Kasabian outdoors in Fairview, Bloomsday takes over the city

We're well into the long-evening stretch now, and the city is leaning right into it: open-air rock in Fairview Park, Joyce fans in Edwardian get-up, and a metal week on Wexford Street loud enough to rattle the windows.

The big news, though, is out west. Over solstice weekend (Friday 19 to Sunday 21 June) two first-ever festivals land in the Boyne Valley. More on making a weekend of that below. First, what's on.

Events This Week

A genuinely odd, good week for live nights in Dublin: musical comedy, a funk star gone solo, and three nights of metal in a row.

Jake Schroeder

Mon 15 June · The Sugar Club, Leeson St · Dublin · 6pm

Don't come expecting a band. Schroeder is a "comedy balladist", an ex-software-engineer turned pianist who builds funny original songs on the spot from whatever the room shouts at him. He's racked up 300k-plus followers on TikTok and brand work with Apple TV and Got Milk? off the back of it. Dublin gets one night on a tight European run. The Sugar Club's cabaret room with table service is exactly the right size for it, so book a table and settle in.

Kublai Khan TX

Mon 15 June · Opium, Wexford St · Dublin · 7pm · €30 · 18+

The Texas hardcore crew bring their Into Oblivion tour to Opium for a tight, brutal night of GA standing that wraps by about 10:30pm. Fair warning: this one's reported sold out. Unless you already have a ticket you're looking at resale only, so tread carefully and don't pay daft money. Strictly over-18s, and pace yourself, because it's a heavy room.

Voivod & Midnight

Tue 16 June · Whelan's, Wexford St · Dublin · 6pm · €35 · 18+

Voivod are the cult Canadian band who turned thrash sideways with an angular, sci-fi sound. They co-headline here with US speed-metal merchants Midnight, with Cryptosis opening. Whelan's 450-capacity room is close enough to feel every riff, and doors are early at 6pm. If you're still standing afterward, the Whelan's Silent Disco kicks off from 10:30pm for around a fiver, with a late bar after.

Kasabian

Tue 16 June · Fairview Park · Dublin · gates 7pm

Fire, Club Foot, Underdog: the Leicester lads bring the singalong outdoors to Fairview Park, with Miles Kane warming up the field. Gates open at 7pm and Kasabian are on around 8pm, so there's a window for the support and a pint on the grass. It's open-air and walkable from the city centre, so no parking headaches. Keep an eye on the forecast, though, and pack a layer for when the long evening cools off. The Irish Times has a handy stage-times and getting-there guide if you're planning the night.

Theo Katzman

Tue 16 June · The Button Factory, Temple Bar · Dublin · 7pm

Know Katzman from the joyful funk of Vulfpeck? This is a different evening entirely. It's a solo show, just him and his songs stripped right back, so the Button Factory's intimacy turns into a real asset and the quiet bits actually land. Go for the writing rather than the groove and you'll get the better night for it.

Red Leather

Tue 16 June · Green Room, The Academy, Middle Abbey St · Dublin · 7pm · from €21 · 14+

The gentlest entry on a heavy week. Red Leather is a rising young singer-songwriter headlining the small upstairs Green Room at The Academy, with Jady on support. It's 14+, which makes it the friendliest of the week's options if you're bringing a teenager or just don't fancy the metal and club nights. Small rooms like this are where you catch a name before everyone else does. Tickets start from around €21.

What's Happening

Festival season proper: one Dublin literary institution and three brand-new Meath weekenders timed to the solstice.

Bloomsday Festival 2026

11 to 16 June (Bloomsday itself Tue 16) · city-wide, hub at the James Joyce Centre · Dublin · many events free

Tuesday is Bloomsday, 16 June, the single day on which the whole of Joyce's Ulysses unfolds, this year marking 122 years since 1904. The festival closes that day after a week of more than 100 events: readings, walking tours, performances, lectures and kids' bits dotted right across Dublin. The James Joyce Centre on North Great George's Street is the hub and is free to the public on the day. You don't need to have finished the book (few have). Turn up, maybe in Edwardian get-up, and have the famous Bloomsday breakfast.

Navan Midsummer Festival 2026

Thu 18 to Sun 21 June · Navan town centre · Meath · mostly free

Meath County Council launches its first Navan Midsummer Festival this solstice weekend, with live music, comedy, storytelling and family events through the town. A Midsummer Market of Boyne Valley food and crafts sets up at St Mary's Church car park on the Saturday and Sunday, and O'Mahonys GAA run a Colour Run and Family Fun Day (around €5 to €25, most of the rest is free). Sources still disagree on whether it kicks off Thursday 18 or Friday 19, and the lineup's settling, so check the listing before you set off. It's a short hop from Tara and Newgrange if you want to round out the day.

Emerald Park BBQ Night

Fri 19 June · Emerald Park, Kilbrew · Meath · 6pm to 10pm · €600 per table of 10 · 18+

Emerald Park (the Kilbrew theme park you'll still call Tayto Park) does its grown-up turn with an over-18s BBQ Night in the new Garden Marquee. Selected rides stay open through the evening, including the Cú Chulainn coaster, Fianna Force and Quest. Think adult summer party rather than family day, running 6pm to 10pm. One catch: it's booked by the table only, €600 for ten (roughly €60 a head) arranged direct via sales@emeraldpark.ie, so it's one to round up a group for. There's another night on Fri 26 June if this one fills.

Trim Midsummer Jazz and Blues Weekend

Fri 19 to Sun 21 June · Trim town centre · Meath

Trim throws its first-ever Jazz and Blues Weekend, with live music moving pub to pub each night, gigs at the hotels and the Swift Cultural Centre, and street entertainment in between. The whole thing sits in the shadow of Trim Castle, the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland and a Braveheart location, so the organisers suggest pairing a set with a guided castle tour or a Boyne riverside walk. Set times are loose for now, so treat it as a wander-and-listen weekend rather than a fixed schedule.

Make a weekend of it in the Boyne Valley

Navan and Trim both run over the same solstice weekend (Friday 19 to Sunday 21 June), barely twenty minutes apart: jazz in Trim by night, the Midsummer Market in Navan by day, and Tara, Newgrange and Trim Castle all on your doorstep. It's an easy case for staying over rather than driving back and forth in the dark on the year's shortest night.

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