in the same quiet(er) corner as Sea Change and Morning Phase. Man/Woman/Chainsaw are on there too with Nosedive — the lead single from their debut album Cannonball, out 7th August on Fiction Records. I caught them last summer at End of the Road, where they played the Piano Stage secret session — squeezed in right after their afternoon set in the Big Top, finishing with a ludicrously wonderful cover of Lola Young’s Conceited. Jana Horn‘s Come On, new music from Modest Mouse, Die Spitz, Swapmeet, Mikaela Davis and DIVIL‘s Thanks A Million round things out — fanning from the tender to the wired.

Click on the player below to start the playlist.

Tour News

Gigs on the way:

• Man/Woman/Chainsaw play Whelan’s, Dublin Sun 20 September. Tickets from whelanslive.com.

See the Cork Gig Guide for more.

Like any of the above artists? Why not pencil in a reminder to pick up some merch the next time Bandcamp Friday comes around.

Support low trees by becoming a patron: thegmanworld.substack.com

Based in Cork? Why not support your local record shop by picking a new record up from one of these great record shops?

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New Music

Playlist #775 opens with deary‘s Alma — it’s a track from their debut album Birding, which just dropped earlier this month on Bella Union. A big surprise this week is the unexpected but very welcome collaboration between Massive Attack and Tom Waits. Champions Bore Me from Gurry Wurry is on there too, sitting nicely alongside Juha Mäki-Patola and a new track from the formidable Fatoumata Diawara. Rounding things out: Panic Shack‘s Pockets, Work Money Death‘s sprawling A Portal To Here – Sometimes It’s Death, and Body Type. Welcome to the week.

Tour News

Gigs on the way:

• deary play The Button Factory, Dublin on 9th May appearing as special guests for The Twilight Sad as part of their spring 2026 UK/EU tour. Tickets are on sale now.

See the Cork Gig Guide for more.

Like any of the above artists? Why not pencil in a reminder to pick up some merch the next time Bandcamp Friday comes around.

Support low trees by becoming a patron: thegmanworld.substack.com

Based in Cork? Why not support your local record shop by picking a new record up from one of these great record shops?

The post deary, Massive Attack/Tom Waits and more – Playlist #775 appeared first on low trees.

New Music

Welcome to another batch of new music via playlist #774. Eight tracks this week with a real thread running through — unhurried, a little cinematic. Alela Diane kicks things off with the new single In My Own Time. Kevin Morby‘s Die Young has me looking forward to the album in May. Aldous Harding doing her (very) own thing, Seamus Fogarty sounding like he found the song somewhere and just carried it home. Kim Gordon, Acolyte, Nerves — and closing with Avalon Emerson, who featured on the previous playlist, which was too long ago.

Tour News

Gigs on the way:

• Aldous Harding plays Vicar Street, Dublin on 5th June as part of her spring 2026 Ireland/UK tour. Tickets are on sale now.

See the Cork Gig Guide for more.

Like any of the above artists? Why not pencil in a reminder to pick up some merch the next time Bandcamp Friday comes around.

Support low trees by becoming a patron: thegmanworld.substack.com

Based in Cork? Why not support your local record shop by picking a new record up from one of these great record shops?

The post Alela Diane, Kevin Morby and more – Playlist #774 appeared first on low trees.