https://aoifemoriarty.journoportfolio.comRSS Feed for Aoife MoriartyenWed, 01 May 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2024/05/01/olivia-rodrigo-in-dublin-review-watch-out-taylor-swift-this-bona-fide-pop-superstar-is-coming-for-you/★★★★★ Kicking off the European leg of her Guts tour at Dublin’s 3Arena on Tuesday night, Olivia Rodrigo left no doubt that she’s a bona fide pop superstar. Hordes of teenage girls in glittering miniskirts shriek in excitement as the 21-year-old appears on stage in her own silver number, paired with matching crop top, sparkling eyeshadow and black Doc Martens. Launching straight into Bad Idea Right?, the punchy, guitar-heavy second single from her sophomore effort Guts, it’s clear that Rodrigo...Wed, 01 May 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2024/05/01/olivia-rodrigo-in-dublin-review-watch-out-taylor-swift-this-bona-fide-pop-superstar-is-coming-for-you/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2024/03/20/jamie-duffy-at-nch-review-whether-he-decides-to-be-irelands-answer-to-hans-zimmer-the-future-is-bright/★★★★☆ “Classical music can feel very boxed off for a certain group of people, and that shouldn’t be the case”, 22-year-old Monaghan pianist Jamie Duffy said with conviction at Dublin’s National Concert Hall on Tuesday night. The rising star is playing his second sold-out gig this month at the venue tonight, kicking off with two brand new compositions, Resonance and Circles, filled with ominous, vibrating low notes and cinematic minor keys. His hands fly along the open Steinbach with such ease...Wed, 20 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2024/03/20/jamie-duffy-at-nch-review-whether-he-decides-to-be-irelands-answer-to-hans-zimmer-the-future-is-bright/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/review/2024/03/14/frank-skinner-in-vicar-street-the-veterans-comic-delivery-pacing-and-rhythm-is-a-cut-above/In a new era of touring, radio and podcasts – rather than weekly prime time TV – British comedian Frank Skinner arrives on stage at Dublin’s Vicar Street on Wednesday night downplaying his enduring success. “I used to be f**king massive,” Skinner says, gesturing at what may or may not be an empty seat near the front. In truth, this current tour – the enticingly-titled 30 Years of Dirt – features 40 dates across the UK and Ireland, with the majority sold-out affairs. Now 67 years young, the We...Thu, 14 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/review/2024/03/14/frank-skinner-in-vicar-street-the-veterans-comic-delivery-pacing-and-rhythm-is-a-cut-above/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2024/02/24/niall-horan-at-3arena-good-lord-compose-yourself-ireland-its-so-good-to-be-home/With infectious energy and a winning smile, former One Directioner Niall Horan bounded on to the stage at Dublin’s 3Arena on Friday night for the first of three sold-out dates. Decked out in black slacks, a white tee and a leather waistcoat, he looks less Bruce Springsteen and more like he is about to serve up a pint of plain at his Mullingar local. And wait: Is that actually a dish-drying cloth hanging out of his pocket?! The instant giveaway that this is not your average Westmeath man is the...Sat, 24 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2024/02/24/niall-horan-at-3arena-good-lord-compose-yourself-ireland-its-so-good-to-be-home/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/review/2024/02/11/neil-delamere-live-review-rapid-fire-jokes-and-quirky-observations-deliver-a-night-of-belly-laughs/Comedian Neil Delamere bounded on to the stage at his sold-out Vicar Street gig on Saturday night with the frenetic energy of a newcomer but the performance nous of a veteran. Some two decades into his career, the enthusiasm doesn’t appear to have waned much. He quickly launches into his trademark rapid-fire chats with the front row, with a participatory style that is perhaps more akin to a US club comic than an Irish one. Delamere swiftly deduces that his crowd tonight includes a Leaving Cert...Sun, 11 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/review/2024/02/11/neil-delamere-live-review-rapid-fire-jokes-and-quirky-observations-deliver-a-night-of-belly-laughs/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/review/2024/01/27/chris-kent-in-vicar-street-the-cork-comedians-relaxed-style-handles-darker-material-with-ease/★★★★☆ Cork comedian Chris Kent is on an upwards trajectory. Apart from on the property ladder, that is. His new show Back At It is currently touring across Ireland and the UK, and marks the biggest run of his career to date. Kent has added a third show at Dublin’s Vicar Street this April, something he admits is “making my arse go in and out a bit”. On stage at Vicar Street on Friday, the comedian is introduced by surprise guests: his two children, Jack and Evelyn. A sentence like “ladies and g...Sat, 27 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/review/2024/01/27/chris-kent-in-vicar-street-the-cork-comedians-relaxed-style-handles-darker-material-with-ease/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/review/2024/01/19/jarlath-regan-at-3olympia-a-slick-stage-performance-with-sincerity-and-warmth-with-occasional-missteps/★★★★☆ Jarlath Regan arrived on stage at the 3Olympia Theatre with shoulders relaxed and a broad smile. The creator of hit podcast An Irishman Abroad is currently embarking on the first dates of his new comedy tour Yer Man – including four sold-out shows in Dublin. It’s his decade-long podcast, featuring interviews with high-profile Irish figures, that’s brought him here, as well as his huge online audience. He now has almost a quarter of a million followers on Instagram alone. Regan, now app...Fri, 19 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/review/2024/01/19/jarlath-regan-at-3olympia-a-slick-stage-performance-with-sincerity-and-warmth-with-occasional-missteps/https://www.buzz.ie/culture/nigel-farage-im-a-celebrity-31511587As if the creepy crawlies weren't disgusting enough, this year Nigel Farage has been paid a reported £1.5 million to take part in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. But it looks like ITV's plans to drum up interest in the latest series by featuring the divisive former UKIP leader have backfired spectacularly – with millions tuning out in protest. Last year's series saw the...Thu, 23 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://www.buzz.ie/culture/nigel-farage-im-a-celebrity-31511587https://www.buzz.ie/music/chemical-brothers-review-3arena-dublin-31343701"F**k that, ain't gon' do it no mo'. Won't do what we told, and we ain't gonna fold: We go!" So comes the enthusiastic rally cry at Dublin's 3Arena on Wednesday night as The Chemical Brothers launch into recognisable opener Go featuring the lyrical stylings of Q-Tip, from their eighth album, Born in the Echoes. It's accompanied...Thu, 02 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://www.buzz.ie/music/chemical-brothers-review-3arena-dublin-31343701https://www.buzz.ie/music/belters-only-interview-new-single-30638300In just 18 months, Dublin dance duo Belters Only produced two Irish number ones, racked up more than one hundred million streams and sold out the 3Arena in a matter of minutes. But as producers Bissett and RobbieG are keen to point out, this recent success hasn’t come overnight. “The beauty of this whole process is that we've wo...Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/music/belters-only-interview-new-single-30638300https://www.buzz.ie/culture/phill-jupitus-galway-comedy-festival-31270127UK comedian, artist and TV personality Phill Jupitus has just arrived in Ireland for the Galway Comedy Festival. Best-known for his 20-year stint as a team captain on Nevermind The Buzzcocks, I've been forewarned it's not a topic he enjoys discussing all that much. "I get asked about it all the time. I'm not on it anymore," he says. "If you ask me a question I've not been asked...Wed, 25 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/culture/phill-jupitus-galway-comedy-festival-31270127https://www.buzz.ie/culture/david-mcsavage-galway-comedy-31255472Legendary Irish comedian David McSavage says he's not afraid of cancel culture affecting his work. Speaking ahead of Galway Comedy Festival this weekend, the Savage Eye creator disagreed that social media has made it more difficult to speak freely as a comedian. "I think it's just as difficult or easy as it ever has been," the Dublin comic, 57, told Buzz. "And I think there's a lot more stuff to play around with nowadays." READ MORE - Galway Comedy Festival announces line-up including Deirdre O’...Mon, 23 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/culture/david-mcsavage-galway-comedy-31255472https://www.buzz.ie/culture/dublin-theatre-festival-this-solution-31124926Dubliner Shaun Dunne’s new play deals with work and sex. But not as you might personally know either subject. Part of Dublin Theatre Festival, This Solution is based on the real-life story of an Irish man working in the gay porn industry. On stage, there is the fictional world of a private dance class. Behind it, a fictional studio where an adult film is being shot. Over the co...Fri, 06 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/culture/dublin-theatre-festival-this-solution-31124926https://www.buzz.ie/music/muse-3arena-dublin-tour-review-31050017If there's one thing you could never accuse Muse of, it's being too subtle. Their current Will of the People world tour landed with a bombastic bang at Dublin's 3Arena on Wednesday night, featuring confetti canons, laser beams, copious fire and a giant hooded robotic head with a reflective diamond-shaped mask. A sci-fi nerd, pro...Thu, 28 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/music/muse-3arena-dublin-tour-review-31050017https://www.buzz.ie/music/strange-boy-limerick-rapper-album-30956957Limerick rapper Strange Boy didn't have the easiest upbringing. But that hasn’t stopped him from becoming a pioneer on the Irish rap scene with his unique fusion of hip-hop and trad music. Bullied at primary school and expelled from mainstream education during third year – “I just did not want to go,” he tells Buzz – he started...Fri, 22 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/music/strange-boy-limerick-rapper-album-30956957https://www.buzz.ie/culture/russell-brand-plain-sight-dispatches-30967184It's hard to know where to begin with Channel 4 documentary, Russell Brand: In Plain Sight. There's so much that's distressing, upsetting and rage-inducing in this damning 78-minute Dispatches programme, the result of a years-long joint investigation by The Times newspaper and the documentary makers. Between 2006 and 2013, comedian, Hollywood actor and former TV and radio prese...Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/culture/russell-brand-plain-sight-dispatches-30967184https://www.buzz.ie/tv/patrick-kielty-late-late-debut-30940330Patrick Kielty has hinted that The Late Late Show format won't be changing too much – despite recent rumours of a Graham Norton-esque light entertainment style. At a media briefing this week, the show's new host also confirmed that the upcoming series would not be majorly impacted by the ongoing Hollywood actors' strike. "I thin...Fri, 15 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/tv/patrick-kielty-late-late-debut-30940330https://www.buzz.ie/news/opinion/ryan-tubridy-rte-decision-opinion-30732571A three-decade career at RTÉ undone in a statement of less than 250 words. Such was the fate of Ryan Tubridy on Thursday evening, as new Director General Kevin Bakhurst revealed he had "concluded negotiations" with the man who has unwillingly become the face of RTÉ's current crisis, confirming that there were "...Fri, 18 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/news/opinion/ryan-tubridy-rte-decision-opinion-30732571https://www.buzz.ie/music/sello-dublin-rapper-gaelic-drill-30586193Clondalkin rapper Selló is making big waves. Since releasing debut single Dublin in 2021, he’s racked up millions of streams, broken into Ireland’s top ten albums, and signed a major record deal in the UK and Ireland. It’s swift progress for the 22-year-old Gaelic drill pioneer, who is still working part-time in social care. "Wh...Sun, 30 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/music/sello-dublin-rapper-gaelic-drill-30586193https://www.buzz.ie/movies/netflix-wham-documentary-film-review-30539530It's rare to watch a documentary about a global music icon that is life-affirming rather than heartbreaking. But that is indeed the case with Netflix's new Wham! documentary, which tells the tale of how two young bucks made it in the music industry and never fell out – instead one graciously giving way to the other's looming tal...Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/movies/netflix-wham-documentary-film-review-30539530https://www.buzz.ie/culture/jedward-interview-eurovision-music-dublin-30470196John and Edward Grimes, aka Jedward, bleached their hair recently. “It’s very traumatic, bleaching our hair, because it could all fall out,” the former X Factor stars tell journalists on a group call. This Zoom chat is officially to promote the new Subway Series menu, but during the almost hour-long call the excitable pair discuss everything from Eurovision to social media to w...Sun, 16 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/culture/jedward-interview-eurovision-music-dublin-30470196https://www.buzz.ie/culture/justine-stafford-paddy-power-comedy-30473361Justine Stafford is one of a crew of Irish comedians who you might know best from the internet. She’s also one of an even larger group who will be headed to the Paddy Power Comedy Festival in Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens later this month. “It’s comedians’ Christmas, because it’s just such a gathering of all the comics in Ireland, and then international acts as well,” she told Buzz....Sun, 16 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/culture/justine-stafford-paddy-power-comedy-30473361https://www.buzz.ie/tv/citadel-moira-kelly-irish-roots-30417945You may recognise Moira Kelly from the TV show One Tree Hill, as the voice of Nala in The Lion King or even from beloved nineties romcom classic The Cutting Edge. But what you might not know is that the New York native is first generation Irish. Speaking to Buzz.ie about new spy thriller series Citadel, Kelly admitted she often...Sun, 09 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/tv/citadel-moira-kelly-irish-roots-30417945https://www.buzz.ie/music/jazzy-giving-me-interview-longitude-30248500This time last year, Dublin singer Jazzy was baking pastries in Tesco. Now, she's living the pop star dream. Her recent dance track, Giving Me, was a number one hit in Ireland for three weeks, and has now amassed over 23 million streams – and counting – on streaming service Spotify alone. It's also climbed to the top 3 in the UK...Fri, 16 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/music/jazzy-giving-me-interview-longitude-30248500https://www.buzz.ie/music/tom-grennan-fairview-park-concert-30102833In a tale straight out of a Hollywood film, British chart-topper Tom Grennan was first discovered by his record label singing at a London pub's open mic night. It's a story that the gravelly-voiced music star, then 20 and now 27, has grown tired of rehashing: "I've spoken about it so much now, it bores me to death," he admitted...Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/music/tom-grennan-fairview-park-concert-30102833https://www.buzz.ie/music/paul-charles-adventures-in-wonderland-30085505If you've ever been curious about the music business, Derry-born talent agent Paul Charles could tell you a thing or two. Now in his seventies, the industry veteran has worked with the likes of Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Marianne Faithfull, The Undertones and many more during a varied and successful career tha...Fri, 26 May 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/music/paul-charles-adventures-in-wonderland-30085505https://www.buzz.ie/culture/brooke-eurovision-academy-gig-single-30088174Eurovision singer and Dancing with the Stars contestant Brooke says Ireland's entry should not be chosen on The Late Late Show next year. The pop performer has just finished a sold out tour in venues across Australia, and was speaking to Buzz ahead of her first ever headline gig in Ireland at Dublin's Academy this weekend. She also released gleaming new pop-rock single Being Al...Fri, 26 May 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/culture/brooke-eurovision-academy-gig-single-30088174https://www.buzz.ie/culture/licensing-laws-ireland-nightlife-campaigners-29946531Nightlife campaigners and alcohol harm charities are locking horns over new laws set to be implemented later this year. The Sale of Alcohol Bill, which received Cabinet approval last October, aims to streamline existing laws around the selling of alcohol at venues and off-licences. Justice Minister Helen McEntee also hopes to improve Ireland’s night-time cultural offering with...Fri, 12 May 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/culture/licensing-laws-ireland-nightlife-campaigners-29946531https://www.buzz.ie/music/nealo-dublin-rapper-new-album-29900444Dublin rapper Nealo has just released his first new music in almost three years. New single Forest is a heady and heartfelt mix of hope, rage and reflection that mixes the personal with the political. It touches on themes including fatherhood, direct provision, religion and suicide, to name but a few. It's a dense forest of idea...Fri, 05 May 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/music/nealo-dublin-rapper-new-album-29900444https://www.buzz.ie/culture/rachel-mcadams-bustle-armpit-hair-29798772In an era of Kardashians and social media ‘perfection’, it’s refreshing to see a Hollywood star take a different approach. This week, it emerged that Rachel McAdams – star of The Notebook and Mean Girls – asked the magazine Bustle to edit a recent photoshoot with her ‘as minimally as possible’. In images from the shoot, McAdams looks stunning, but she also has moles, freckles,...Mon, 24 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.buzz.ie/culture/rachel-mcadams-bustle-armpit-hair-29798772