Event of the weekDermot KennedySaturday, July 11th (sold out), and Sunday, July 12th, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, 5pm, €111.25/€101.25/€91.25, ticketmaster.ie Dermot Kennedy is the first Irish solo artist to play Aviva Stadium twice, although even once would be a landmark achievement for the Co Dublin singer-songwriter, whose three albums to date – Without Fear, from 2019, Sonder, from 2022, and The Weight of the Woods, from earlier this year – have all reached the top of the UK album chart. These shows will focus primarily on the landscape-themed, distinctly meditative Weight of the Woods, the themes of which are complemented by an inventive, inherently Irish stage setting that Kennedy created with the London-based design studio Stufish. It should make for an intriguing balance between a big, immersive stage production and Kennedy’s musically sparse songs. His special guests are the Irish acts Amble and Aaron Rowe.GigsLaurie Anderson with Sexmob: Republic of LoveSaturday, July 11th, NCH, Dublin, 8pm, €60/€54.50, nch.ie“The Republic of Love is a celebration of freedom,” Laurie Anderson says about her latest multimedia presentation, featuring the Sexmob brass-and-strings ensemble, in which the groundbreaking writer, composer, visual artist and vocalist delivers a story-based show about the state of the US. She’ll perform Big Science and Language Is a Virus, among other songs, as well as reimagined spoken-word snippets from Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, William S Burroughs, Gertrude Stein and her late husband, Lou Reed. As usual with Anderson’s work, expect to be surprised.Emeli Sandé and James MorrisonThursday, July 16th, Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, 6pm, €61.70, ticketmaster.ie James Morrison and Emeli Sandé. Performing back to back for the first time in Ireland, the British singers James Morrison and Emeli Sandé each bring a significant back catalogue of pop and soul. Sandé is best known for hits such as Next to Me, Read All About It and Heaven; Morrison celebrates the 20th anniversary of his debut solo album, Undiscovered, which features the hit songs Wonderful World, You Give Me Something, and The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore. Also, Saturday, July 18th, Heineken Big Top, Galway, 7pm, €59.85, ticketmaster.ie. Love Is a StrangerFriday, July 17th, and Saturday, July 18th, Ballyvolane House, Castlelyons, Co Cork, 1pm, €95/€85, anotherlovestory.ieIrish acts at this two-day boutique festival include Sorcha Richardson (whose second album is released in September), John Spillane, Seamus Hyland and Fixity. International acts include Germany’s deep-house expert Move D and the US DJ and curator Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy. [ Madonna: Confessions II review – The star’s most confident record for yearsOpens in new window ]Arts festivalGalway International Arts FestivalFrom Monday, July 13th, until Sunday, July 26th, various venues, times and prices, giaf.ie Galway International Arts Festival celebrates its 50th birthday next year, so we can expect a bumper line-up for 2027. But its artistic director, Paul Fahy, hasn’t held back from programming a wealth of extraordinary events for 2026, too. Highlights include Druid theatre company’s production of The Shaughraun, by Dion Boucicault (from Monday, July 13th, until Saturday, July 25th, Town Hall Theatre, 7pm, €36/€24), Stephanie Lake Company’s Colossus (from Tuesday, July 21st, until Sunday, July 26th, Black Box Theatre, 7pm, €37.50/€25), Patti Smith Quartet (Wednesday, July 15th, Heineken Big Top, Galway, 7pm, €70.70) and the festival’s conversation strand, First Thoughts, which features topics such as Irish neutrality, war crimes, the art of theatre criticism, and Pope John Paul II’s visit to Galway in 1979.Earagail Arts FestivalUntil Saturday, July 25th, Co Donegal, various locations, venues, times and prices, eaf.ieThis multidisciplinary festival celebrates its 39th edition with a shrewd selection of dance, theatre, music, spoken-word, circus and visual-art events. Music highlights include the Mercury Prize nominee Gwenno (Tuesday, July 14th, Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, 8pm, €25), whose fusion of psychedelic pop and folklore is influenced by Welsh and Cornish culture. Other must-sees include In Conversation with Jan Carson (Saturday, July 18th, Rathmullan House, 3.30pm, €10) and the art installation Setting, by the Irish-American ceramic artist Mary O’Malley (until Sunday, July 26th, Saldanha Gallery, Buncrana, free). Boyle Arts FestivalFrom Thursday, July 16th, until Saturday, July 25th, Boyle, Co Roscommon, various venues, times and prices, boylearts.comThis year’s highlights include a screening of Guggi, Ian Thuillier’s meditative biographical film about one of Ireland’s most respected visual artists (Friday, July 17th, Saturday, July 18th, and Monday, July 20th, King House, noon, free), Lenny Chen and Sligo Baroque Orchestra (Tuesday, July 21st, St Joseph’s Church, 7pm, €25) and the singer-songwriter Saoirse Casey (Friday, July 24th, King House, 6pm, €15).StageThe Brightening AirFrom Friday, July 17th, until Sunday, August 30th, Gate Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, €58/€38/€33/€28, gatetheatre.ieStephen and his sister Billie are happy enough working on their run-down Co Sligo farmhouse, but matters take a turn for the worse with the arrival of their conniving uncle Pierre, their disruptive, entrepreneurial older brother Dermot, and his overly optimistic wife, Lydia. This play by the Olivier Award-winning writer and director Conor McPherson skilfully investigates the mystifying uncertainties of life through laser-sharp writing that balances customary family resentments with highly amusing, potentially provocative one-liners. The cast includes Brian Gleeson, Kate Gilmore, Seán McGinley, Chris O’Dowd and Derbhle Crotty.Still runningBench From Tuesday, July 14th, until Thursday, July 16th, Spencer Dock, Dublin, 1pm and 2pm, free (no booking required), coisceam.comAn initiative of CoisCéim, the Dublin-based dance company, Bench is an award-winning series of imaginative open-air dance commissions. This final instalment features a double bill with separate performances by the choreographers Simone O’Toole and Jessie Thompson. There is no seating at the performances, each of which lasts about 20 minutes.Book it this weekKodaline. Photograph: Ian Gavan/Getty Images Clonakilty International Guitar Festival, Co Cork, September 16th-20th, debarra.ieModern Lovers, various venues, Dublin, November 8th-16th, foggynotions.iePhoebe Bridgers, 3Arena, Dublin, November 23rd/24th, ticketmaster.ieKodaline, 3Arena, Dublin, December 18th, ticketmaster.ie [ Foreign Tongues review: The new Rolling Stones album is freewheeling, frisky and fabulousOpens in new window ]