Ben Folds & A Piano
Vicar St, Dublin Saturday May 12th 7.30pm €36.50 ticketmaster.ie
Now here is a musician/songwriter who isn't content to sit in a room all day, every day, and conjure up melodies and tunes without the benefit of the outside world impacting on his creativity. While Ben Folds is best known as the man with the piano (the clue is in the umbrella title of this show), he also spends time as an occasional photo editor of National Geographic, and as artistic advisor to the Kennedy Center's National Symphony Orchestra. This gig will focus on the man's several genre-stretching styles, which include superlative pop songs and his successful crossover into classical music. Special guest is Canadian singer-songwriter Matt Holubowski. TCL
We Are Scientists
The Academy, Dublin Saturday May 12th €19 ticketmaster.ie
Back in the indie-heavy days of the early noughties, We Are Scientists' anthemic music would be a surefire way of filling the dance floor, particularly around the release of their second album, With Love and Squalor, which features The Great Escape and Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt. The hardcore indie scene in Ireland has dwindled ever so slightly but, with their seventh studio album, Megaplex, these lads are living it large like it's still 2007. Bless 'em. LB
Johnny Marr
Button Factory, Dublin Saturday May 12th 7.30pm €26.90 (sold out) buttonfactory.ie
Who would ever have thought that one of the best rock/pop guitarists of the past 40 years would write an album with a unified theme about a futuristic alternative society? Far from the damp back streets of Manchester he was raised, etc. Not that this particularly matters to the avid Marr fan, at whom this exclusive album launch gig is directed. Although Call the Comet is not released until mid-June, Marr has set up a sequence of launch shows for the album, and, as his bloodline is completely Irish, he's kickstarting it here. Our instinct is that the show will be in two halves – the first will be the new album in its entirety (or as near as dammit), the second a mix of solo and Smiths material. Either way, good times to be had. TCL
Get Down Live: SYLK and Tanjier + Thomas Walsh DJ Set
Róisín Dubh, Galway Saturday May 12th €5/€7 roisindubh.net
SYLK and Tanjier are two of the most exciting electronic acts to come out of Ireland in recent years. While Dublin duo SYLK take the darker route (think Portishead and Massive Attack), Dublin trio Tanjier inject dreamier doses of indiepop into their music that takes on issues like youth, mental health, prostitution and nostalgia. They'll be taking over the upstairs venue in the Róisín and live visuals will accompany their sets. LB
World Buckfast Day and Marcus Woods Shibui mixtape launch
The Bernard Shaw, Dublin Saturday May 12th Adm free thebernardshaw.com
There are some holidays that should never go unnoticed and one of them is World Buckfast Day. Between Buckfast 99 ice creams, Buckfast chicken, Buckfast wine and cheese boards and Buckfast bingo, you might be too overwhelmed to check out sets from hip-hop DJ Marcus Woods, who's launching his Shibui mixtape from 7pm, FYNCH and District Magazine's DJs. Buckfast responsibly and pace yourself. Don't see a day like this go to waste. LB
The Teskey Brothers
Academy, Dublin Sunday May 13th 8pm €12.50 ticketmaster.ie
Yes, they really are brothers (well, two of them: Sam and Josh are joined by old friends Liam Gough and Brendon Love) and no, we're not sure why a band from Australia sounds so uncannily like the combined output of Stax Records and Tamla Motown. From the Yarra Valley, outside Melbourne, the band began performing at local markets, weddings and parties before arriving at a point where bigger audiences made them think they were (finally) doing something right. The band's self-released debut album, Half Mile Harvest, has been a word-of-mouth success, resulting in the music making its way from a small Australian town to a much bigger stage. TCL
Rock Against Homelessness
Olympia Theatre, Dublin Sunday May 13th €35 ticketmaster.ie
With profits going to Focus Ireland, some of the best names in Irish music are coming together to raise money to combat the homeless crisis in Ireland. Dermot Kennedy, Wyvern Lingo, Loah, Paula Meehan and Jack O'Rourke are on the bill, and Imelda May will be doing a special performance with the High Hopes Choir. Some other special guests may make an appearance on the night, but actress and comedian Tara Flynn, your MC for the night, will let you know who's who. LB
Tom Misch
Olympia Theatre, Dublin Monday May 14th €23.50 ticketmaster.ie
London singer and DJ Tom Misch's debut album Geography is a quick guide to the sounds of funk, jazz, hip-hop, soul and R&B that the 22-year-old was reared on. With guest appearances from De La Soul and Loyle Carner, he's moving in the right circles and with soft electronica pulsing throughout his music, he makes songs that are designed for a boozy day in the sun. If the weather holds up, this gig will enhance the sunny vibes all round. LB
Haley Heynderickx
East Side Tavern, Dublin Monday May 14th 8pm €10 ticketmaster.ie
Interest always perks up a notch or three when you hear of a young musician and songwriter whose fingerstyle acoustic guitar technique is described as having been influenced by "primitive" folk guitarists Leo Kottke and John Fahey. Heynderickx is very much on the up this year, following the recent release of her debut album, I Need to Start a Garden. In January, Stereogum namechecked her in its Artist to Watch list, while in its review of the album, Pitchfork praised her "incisive gaze inward . . . the feelings in her heart and the visions in her head." From old to new and many points in between, Haley Heynderickx is one exceptional singer-songwriter on the rise. Go see. TCL
Car Seat Headrest
Olympia Theatre, Dublin Wednesday May 16th 7pm €23.90 ticketmaster.ie
There are many examples of the resolute DIY work ethic in rock/pop music, but Leesburg, Virginia's Car Seat Headrest is up there with the best of them. Appropriate to the DIY process (as well as the name), the band's Will Toledo recorded the vocals of early albums in the back seat of his car. As his music spread to a wider audience, however, so his lo-fi approach decreased, and what was once a solo pursuit turned into a band format. All things considered, Toledo's songs ably balance the crush of the increased fanbase with his own introspective nature. The result is nowhere near as fanciful as you might think. TCL
The Rolling Stones
Croke Park, Dublin Thursday May 17th 5pm €181/€136/€90/€71 ticketmaster.ie
Workhorses. Old codgers. Superannuated rock stars. Over-the-hill musicians. Hoary old cliches. You could be correct in describing The Rolling Stones as any or all of the previous, but if they're able to do it at the age they are without embarrassing themselves or others, then what's the problem? Well, the problem could be that their audience is running out on them, as what was initially reckoned to be an immediate sell-out show still has seats a-plenty. Whatever your opinion about that, by any gauge this band is the last of its kind just about standing, and, with a combined age of 294 (Mick Jagger, 74; Keith Richards, 74; Charlie Watts, 76; Ronnie Wood, 70), this really could be the last time they come this way. TCL
Homebeat Presents: Slow Skies album launch
Fumbally Stables, Dublin Thursday May 17th €13.56-€17.88 homebeat.ie
To celebrate the release of Slow Skies' gorgeous new album Realign, Homebeat are very kindly throwing her an album launch party. This BYOB will see Slow Skies frontwoman Karen Sheridan performing some of these songs for the first time ever in a very intimate venue. A number of well-known faces in the Irish music scene contribute to the instrumentation on Realign so I wouldn't be surprised if they join Sheridan onstage. LB
Join Me in the Pines
DeBarras, Clonakilty, Co Cork Thursday May 17th 9pm €15 debarra.ie
Roundys, Cork Friday May 18th 8pm €15
When he isn't being an integral member of the group he co-founded (the evergreen BellX1), Dave Geraghty fronts his own, Join Me in the Pines. This is no whimsical side project, but rather a serious outfit that takes a different tack that can change from one album to the next. By engaging with the likes of Prince, Nile Rogers and David Bowie, the latest single, Two to Fall in Love, is in contrast to the direction of previous forays into folk/pop. These shows will preview material from JMITP's forthcoming album, as well as back catalogue songs and a carefully chosen cover or two. JMITP play further shows next month: Róisín Dubh, Galway (June 1st) and Dolans Warehouse, Limerick (June 8th). TCL
Josh T Pearson
Whelan's, Dublin Friday May 18th 8pm €20 whelanslive.com
Formerly of noise merchants Lift to Experience (once described as "a whirling, enveloping tsunami . . . a powerful sonic gestalt . . ."), Josh T Pearson has shifted his career in a much gentler direction. The Texan former ranch hand's 2011 debut solo album, Last of the Country Gentlemen, picked up some rave reviews ("rarely has something so physically fragile sounded so mighty in its emotional resonance. A truly magnificent record . . ." – Drowned in Sound), while this year's The Straight Hits! album offers further evidence of the man's singular, experimental style. TCL
Paul Alwright
The Workman's Club, Dublin Friday May 18th 8pm €14 theworkmansclub.com
The man previously known by the moniker of Lethal Dialect has had a change of mind – no more use of a generic title (which, he outlined on Twitter last year, was being negatively associated with "misogyny and alpha-male bullshit"), a shift in artistic direction, and a back-to-basics approach with his music. This is the launch gig for his new album, Hungry, which this paper recently described as "an example of what happens if you find new ways to bounce back in a world that wants to knock you down." Expect some very special guests to join the man on stage. TCL
