Greetings from Third Castle
Halloween comes this Saturday, and the week around it is full of gigs and spooky programmes.
The Strokes bring the Reality Awaits tour to 3Arena on Wednesday, and The Script are there for two nights on Friday and Saturday. Dizzee Rascal is at the National Stadium on Tuesday, and Christy Moore starts a run of Vicar Street dates on Sunday.
On Halloween night the RTÉ Concert Orchestra performs A Little Fright Music at the National Concert Hall, while Eliza takes over Tengu for an all-night set. Families can hunt for Dracula at EPIC, and the Big Scream Festival wraps up with a carnival on the 31st.
This is our pick of what's on this week. As always for a full event list check out the link at the bottom of the email.
Let's dive in 👇
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
The Strokes with Fat White Family and Alex Cameron
Wednesday 28 October · 19:00 · 3Arena
The Strokes' seventh album, Reality Awaits, is their first new music since 2020's The New Abnormal, and the lead single is Going Shopping. The New York band are at 3Arena with Fat White Family and Alex Cameron.
The Script: The Man in the Arena Tour
Friday 30 to Saturday 31 October · 3Arena
With James Morrison as special guest, Irish chart-toppers The Script take their Man in the Arena tour to 3Arena for two nights.
LEVI.SCT
Thursday 29 October · 20:00 · National Concert Hall
German pianist Levi Schechtmann, who plays as LEVI.SCT, reworks classical pieces into beat-driven, cinematic arrangements with hip-hop and house rhythms. He has played Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie and has more than a million Instagram followers.
Dizzee Rascal: We Want Bass Tour
Tuesday 27 October · 19:00 · National Stadium
Dizzee Rascal's debut, Boy in da Corner, won the Mercury Prize in 2003, and at 19 he was its youngest winner. His recent releases include the 2024 album Don't Take It Personal and the EP I Invented Grime.
Alex Cameron: Late To Set
Thursday 29 October · 19:00 · Button Factory
Late To Set, Alex Cameron's fifth studio album, is a concept record drawn from nine unproduced screenplays he wrote between 2022 and 2025. This is his Dublin night with the songs.
Takuya Nakamura (Live)
Thursday 29 October · 19:30 · Opium Live
Born in Tokyo, Takuya Nakamura studied jazz composition under George Russell and has worked with Quincy Jones, David Byrne and Arto Lindsay. His recent work mixes his jazz roots with electronic production.
And So I Watch You From Afar & Caspian
Friday 30 October · 19:00 · Opium Live
OTAY:ONII open a double bill that pairs Northern Irish instrumental rockers And So I Watch You From Afar with American post-rock band Caspian.
Rockathon Music Festival
Saturday 31 October · 15:00 · National Stadium
Six bands, one stage.
Dublin Modular: Queer Halloween Yard Party
Saturday 31 October · 16:00 · Pallas Projects/Studios
A queer Halloween party at Pallas, with DJs Síofra, Alba, Jack Mac and Tadhg K, and print-based art you can join in with.
RTÉ Concert Orchestra: A Little Fright Music
Saturday 31 October · 20:00 · National Concert Hall
A Samhain concert of spooky and ghostly music, with singers Naomi Banks and Joe Stilgoe and magician Laura London joining the RTÉ Concert Orchestra on stage.
Tengu: Eliza All Night Long
Saturday 31 October · 23:00 · Yamamori Tengu
Irish vinyl selector Eliza takes over Tengu for an all-night Halloween set of electro, acid, industrial dance music and techno.
Christy Moore
Sunday 1 November · 20:00 · Vicar Street
Christy Moore starts a run of Vicar Street shows that carries on into 2027. An expanded edition of his number one album A Terrible Beauty is out now.
Tommy Emmanuel: Living in the Light Tour
Monday 2 November · Vicar Street
Fingerstyle guitarist Tommy Emmanuel draws on his latest album, Living in the Light, which was recorded in four days and mixes pop, jazz, classical and roots.
Sons of Legion
Tuesday 3 November · 20:00 · Whelan's Main Venue
Sons of Legion call their sound "rock 'n' soul". Their music has been on ESPN, Netflix and NBC, and they have more than 2 million monthly Spotify listeners. A second night follows on Wednesday 4 November.
Meredith
Until Sunday 1 November · Gate Theatre
Erica Murray's darkly comic family drama is set on one Sunday afternoon in Meath. Meredith is recovering from a hip operation, and her daughter Noelle is keeping her to a strict routine. Meredith, meanwhile, is dating online, lending money to men she barely knows and flirting with her neighbour Terry.
Then her grandson Lorcan turns up, and long-buried secrets come to the surface. Dearbhla Molloy plays Meredith, with Niall Buggy as Terry.
The Witness
Until Sunday 1 November · Glass Mask Theatre, 41 Dawson Street
Joey "the Lips" O'Callaghan was the youngest person ever placed in witness protection in Ireland. Rex Ryan stars in this one-man show based on Nicola Tallant's bestselling book about him. It moves to 3Olympia Theatre on 14 February 2027.
The Sweet Spot: October Edition
Friday 30 October · 21:15 · Project Arts Centre
Artist Elvin Ojuka leads a mask-making workshop where you make your own ceremonial mask, drawing on mask traditions from different cultures, for play and dancing. Blkcnvs provides the music for the Sweet Spot Social, which carries on late.
Workshops: Invisible Artworks!
Thursday 29 to Friday 30 October · The Ark
Artist Róisín White leads a spooky mid-term workshop for children about hidden and disappearing images and secret codes, with ghosts, goblins and fairies along the way. Sessions run at 11:00 and 14:00 each day.
Beware of Dracula! Halloween Family Tour
Until Sunday 1 November · EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum
Dracula has escaped from his book, and children hunt for the clues to where he is hiding in the museum's Storytelling Gallery, guided by a host playing Bram Stoker. There's a storytelling session on the Irish folklore that may have inspired the vampire legend, a spell-casting activity, and a game where groups invent a new vampire story for modern Ireland.
Costumes are welcome.
Dublin Halloween Festival
Until Saturday 31 October · Various venues, Dublin
More than 40 events across 10+ places: talks, live shows, walking tours, pottery, pumpkin carving and screenings. Last Orders, a wake for Ireland's lost nightlife and cultural spaces, is at Pawn Shop on Wednesday 28 October.
The Big Scream Festival
Until Saturday 31 October · Various locations, North East Inner City
Thirteen days of Halloween under the theme The Undead, with history tours, workshops, Fright Night Bingo, Songs for Samhain and a candlelight reading of Bram Stoker's Dracula's Guest.
It finishes on Saturday 31 October with the Big Scream Carnival: a parade, Halloween activities, movies and a sensory-friendly hour for families.
Dockers & Demons Festival
Friday 30 to Saturday 31 October · Ringsend, Irishtown and the Docklands
A community Halloween festival of local arts and family-friendly spooky events, run by Dublin City Council's South East Area Community Development Team. It has dress-up parties, haunted house experiences, talent showcases, arts and crafts workshops and scary storytelling.
ClothesCycle Dublin Thrift Festival
Sunday 1 November · 10:00 to 18:00 · RDS, Hall 4
More than 100 sellers of pre-loved clothing fill 25,000 square feet with vintage, streetwear, luxury and archive pieces, plus handmade goods. You can swap up to three items for tokens, or try nail art, a tattoo or a tarot reading, and food trucks, coffee, a bar and DJs keep the day going.
Women Take Centre Stage
Tuesday 3 November · 09:00 to 17:00 · Abbey Theatre
A full-day workshop for women in the workplace on speaking with more authority and ease in meetings, pitches, boardrooms and conferences. It starts with voice, breath and body basics, moves on to text, and mixes group work with individual coaching and feedback.
For a full overview of all events on this week in Dublin City check out our event listings page
UNTIL NEXT WEEK
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