Event of the weekTom JonesSunday, August 9th, Palmerstown House Estate, Co Kildare, 6pm, €76.40, ticketmaster.ie; Wednesday, August 12th, Custom House Square, Belfast, 6pm, £65.50; ticketmaster.ieAt 86 years of age, Tom Jones shows little or no sign of retiring. For more than 60 years, he has been performing the songs that made him famous (from It’s Not Unusual to What’s New Pussycat? and Green, Green Grass of Home, Delilah and I’ll Never Fall in Love Again), but since 2010 he has revisited his early roots/blues influences with several stripped-back albums that have drawn justifiable comparisons with Johnny Cash’s eulogistic American swansong records. Some of Jones’s more earthy and gritty songs will be performed at these shows, but the man with the thumb-clicking, medallion-swinging swagger hasn’t lasted this long without giving the fans what they really want. Tony Clayton-LeaGigsSepulturaSunday, August 9th, 3Arena, Dublin, 4pm, €99.50/€72.70; ticketmaster.ieBrazilian/American band Sepultura headline what is in effect a mini-metal festival, hence the early opening time. This show is part of the band’s Celebrating Life Through Death farewell tour, with Dublin their final European show. Expect the fans to pay respectful (and loud) tribute. Special guests include US hard-core band Biohazard, Swedish death metal act Bloodbath, US thrash metal band Sacred Reich, and all-female Brazilian death metal band Crypta. Sepultura play the 3Arena, Dublin on August 9th JojiTuesday, August 11th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €100.50/€69.90; ticketmaster.ieJapanese-Australian songwriter/rapper Joji began his career as (checks notes) an internet personality known for his comedic shock value through eccentric characters such as Filthy Frank and Pink Guy. From 2017, however, he has focused on music, releasing four acclaimed albums of minimally produced downtempo, melancholic love songs that have been favourably compared to Radiohead, James Blake and The xx. This debut Irish show forms part of JoJi’s Solaris global arena tour. Support is US rapper Tommy Richman. Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton MarsalisThursday, August 13th/Saturday, August 15th, NCH, Dublin, 8pm, €95/€85/€70; nch.ie Wynton Marsalis plays two Dublin shows in August Following a concert in March 2025, jazz fans will be raising their arms (and hands) to heaven at the thought of world-renowned bandleader, composer and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis returning to Dublin for two shows. As head of jazz at the Lincoln Center for more than 40 years, he has intensified international awareness of jazz through performance and education. Marsalis is stepping down from this role next year, so these shows are likely to be the final opportunity to see him and orchestra perform together. Family festivalFéile Vegan 2026From Friday, August 14th, until Sunday, August 16th, Lisnavagh House and Gardens, Rathvilly, Co Carlow, 2pm-6pm, €54.60; eventbrite.ie/feilevegan.ieRandal Plunkett is one of the speakers at Féile Vegan 2026 Pitched as Ireland’s only vegan festival, this family/eco-friendly three-day event features speakers (including rewilding advocate Randal Plunkett, Dr Eleanor Saunders, adjunct lecturer of innovation at TCD, and zoologist and environmentalist Jordi Casamitjana) and workshops (including Íoga Gaeilge with Michelle Ní Chléirigh). Music acts include Cork fiddle player/singer Clare Sands and UK folk band Mobius Loop. Trad/folk festivalWhelan’s Trad & Folk FestivalFrom Wednesday, August 12, until Thursday, August 20, Whelan’s, Dublin, 8pm/various prices, whelanslive.comIrish/New Zealand quintet Gráda One of Ireland’s best music venues gathers several artists that stretch the boundaries of traditional and folk music. The festival begins with Irish/New Zealand quintet Gráda (Wednesday, August 12th, €23.50), and continues with concertina player Caroline Keane (Thursday, August 13th, €20), left-of-centre trad group Rattling Ark (Whelan’s Upstairs, Thursday, August 13th, €16.50), vigorous singer/songwriter Emma Langford (Sunday, August 16th, €16.50) and Germany-based sibling band The Ocelots (Thursday, August 20th, €15). Visual artTony & Jane O’Malley: The Shared StudioFrom Saturday, August 8, until Monday, October 26, Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, butlergallery.ieTony & Jane O’Malley: The Shared Studio is at The Butler Gallery, Kilkenny Born in Callan, Co Kilkenny, Tony O’Malley (1913-2003) married Montreal-born artist Jane Harris (1944-2023) and this exhibition marks the receipt of the bequest (by Jane O’Malley) of both artists’ estates to Butler Gallery. Presented in association with the Kilkenny Arts Festival, and curated by gallery director Anna O’Sullivan, The Shared Studio mirrors the artists’ home creative space, which functioned as a combined breeding ground of conversation and support. Both artists’ work tables will be on display, as will a loom with a near-completed tapestry (by Jane). Evoking how much their love and companionship influenced their working lives, the exhibition provides touching impressions of their partnership. A panel discussion on the artists’ work and interrelated lives will be held in the Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle, on Tuesday, August 11th. In conversationDonal RyanThursday, August 13, Pepper Canister Church, Dublin, 7pm, €20.28, eventbrite.ie“Truth cannot be codified, or listed as a set of rules; it exists in moments, not in statutes,” Donal Ryan wrote on LitHub.com last year. Ryan’s devoted service to writing continues with his new book, Where Are the Kings (the first since his 2024 novel Heart Be at Peace, which won last year’s Orwell Prize for Political Fiction). To celebrate the launch of the book, published next week, Ryan will discuss its background and themes with literary journalist Alex Clark. An audience Q&A and book signing will follow the public interview.Next weekendFéile Na GréineFrom Friday, August 14, until Sunday, August 16, Limerick city, various venues/times/prices, feilelk.ieLimerick’s Féile Na Gréine has been hosting up-and-coming and experimental music artists since 2018. “Everyone is invited,” say the organisers, who are volunteer-led and unrepentantly DIY. This year’s line-up is fit-to-bursting with more acts (over 40) than we have space to mention, but noticeable highlights include Rún, Shark School, Stella and the Dreaming, Donal Dineen, Godwin & God Knows, Lemoncello, Mother of Pearl, and Rua Rí.Lemoncello play Féile Na Gréine in Limerick Book it this weekWrite By the Sea, Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford, September 25th-27th, writebythesea.ieMeredith, Gate Theatre, Dublin, September 30th-November 1st, gatetheatre.ieTim Wheeler, Mike the Pies, Listowel, Co Kerry, October 8th, mikethepies.comTeddy Swims, 3Arena, Dublin, April 8th, ticketmaster.ie