Now in its fourth year, Your Roots Are Showing is quickly staking its claim as a key international conference for the folk and roots community. The Belfast-based event opens with the Folk in Fusion concert (Tuesday, January 13th, Waterfront Hall, 7.30pm, £65/£49.50), featuring the US acts Crystal Gayle, Amy Grant, Jim Lauderdale, Jessica Willis Fisher, Dee White, Ron Block and Wyatt Ellis. Irish acts performing include Wallis Bird, David Keenan, Clare Sands, Paddy Keenan, Lorraine Nash and Sandy Kelly. More than 1,500 delegates are expected to attend the conference, which will have five days of showcase gigs, workshops, panel discussions and public interviews. The final day, Sunday, January 18th, will see Belfast streets, pubs, shops and pop-up spots host the event’s Music Trail.
GigsChristian LöfflerSaturday, January 10th, NCH, Dublin, 8pm, €39.50, nch.ie
Christian Löffler
Moody, melancholic, introspective and expressive are some of the terms used to describe the music of the techno and ambient musician Christian Löffler, whose visits to Ireland are as rare as the proverbial blue moon. Born in the former East Germany, Löffler made early work that fed field recordings through a drum machine; subsequently, he has developed a musical style that blends electronica with mostly instrumental and meditative ambient sounds. Löffler previews his forthcoming album Until We Meet Again, as well as performing tracks from his 2021 album, Parallels: Shellac Reworks, which reinterpret works by Bach, Wagner, Chopin and Bizet.
The Ennio Morricone ExperienceSaturday, January 10th, Guildhall, Derry, 7.30pm, £32/£30, guildhallderry.com
Ennio Morricone Experience: Francesca De Nardi
Ennio Morricone, who died in 2020, wrote more than 400 scores for cinema and television (as well as at least 100 classical works). There is, then, more than enough music to choose from for this tribute to one of film’s most prolific and influential composers. Comprising the soprano Katy Kelly, the cellist Davide Forti, the violinist Francesca De Nardi and the pianist Annalisa Monticelli, the quartet will perform selections from across the maestro’s catalogue. Also, Everyman Theatre, Cork, Saturday, January 31st, 8pm, €31, everymancork.com.
Bren BerryFriday, January 16th, Whelan’s, Dublin, 8pm, €26, whelanslive.com
Bren Berry could once have been called a former musician, but not any more. Three decades ago, as a member of the Dublin band Revelino, Berry was a guitar slinger who knew how to create skilful mixes of crunchy riffs and sweet pop melodies. A career change, in which he became head promoter at Dublin’s Vicar Street venue, still connected him to musicians, but until recently he’d left to one side any thoughts of placing a guitar strap over his shoulder again. Playing his first Dublin headline gig in many years, Berry will be joined by his former Revelino bandmates Brendan and Ciaran Tallon, among others, to perform tracks from his debut album, In Hope Our Stars Align, one of the best Irish albums of 2025.
In conversationDeclan O’Rourke and Deirdre O’KaneSunday, January 11th, Abbey Theatre, 6pm, €25/€20, firstfortnight.ie
Take one of Ireland’s best-known singer-songwriters and one of its best-known comedians, put them together on a stage and wait for the questions, answers and interweaving conversational strands. It’s a smart idea that’s bound to have enlightening results as Declan O’Rourke and Deirdre O’Kane talk about their experience of performing, craft, triumph, failure and what it takes to maintain a career in the arts and entertainment. Their special guest is the Nigeria-born, Ireland-raised soul/pop singer and songwriter Toshín. As part of First Fortnight festival.
Immersive performanceThe Heart Room ExperienceFriday, January 16th, and Saturday, January 17th, Project Arts Centre, Dublin, various times, €16/€12, projectsartscentre.ie
What is real and what is not is at the centre of this immersive theatrical performance, in which Outlandish Theatre and the multidisciplinarian artist James Hosty invite the participation of their intimate 20-person audience. Presented as part of First Fortnight festival.
Stage/musicalMiss SaigonFrom Tuesday, January 13th, until Saturday, January 17th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, €52.30, ticketmaster.ie
Based on Madama Butterfly, Puccini’s 1904 opera, Miss Saigon moves the story to Vietnam in the 1970s, during the country’s war, when a married US marine meets a young Vietnamese bargirl. Musical-theatre fans will lap up the songs (including The American Dream, The Heat Is on in Saigon, and Last Night of the World), while the finale might have you reaching for the tissues. The production is recommended for ages 14-plus.
ClassicalBarry Douglas Plays ShostakovichFriday, January 16th, NCH, Dublin, 7.30pm, €39/€34.50, nch.ie
Barry Douglas
The Polish conductor Anna Sulkowska-Migon makes her National Symphony Orchestra Ireland debut with the Irish pianist Barry Douglas, who presents his singular gift for and love of Russian music with Dimitri Shostakovich’s Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and String Orchestra (featuring a vigorous musical dialogue with, in this case, the orchestra’s principal trumpeter, Darren Moore). Also on the programme are Rimsky-Korsakov’s thrilling Scheherazade and Lili Boulanger’s sorrowful D’un Soir Triste. A pre-event talk (Kevin Barry Room, 6.15pm) will feature Douglas on his musical life and the evening’s repertoire.
Still runningAnne GildeaUntil Friday, January 16th, Viking Theatre, Clontarf, Dublin, 8pm, €20, vikingtheatredublin.com
Anne Gildea
The writer and comedian Anne Gildea continues the successful run of her latest show, Further Adventures in Womaning, which investigates, among other topics, contemporary womanhood through a prism of Irish sociocultural norms and representation within television and media. Or, as Gildea says, “from Housewives of the Year to pumping iron on Instagram”.
Book it this week
- Cork International Choral Festival, April 29th-May 3rd, corkchoral.ie
- Gavin James, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, May 2nd, ticketmaster.ie
- St Etienne, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, September 22nd, ticketmaster.ie
Sam Campbell, Vicar Street, Dublin, October 2nd, ticketmaster.ie