Event of the weekThe WeekndSaturday, August 22nd/Sunday, August 23rd, Croke Park, Dublin, 5pm, €187.25/€137.25, ticketmaster.ieCelebrating The Weeknd’s album trilogy (2020’s After Hours, 2022’s Dawn FM, 2025’s Hurry Up Tomorrow), these shows form part of a stadium tour touted as being one of the biggest in music history. This is grist to the mill for Canada’s Abel Tesfaye, who is one of the best-selling and most-streamed artists of the past 30 years. Success didn’t arrive without turmoil, but Tesfaye has channelled early experiences with homelessness, incarceration and drug use into songs and albums that have won multiple awards. In keeping with the significance of the shows, fans can expect a high-concept production featuring eye-popping special effects and dramatic stage design. Special guest is Playboi Carti. Tony Clayton-LeaGigsAmyl and the SniffersTuesday, August 25th/Wednesday, August 26th, Collins Barracks, Dublin, 6pm, €54.85, ticketmaster.ieAmyl and the Sniffers will perform in the courtyard of the National Museum of Ireland Australian punk rock band Amyl and the Sniffers are the opening act in the fifth Wider Than Pictures concert series, which takes place in the courtyard of the National Museum of Ireland. Classy venue, trashy band – what’s not to love? Special guests are Philadelphia’s Mannequin Pussy and London-based Irish Nigerian pop singer Spider. The concert series continues with Faye Webster, Thursday, August 27th; Deep in It, Friday, August 28th; Mac DeMarco, Saturday, August 29th (sold out) and Super Furry Animals, Sunday, August 30th.Electric PicnicFrom Friday, August 28th until Sunday, August 30th, Stradbally, Co Laois (sold out)Electric Picnic 2026: Fontaines DC, Gorillaz and CMAT are part of the line-up The Big Kahuna of Irish open-air festivals features big-name headliners (Fontaines DC, Van Morrison, Amble, Gorillaz, Wolf Alice), too many superb lower-down-the-bill music acts to list and more than a few tucked-away spaces to seek out (Croi, Fishtown, and the festival debut of the late-night ‘city in the woods’ GlowDepot). The event sold out in less than two hours after tickets went on sale last September, so unless you know someone who knows someone, sit back and make way for FOMO.Metronome: Diet of WormsFriday, August 28, NCH (The Studio), Dublin, 8.30pm, €20, nch.ieOn the same day that 80,000 people converge on Stradbally for Electric Picnic, about 160 will be at this curated evening of exploratory music that runs the gauntlet between drums, electronics and “fractured vocal performance, tape decay and spatial sound work”. In other words, if it’s a different kettle of fish you’re after, here it is. Performers include sound designer Dennis McNulty, Hedgling (Nyahh Records stalwarts Natalia Beylis and Willie Stewart), and Venetian Tendencies (Sarah Grimes, formerly a member of Dublin indie pop/punk band September Girls, and Glasgow-based artist/researcher Eo Stearn). LiteratureKennedy Summer School 2026From Wednesday, August 26th until Saturday, August 29th, St Michael’s Theatre/JFK Arboretum, New Ross, Co Wexford, various times, €40/€35/€25, kennedysummerschool.ie Debut novelist Neil Tully will take part in a Voices of Irish Writers panel discussion Diplomacy and music sit alongside literature at this year’s Kennedy Summer School. Following the official opening (Thursday, August 27th, St Michael’s Theatre, 6.30pm) by Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States, there is a Voices of Irish Writers panel discussion (same venue, 8pm). Moderated by academic, writer and filmmaker Prof Bríona Nic Dhiarmada, the panel features writer Belinda McKeon, debut novelist Neil Tully and novelist/poet Martina Evans. Other highlights include a public interview with radio presenter Pat Kenny (Friday, August 28th, St Michael’s Theatre, 7pm) and the panel discussion US Politics: The Midterms and the Twilight of Trump 2.0 (Saturday, August 29th, St Michael’s Theatre, 3.30pm).ClassicalJulian & Jiaxin Lloyd WebberThursday, August 27th, Lyric Theatre, Belfast, 7.30pm, £37, lyrictheatre.co.uk Jiaxin and Julian Lloyd Webber are touring Ireland Julian Lloyd Webber and his acclaimed musician wife are touring Ireland extensively to promote Julian’s recently published autobiography, Bows and Arrows. The events will feature live performance, archival video clips and an audience Q&A. Also, Tuesday, September 1st, The Town Hall Theatre, Galway, 8pm, €39.50, tht.ie; Wednesday, September 2nd, Lime Tree Theatre, Limerick, 8pm, €39.50, limetreebelltable.ie; Thursday, September 3rd, National Concert Hall, Dublin, 8pm, €39.50, nch.ie; Friday, September 4th, Glór, Ennis, Co Clare, 8pm, €39.50, glor.ie; Saturday, September 5th, Live at St Luke’s, Cork, 8pm. €44.45, ticketmaster.ie; Sunday, September 6th, Mullingar Arts Centre, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, 8pm, €39.50, mullingarartscentre.ie Visual artPicturing the Border: 1921 to 2026From Saturday, August 22nd until Saturday, October 31st, Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, Co Louth, highlanes.ie Focusing on how artists have reacted to the Border between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland since 1922, this exhibition features almost 30 representative works in photography, print, painting, film and other areas of popular culture. Avoiding stereotypical portrayals of the region is central to the intention of the exhibition, which is co-curated by Highlanes Gallery director Aoife Ruane and photographic historian Orla Fitzpatrick. Artists featured include Willie Doherty, Dorothy Hunter, Kate Nolan, TP Flanagan, Ben Malcolmson, Kathleen Bridle and Megan Doherty.StageMean GirlsFrom Tuesday, August 25th, until Saturday, September 5th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, 7.30pm, €68.40/€57.95/€46.70/€35.45, ticketmaster.ieThe cast of the Mean Girls stage show After being home-tutored in Africa, teenager Cady Heron transfers to a US high school, where the rules of engagement are decidedly different. Based on the 2004 film of the same name, the Mean Girls musical premiered on Broadway in 2018 and was nominated for 12 awards at the 72nd Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This West End production maintains such high standards with a polished, vivid-pink show that hits all the required music theatre marks. Emily Lane, Vivian Panka and former Steps singer Faye Tozer feature. Still runningJudy - End of the RainbowFrom Thursday, August 27th, until Saturday, September 5th, The Everyman, Cork, 7.30pm, €40/€35/€30/€25, everymancork.comAnna-Jane Casey plays the part of Judy Garland in Judy – End of the Rainbow. Photograph: Ste Murray Peter Quilter’s award-winning Broadway/West End play about Judy Garland’s five-week concert run at London’s Talk of the Town nightclub in January 1969 features acclaimed stage actress Anna-Jane Casey as the enduring but increasingly vulnerable star. Also, September 8th-19th, Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, and September 23rd-26th, Opera House, Belfast. See venues for booking details. Book it this weekReception Weekend 2026, Projects Arts Centre, Dublin, October 15th-17th, projectartscentre.ieRichard Ayoade, Vicar Street, Dublin, October 27th/28th, ticketmaster.ieWeezer, 3Arena, Dublin, May 12th, ticketmaster.ieAll Together Now, Curraghmore Estate, Co Waterford, July 29th-August 1st, ticketmaster.ie