Live Music in Dublin

The Dublin live music scene

Dublin is the one place on the island where you can be picky on a Tuesday. The capital has by far the most venues and the most gigs of any county, spread across every genre: rock and indie dominate, with folk, pop and classical close behind, then country, metal, hip-hop, electronic, soul, blues and jazz. Roughly one gig in ten is free, and nearly all of those are pub sessions; the rest is ticketed. A typical mid-sized show costs around €20, small club nights and pub gigs come in under €15, and arena or theatre headliners run up towards €60 and beyond.

The south city centre is where the mid-sized rooms cluster. Whelan's on Wexford Street has the fullest rock and indie calendar in the country, split between its main room and the separate Upstairs at Whelan's, and it is common for two different shows to run on the same night; it has hosted everyone from Swervedriver and Fat Dog to Elephant Sessions. A few streets away, the Workman's Club on the quays and Lost Lane off Grafton Street run a similar diet of indie, electronic and folk, with Lost Lane adding late industry nights that start after 10pm. Vicar Street, up on Thomas Street in the Liberties, is the seated room for the bigger singer-songwriter and folk names, the kind of place where Christy Moore plays residencies and Bell X1 sell out several nights in a row. Dame Street's 3Olympia Theatre runs almost nightly with touring rock, pop and heritage acts, from Brandon Flowers and Alison Moyet to The Undertones.

North of the river, Middle Abbey Street has The Academy, a standing room with gigs most nights across rock, pop, metal and hip-hop, and the smaller Wigwam next door for late DJ-led nights. The Grand Social on Liffey Street mixes tribute nights and club events with new Irish bands, often several on one bill, and the Sound House on Eden Quay and the Ambassador at the top of O'Connell Street fill out the northside options. For arena-scale shows, the 3Arena on North Wall Quay is busy most weeks of the year and the Bord Gáis Theatre on Grand Canal Square carries a handful of concerts alongside its musicals. Temple Bar's Button Factory on Curved Street is the room for electronic and alternative acts.

The National Concert Hall on Earlsfort Terrace is its own world: classical concerts most nights, a serious jazz and folk strand, Friday lunchtime recitals and a run of Christmas galas every December. Tickets there typically sit between €15 and €35. For jazz and blues on a smaller scale, Arthur's Blues & Jazz Club on Thomas Street has a ticketed show most nights of the week, generally around €20, with Sunday-afternoon sets, and the Sugar Club on Leeson Street Lower and Walters in Dún Laoghaire both run jazz orchestras and themed nights.

Trad is concentrated in Smithfield and around Camden Street. The Cobblestone on King Street North runs a free session every single day, and Devitt's does the same on Camden Street; between them they account for most of the free music in the county. Beyond those, Doyle's on College Street hosts the Ruby Sessions every Tuesday evening, Fibber Magees on Parnell Street runs late sessions on weeknights, and out in Naul the Seamus Ennis Arts Centre holds slow sessions and a midwinter series for people who want to play rather than just listen.

The suburbs have their own calendars. Dún Laoghaire's Purty Kitchen on Old Dunleary Road is the tribute-night specialist, with Friday and Saturday shows and the occasional Sunday matinee from 2pm. The Helix in Glasnevin and Draíocht in Blanchardstown programme seated tribute and song-cycle productions, the Civic in Tallaght does similar, and the Cat and Cage in Drumcondra has a Wednesday-night blues and singer-songwriter residency at 8pm. Howth has Friday-evening music at the Bloody Stream from 6.30pm and ticketed gigs at the Abbey Tavern, Swords has Saturday nights at Peacocks Bar & Lounge, and BelloBar at Portobello Harbour covers the Dublin 8 end with rock and pop bills.

If you are choosing by night of the week, Fridays and Saturdays carry a little under half of the city's gigs, but midweek is far from empty: Whelan's, The Academy, the 3Olympia and the NCH all run Monday to Thursday. Very few gigs start at 10pm or later, so most nights in Dublin are 7.30pm or 8pm doors and done by 11. The year peaks from September through to early December, with a quieter January before things pick up again in spring.

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Traditional sessions in Dublin

Two pubs carry the daily load. The Cobblestone in Smithfield runs a free traditional session every day: 6.30pm on Mondays, 4.30pm Tuesday to Thursday, 2pm on Fridays and 2.30pm at weekends, with the odd ticketed folk concert in the back room on Friday nights. Devitt's on Camden Street runs free sessions from 6.30pm Monday to Thursday, 7.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and an open session on Sunday afternoons from 2pm. Doyle's Ruby Sessions is the Tuesday-night acoustic fixture, Fibber Magees on Parnell Street has a late session on several weeknights, and the Seamus Ennis Arts Centre in Naul hosts Sunday-evening slow sessions for learners.

Live music in Dublin: common questions