Event of the weekNick Cave and the Bad SeedsWednesday, June 10th, Malahide Castle, Co Dublin, 3pm, €91.25/€81.25, ticketmaster.ieVery few singers can command a stage as firmly as Nick Cave. The man, much as with his music, is typified by striking emotional depth, while his suited-and-booted demeanour presents an image (a justified one, at that) of a respected elder statesman. Officially, there is no new material to deliver, so the set list is likely to be drawn from the band’s 18-album back catalogue (of which Wild God, from 2024, is the latest) and, perhaps, a song or two referencing Cave’s close friendship with Shane MacGowan. Special guests are particularly good: the Swedish singer Lykke Li and the rising Irish band Bleech 9:3.GigsGuns N’ RosesWednesday, June 10th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6pm, €168.25/€148.25/€128.25, ticketmaster.ieGuns N’ Roses have a somewhat conflicted history with their Irish fans, but the partisan audience still appears in droves whenever the band visit. It’s almost 20 years since their last studio work, Chinese Democracy, one of the most delayed and expensive albums in rock history. (Costs reportedly amounted to at least $13 million.) Only two songs from this album (the title track and Better) featured in set lists for the band’s 2025 tour, which is good news for admirers of the band’s classic rock legacy.Something HappensFriday, June 12th, NCH, Dublin, 8pm, €37.50/€30, nch.ieThe NCH Landmarks series celebrating the work of Irish musicians continues with the performance of two albums by the Dublin band Something Happens: Been There, Seen That, Done That, from 1988, and Stuck Together with God’s Glue, from 1990. The LPs consolidated the band’s standing as gifted songwriters of smart, enduring pop/rock. Although the band never officially split up, new material hasn’t been forthcoming; albums as good as these make up for it.[ Nick Cave: ‘How did I stay so young? Twenty years of drug addiction and a good face cream’Opens in new window ]FestivalsBeyond the PaleFrom Friday, June 12th, until Sunday, June 14th, Glendalough Estate, Co Wicklow, 12pm, €285.75/€166.75/€156.75, itsbeyondthepale.ie Beyond the Pale: Chalk Making its mark as one of Ireland’s best boutique music and arts festivals, Beyond the Pale pulled off the surprise of the season when it announced the debut European solo appearance of the former Beastie Boy Mike D, who will unveil his first live music project in almost 15 years. Other music highlights include Father John Misty, Chalk, Honey Dijon, Caribou, Elaine Mai and Overhead the Albatross. A broad range of summer festival add-ons include food, discussions, meditation, theatre, literature, interviews, comedy and nature-driven workshops.Doolin Folk Fest 2026From Friday, June 12th, until Sunday, June 14th, Hotel Doolin, Co Clare, various times/prices, doolinarts.ieDoolin Folk Festival: Susan O'Neill and Mick Flanner With the scent of the sea in the air and the expanse of landscape surrounding the small town of Doolin, you’d be hard pressed to have a better location for a smartly curated programme of folk music. Highlights include Beth Orton, Sam Amidon, Varo, Róis and Daithi (Friday, June 12th), Cormac Begley, Josh O’Keefe, Zoé Basha and Dónal Dineen (Saturday, June 13th) and Mick Flannery & Susan O’Neill, Martin Hayes & Brian Donnellan, Josephine Marsh, Talisk and Yonder Boys (Sunday, June 14th).ClassicalFrom the Danube to the DodderThursday, June 11th, Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin, 7.30pm, €20, eventbrite.ieFrom the Danube to the Dodder Subtitled Dialogues for Cello, Accordion and Violin, this concert features the Romanian musicians Adrian Mantu and Sebastian Tegzesiu, and Ireland’s Dermot Dunne, celebrating the associations between tradition and innovation. The programme includes works by composers from Romania (George Enescu, Constantin Dimitrescu, Ciprian Porumbescu), Argentina (Astor Piazzolla), Italy (Niccolò Paganini, Ennio Morricone), France (Camille Saint-Saëns) and Ireland (Turlough O’Carolan, Ina Boyle).PhotographyVisions of America 1978-79From Thursday, June 11th, until Friday, June 19th, So Fine Art Editions, Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, Dublin, sofinearteditions.comVisions of America 1978-79: Newspaper Vending Machines During the months that bridged 1978 and 1979, the Irish rock band Horslips toured the United States promoting The Man Who Built America, their penultimate studio album of that decade. When he wasn’t twirling drumsticks during rehearsals and shows, Eamonn Carr was documenting their travels from New York to Los Angeles, Michigan to Texas, and Seattle to Miami, among others, by taking images that displayed the trivialities of life on the road, the oddness of random encounters, and US mythologies. The exhibition will launch the publication of Almost Made This Place My Own: Visions of America 1978-79, which features an introduction by the Belfast writer Wendy Erskine. The book will be available through the exhibition and selected bookshops.Arts festivalCork Midsummer FestivalFrom Friday, June 12th, until Sunday, June 21st, various venues, times and prices, corkmidsummer.com Isabelle Huppert, Cork Midsummer Festival. Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty With 50 events over 10 days, you can bet you won’t have time to experience everything this year’s Cork Midsummer Festival offers. Selective highlights include the French actor Isabelle Huppert reading work by Guy de Maupassant (Friday, June 12th, Devere Hall, UCC, 8pm, €45), Constellations (from Wednesday, June 17th, until Saturday, June 20th, Cork Arts Theatre, 8.30pm, €24/€20) and Said the Dead, a live reading and music performance featuring Doireann Ní Ghríofa and Linda Buckley (Sunday, June 14th, Atkin’s Hall, 3pm, €18). Of particular interest is Mark Ravenhill’s site-specific Pool (No Water) (from Friday, June 12th, until Saturday, June 27th, 7pm, €25), with Evanna Lynch, which takes place in an empty swimming pool underneath the Metropole Hotel.Still runningEmma LangfordThursday, June 11th, Dolan’s, Limerick, 8pm, €22, dolans.ieEmma Langford With a tour subtitled Ten Years on and She’s Still at the Feckin’ Music, the Limerick singer-songwriter Emma Langford underscores her signature resilience with a wry sense of humour. Also, Thursday, June 18th, Greyhound Bar, Kilkee, Co Clare, 8pm, €25; Friday, June 19th, Lansdowne Hotel, Kenmare, Co Kerry, 8pm, €35, landsownekenmare.comBook it this weekTo Be a Machine (Version 2.0) Project Arts Centre, July 21st-25th, projectartscentre.ieKavanagh Weekend 2026, Inniskeen, Co Monaghan, September 25th-27th, patrickkavanaghcentre.comArab Strap, Whelan’s, Dublin, October 12th, foggynotions.iePa Sheehy, Róisín Dubh, Galway, November 28th, roisindubh.net