The Guide: Zach Bryan, Charli XCX, Rosie O’Donnell and other events to see, shows to book and ones to catch before they end

June 14th-20th: The best movies, music, art and more coming your way this week

Sat Jun 14 2025 - 05:00

Event of the week

Zach Bryan

Friday-Sunday, June 20th-22nd, Phoenix Park, Dublin, 5pm, €171.25/€121.25, ticketmaster.ie

In less than five years Zach Bryan has progressed from recording his tunes on a smartphone to releasing albums that have amassed billions of plays on streaming platforms. A raspy-voiced busker at heart who delivers country/roots songs grounded in Springsteen-style heartland traditions, the Oklahoma musician and songwriter has soothed a collective nerve with his stories of anguish, vulnerability, loss and hope. The keeping-it-country support acts include the Canadian singer-songwriter Noeline Hofmann (who features on Bryan’s 2024 album, The Great American Bar Scene) and the Oklahoma honky-tonk bar band Turnpike Troubadours.

Gigs

Musictown

From Saturday, June 14th, until Wednesday, June 18th, NCH, Dublin, various times, €22/€12, nch.ie

Operating Theatre: Olwen Fouéré and Roger Doyle

Musictown, the innovative under-the-radar musical festival (which is sponsored by Dublin City Council), returns with something for anyone who likes to dig deeper than the casual music fan. The five-day event starts on Saturday with the ambient musician Natalia Beylis and the cellist Eimear Reidy (3pm) and continues with Bren Berry & Crash Ensemble (8pm). Other highlights include Anna Mieke and Crash Ensemble (Sunday, June 15th), Glasshouse Perform Scott Walker (Monday, June 16th, 8pm), Róis and Crash Ensemble (Tuesday, June 17th) and Operating Theatre (Wednesday, June 18th).

Nine Inch Nails

Sunday, June 15th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6pm, €92/€47 (sold out), ticketmaster.ie

It has been 18 years since Nine Inch Nails last performed in Dublin, so to say that anticipation among fans is high is an understatement. The band – or, more to the point, their lead singer and creative focal point, Trent Reznor – arrives with a sizeable reputation for delivering on all fronts, from music that ranges from metallic to mellow to a stage show that challenges preconceptions about arena-size rock-show design and presentation. Whether Reznor’s highly atmospheric film-soundtrack work (written with his bandmate Atticus Ross) will feature in live shows renowned for their metallic intensity remains to be heard.

Charli XCX

Tuesday, June 17th, Malahide Castle, Co Dublin, 4pm, €59.90 (sold out); Wednesday, June 18th, Belsonic, Belfast, 4pm, £54.50 (sold out), ticketmaster.ie

Charlie Aitchison recorded her debut album when she was 14, with help from the Bank of Mam and Dad. It was an investment that has paid handsome dividends. Almost 20 years later, and exactly a year after the release of her highly praised sixth album, Brat, Charli XCX is on top of the pack. With a substantial back catalogue to dip into, expect these shows to be fan-favourite-friendly. Special guest is The Japanese House.

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Stage

Static

From Saturday, June 14th, until Friday, July 18th, Abbey Theatre (Peacock stage), Dublin, 8pm, €32.50/€27.50/€20, abbeytheatre.ie

Against all the technological odds, a reclusive radio operator in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, makes contact with an American astronaut who has been orbiting Earth for months. The conversations they have with one another, at a time when each is going through a mentally challenging time, help them to forge a bond that eases their loneliness and anxieties. Dan Gordon (as Moonman) and Seán Mahon (as Spaceman) star. Jimmy McAleavy writes, and John King directs.

Summer festival

Séamus Ennis Arts Centre Garden Party

From Saturday, June 14th, until Sunday, August 10th, Seamus Ennis Arts Centre, Naul, Co Dublin, various times and prices, tseac.ie

For two summer months this tucked-away Fingal arts centre presents a broad range of music, comedy, puppetry and outdoor film screenings. Events are held in the Piper’s Garden, the 500-capacity outdoor performance space named in celebration of the musician. Music acts performing across the summer include Ye Vagabonds (Saturday, June 28th), John Francis Flynn (Friday, July 11th), The 4 of Us (Sunday, July 12th) and The Seeger Sessions Revival (Saturday, August 9th). Of particular interest to curious and competitive pop-culture fans could be the Big Music & Movie Quiz (Sunday, August 3rd).

Visual art

These Magnetic Magnitudes

From Saturday, June 14th, until Saturday, August 16th, Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, Co Meath, free, solsticeartscentre.ie

The Galway-based Swedish artist Cecelia Danell examines landscapes and the psychological impact that places have on people. Her solo exhibition features new works in paint, ceramic sculptures, textiles and film, inspired by the nature dioramas at New York’s American Museum of Natural History, as well as science fiction (notably the feminist work of Ursula K Le Guin, particularly her masterpiece, The Left Hand of Darkness, from 1969). The exhibition is curated by Brenda McParland.

Comedy

Live at the Gate: Rosie O’Donnell

Thursday, June 19th, Gate Theatre, Dublin, 6.30pm, €53, gatetheatre.ie

Following Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration as US president for the second time, the Emmy-winning comedian Rosie O’Donnell moved from New York to Dublin, where she is in the process of acquiring Irish citizenship through descent. (Her father emigrated from Co Donegal in the 1930s.) O’Donnell has never performed on the Gate stage before, but we know she has recently been fine-tuning her jokes at the nearby venues the International Bar and Workman’s Club. Proceeds from this event will support three LGBTQ+ charities, Teni, BeLonG To and ShoutOut. The event is hosted by this year’s Dublin Pride Parade grand marshal, Ruadhán Ó Críodáin. (O’Donnell also headlines 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Sunday, July 27th.)

Still running

Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors & Awful Egyptians

Wednesday-Sunday, June 18th-22nd, 3Olympia, Dublin, 9.30am, 1.30pm and 5.30pm, €37.70/€34.90/€25.90, ticketmaster.ie

Families can choose from two Horrible Histories shows, both of which are based on the books by Terry Deary, the world’s bestselling nonfiction author for children. History lessons, jokes, squelching sound effects, dodgy dancing and something called BoggleVision? Popcorn alert!