The Point of Everything

David Kitt released The Big Romance (KIttser's Version) on April 8 via All City's Alchival label. The original record, which has featured in a number of ‘greatest Irish albums’ lists, marks its 25th anniversary this year, having been released on June 18, 2001. Following his home-recorded debut Small Moments, 2001’s The Big Romance marked Kittser’s first experience working in a professional studio. “The bulk of the original album was recorded at Pulse Studios off Camden St. with producer Ken McHugh - owner of many of the synths and samplers and drum machines I dreamt of owning back then. It was such an exciting time to have access to this dream palette of sounds and Ken's skill and talent as a producer/programmer. I was bringing in records from underground electronica and hip hop as references for the sound I was going for and the results were a fusion of more traditional acoustic and electric instruments with electronic sounds and hip-hop flavours that was pretty fresh for the time. It felt like a distillation of all the things I was a fan of. It's a sound I feel I've been honing and crafting ever since.” The record - featuring the singles 'Song From Hope St. (Brooklyn, NY)' and 'You Know What I Wanna Know' - sold 60,000 copies in Ireland alone and marked a major shift in Kitt’s life as a musician and performer. Originally released on Warner Music, Kitt says: “The contract I signed back then means they own the rights to the album 'for the universe forever', apparently. Great! I approached them about a vinyl reissue for the 10th and 20th anniversaries and got nowhere. So, for the 25th anniversary, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make a version of the album that I own myself and I'm free to press on vinyl.” The new release features all ten tracks of the original album along with three new tracks and b-side and fan favourite 'Saturdays' - all lovingly and faithfully remade in Ballinskelligs, at Kitt’s home studio, with the invaluable help of Ken McHugh and drawing on his 25 years’ experience of making records with synths and samplers. “I feel I've landed on a document that has the sonic and emotional DNA of the original - and at times improves on it, a record that will be cherished by fans of the original and would get the seal of approval from my 25-year-old self.” David Kitt will perform The Big Romance in full across two special shows at the National Concert Hall this week (Friday and Saturday, April 10-11), joined by an all-star band featuring Dylan Lynch, Rachael Lavelle, Katie Kim, Ryan Hargadon, Paul G. Smyth, Eamon Brady and Gareth Averill. Buy The Big Romance (Kittser's Version): https://davidkitt.bandcamp.com/album/the-big-romance-kittsers-version

Belfast singer songwriter Joshua Burnside released his sixth studio album It's Not Going To Be Okay via Nettwork Music Group on March 20. This is a record born out of loss and the fragile act of continuing. Written and recorded in the wake of the death of Joshua’s close friend Dean Jendoubi, the album is his most stripped-back and unguarded work to date. “It’s a grief record but also a love record for Dean, for my family, for being alive at all," he says. On this episode of the TPOE podcast, Joshua Burnside talks about touring the US with Ye Vagabonds; getting nominated for the Choice Prize for 2025 album Teeth of TIme; embracing traditional Irish music; grief, the creative process and paying tribute to his friend Dean; the direct nature and homour in the songs; and his family's reaction to the record. Buy the album: https://joshuaburnside.bandcamp.com/album/its-not-going-to-be-okay Joshua Burnside tour dates: Friday, May 1: Cyprus Avenue, Cork Saturday, May 2: Button Factory, Dublin Wednesday, May 6: Oran Mor, Glasgow Thursday, May 7: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds Saturday, May 9: Prince Albert, Stroud (two shows (2pm, 9pm) Sunday, May 10: EartH Theatre, London Monday, May 11: Beacon, Bristol Wednesday, June 17: Cornish Bank, Falmouth Thursday, June 18: Barrel House, Totnes Friday, June 19: The Tree House, Frome Saturday, June 20: Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes Sunday, June 21: Beverley Folk Festival, Beverley Saturday, August 15: Custom House Square, Belfast (supporting Foy Vance)

Cork artist Pat Carey calls himself the creative director of How I Became a Wave, who release their self-titled debut album on Friday, March 27. Lush in strings and pedal steel, the nine-track album features contributions from some of Ireland’s most accomplished musicians and featuring string and piano arrangements by Cormac McCarthy (RTÉ Concert Orchestra). Carey says: “I have sat with these songs, pulled and pushed at them for what seems like a decade now. It's taken that long to come to a place where I can sit comfortably with my own voice, where I can embrace both the vulnerability and strength of authentic self expression.” Buy the album: https://howibecameawave.bandcamp.com/ How I Became a Wave tour dates: Sunday, March 29: Whelan’s, Dublin (supporting Joan Shelley) Sunday, April 12 - afternoon and evening shows at Coughlans, Cork Friday, April 17: Unitarian Church, Dublin Sunday, April 19: Prim’s Bookshop, Kinsale Thursday, April 30: The Ghostlight Sessions, Balor Arts Centre, Donegal Saturday, May 16: Levis' of Ballydehob

Dublin four piece Big Sleep (Rónán Connolly, Matteo Poli, Aidan Gray, Naiara Clarke LaFuente) released their debut album Holy Show on February 20 via LAB Records. They say it's an album about transience; the messiness of love, the beauty in impermanence, and the constant transformation that occurs as we stumble through connection, heartbreak, and growth. On this episode of the TPOE podcast, Ronán and Naiara talk about the music scene in Dublin and the importance of local venues, the community of artists they are part of, the journey of the band, and the creative process behind their album. Buy Holy Show: https://labrecords.bandcamp.com/album/holy-show Big Sleep Online Store: https://bigsleep.tmstor.es/ Big Sleep tour dates: April 15: Wavelength, Cork April 16: Dolan's Upstairs, Limerick April 17: Mike the Pies, Listowel April 24: Cleere's, Kilkenny April 25: Connolly's of Leap April 28 Roisin Dubh, Galway

Dani Larkin is a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Belfast who released her second album Next of Kin on January 30. Co-produced with Ruth O’Mahony Brady, Dani says it's intended as a companion throughout the different stages of life from birth. On this episode of the TPOE podcast, we talk about touring, sustainability, burnout, building a studio, the creative process, influences including Tracy Chapman and Wallis Bird, traditional music and lots more. Buy the album: https://danilarkin.bandcamp.com/album/next-of-kin Dani Larkin tour dates: Friday, March 20: Coughlan’s, Cork Saturday, March 21: Levis’s of Ballydehob Sunday, March 22: Cleere’s, Kilkenny Thursday, March 26: Roisin Dubh, Galway Friday, March 27: Rosemary St., Belfast Saturday, March 28: St Augustine’s, Derry Thursday, April 2: The Grand Social, Dublin Saturday, April 4: Dolan’s, Limerick Thursday, April 9: Cafe9, Sheffield Friday, April 10: Hug & Pint, Glasgow Saturday, April 11: Cumberland Arms, Newcastle Sunday, April 12: Grove, Nottingham Wednesday, April 15: Folklore Rooms, Brighton Thursday, April 16: Wight Bear, Bournemouth Sunday, April 19: Kitchen Garden Cafe, Birmingham

Irish/Portuguese Kraut/psych rock band pôt-pot released debut album Warsaw 480km in September 2025. It's nominated for Irish album of the year at the Choice Music Prize which takes place at Vicar Street tomorrow, Thursday March 5. In this episode of the TPOE podcast, Mark Waldron-Hyden, the brainchild of pôt-pot, talks about his journey from Cork to Lisbon, the creative process behind the band, and the personal stories that influence the music - and what it was like to get the news - and the recognition - of the Choice nomination. pôt-pot tour dates: May 21: The Workman's Club, Dublin (presented by Enthusiastic Eunach) May 22: Luca, Waterford May 23: The Kino, Cork (presented by DOSE) Buy Warsaw 480km: https://potpot.bandcamp.com/album/warsaw-480km

Cork band Cypress, Mine! released their second album pulling all the clouds apart on February 13, 2026 - nearly 40 years after their debut Exit Trashtown. The current lineup is Ian Olney (guitar), Ciarán Ó Tuama (vocals), Mark Healy (bass), and Morty McCarthy (drums). They say the songwriting on the new album has changed significantly, focusing on themes of strong women, struggles of physical/mental pain and societal issues such as coercive control, intimidation and violence. Second single Safe Highway, meanwhile, draws from a 1997 poem by Ciarán's father, Seán Ó Tuama. On this episode of The Point of Everything, Ciarán and Ian discuss the spark behind the comeback, reasons for the original breakup, memories of 1980s Cork (including catching The Smiths live at the Savoy), the enduring legacy of Exit Trashtown, their personal growth, and how pulling all the clouds apart marks a fresh chapter. Buy the album: https://cypressmine.bandcamp.com/ Exit Trashtown: https://prettyoliviarecords.bandcamp.com/album/exit-trashtown-in-pieces To Here Knows When: https://www.paulmcdermott.ie/episode-52

London-based, Dublin-born singer songwriter Ailbhe Reddy released her third album Kiss Big via Don Giovanni Records on January 30. Kiss Big unfolds as a breakup record - but not the tidy, acoustic kind. It lives in the messy middle: the disorienting period when the life you built with someone collapses, and you’re left trying to figure out who you are on your own. Written between Dublin, London, New York and the American Midwest, Kiss Big traces the cycle of love, loss, and renewal. It’s raw and wry: the sound of coming apart and gluing yourself back together. Ailbhe Reddy tour dates: April 21: The Lexington, London May 5: The Deer's Head, Belfast May 7: Roisin Dubh, Galway May 8: Button Factory, Dublin Buy Kiss Big: https://ailbhereddy.bandcamp.com/album/kiss-big

Paul Noonan and Brian Crosby aka Pilgrims release their debut album Wintering on Friday, January 30. Built around hushed piano and an intimate vocal, the album prizes space and atmosphere. Over nine track,s it moves from tender stillness to shimmering moments of euphoria. Paul and Brian were in Juniper together in the 1990s before continuing with Bell X1 into the 2000s - Brian left the band in 2008, going on to become an acclaimed film composer. Meanwhile Paul has had solo projects over the past year, including Printer Clips and HousePlants as well as performing shows with Gemma Hayes and Lisa Hannigan - all while Bell X1 continue to inspire. Buy Wintering: https://pilgrimsireland.bandcamp.com/album/wintering Pilgrims live dates: January 30: Ballincollig Winter Music Festival, Cork February 1: All We Have Are Days, Limerick February 5: Riverbank Arts Centre, Kildare February 6: Whale Theatre, Greystones, Wicklow February 7: The Social, Gaoth Dobhair, Co Donegal February 8: Hawk’s Well Theatre, Sligo February 12: Spirit Store, Dundalk February 14: Solstice Arts Centre, Navan February 15: Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny February 19: Connolly’s of Leap, West Cork February 20: Live at St Luke’s, Cork February 21: Green Acres, Wexford March 1: Róisín Dubh, Galway

Dublin artist Ian Nyquist is a composer who released the album Gilded in September 2025. It's focused on the bodhrán, pushing the instrument 'beyond its ordinary confines' channelled through modelling software. During this conversation, Ian talks about his upbringing, how he came to the bodhrán (only about three years ago), why limitations on music-making can be revelatory, the Irish artists interesting in taking 'traditional' Irish music to new places, the urban environment, the Complex whose future is in doubt as a music venue, and we discuss the creation of Gilded. Buy Gilded: https://iannyquist.bandcamp.com/album/gilded The beating heart around which 'Gilded' is woven is the bodhrán, a native Irish frame drum with which Nyquist uses innovative techniques to push the instrument beyond its ordinary confines. Mirroring the instrument's sound through modelling software, the album's title itself nods to a theme of transformation, suggesting something familiar burnished to a new brilliance, giving it new life. The result being a truly unique unfurling of the harmonic, hypnotic and rhythmic potential of the bodhrán. This spirit of transformation is most vividly realised through Nyquist's collaborations with some of Ireland's most evocative voices. On a version of 'Leis a'bháta Dhubh Dharaich (The Black Oaken Boat)', Edinburgh-born, Dublin-based singer-songwriter lona Zajac lends her haunting vocals to an old Gaelic rowing song, her voice holds the track in a timeless tradition even as Nyquist's arrangement swirls around her; an anchor in a storm- tossed sea. Similarly, on 'Úna Bhán (Fair Una)', Cork's sean-nós singer Lorcán Mac Mathúna brings a sacred and ethereal quality to the 18th-century love song, his voice floating assuredly over Nyquist's sparse, shimmering arrangement. An original composition by Laucan, 'What Else Am I For?', marries introspective, dream-washed vocals with an impressively fine-tuned production style. Once again, Nyquist demonstrates his ability to connect diverse genres and musical traditions. Ireland's music scene continues to branch out and evolve, spurred on by the artists-like Nyquist; with 'Gilded', he melds the sound worlds of old and new, of technique and heart, of heritage and reinvention. His work resists neat distinctions and rigid genre typologies, while retaining a sense of where he calls home.

On their first podcast together of 2026, Eoghan and Cíara run through the best new Irish bands to keep an eye on in 2026

Eoghan and Cíara talk through their favourite Irish and international albums of 2025

Flynn Johnson released his debut album The Green Box Theory via Golden Éire Records on November 7. It's a concept record about place, memory and everyday decision-making in mid-to-late 2000s Dublin 15. The project treats the estate's green electricity box as a meeting point, memorial and recurring narrator, tracing the "children of the hill" as they learn to find beauty in a place many people describe as broken. In this interview, Flynn Johnson talks through his journey as a young rapper from Blanchardstown, exploring the duality of his hometown and the responsibility he feels to inspire the next generation. He reflects on the evolution of Irish hip hop, the collaborative energy of Golden Éire Records, and the guiding influence of his mentor ROC. We start off by talking about the closing track on the album, '4Eva', which acts as a manifesto for his community, grounding his music in authenticity, history, and pride. Buy The Green Box Theory: https://flynnjohnson.bandcamp.com/album/the-green-box-theory

Maykay returns to the TPOE podcast to discuss her self-titled debut solo album, released October 10 via Grainstore Records. Known for fronting Fight Like Apes, she’s also spent years collaborating with Le Galaxie, Elaine Mai, DJ Kormac, Jerry Fish, and appears on the forthcoming third album from Ailbhe Reddy. You might also know her as a co-presenter of Other Voices. In this conversation, she gets into the creative process behind the album she made during lockdown and held onto for a couple of years - a record she describes as the soundtrack to both the most trivial and the most painful moments of her life. We talk about the realities of the music industry, pushing through self-doubt, finding her own sound with the help of Ian McFarlane (Squarehead, Tieranniesaur, Cruel Sister), and we break down a couple of tracks on the record as well. Buy the album at https://maykay.bandcamp.com/album/maykay Maykay plays a full-band show in Whelan’s on December 18. Tickets: https://www.whelanslive.com/event/maykay/

Dublin/Galway guitar band Adore released their debut EP Biter on September 26 via Big Scary Monsters. Lara Minchin and Naoise Jordan Cavanagh. We talk about the transition from the remnants of their previous band to starting Adore with the premise of having it be fun, what it's like pitching to labels and playing London showcases, the Galway and Cork music scenes, working with producer Daniel Fox, and we talk through some of the songs on the EP. Adore play the Button Factory, Dublin, on Saturday, November 29. Tickets: https://singularartists.ie/show/adore-25/ Buy Biter: https://adore4.bandcamp.com/album/biter

ispiní na hÉireann release their second album Poxtail Soup on Friday, November 21, via Faction Music. The lineup features Tomás Mulligan (lead vocals, guitar), Paahto Cummins (vocals, banjo), Pádraig Óg Mac Aodhagáin (saxophone, uilleann pipes, flute), Aongus MacAmhlaigh (vocals, cello, fiddle), and Declan Gillen (drums, bodhrán, pad). Tomás, Paahto and Declan join for a chat in the backroom of the Cobblestone Bar in Smithfield, Dublin, to chat through lineup changes, the band taking things more seriously since their debut Hard Working Men in 2022, touring, Temple Bar, collaborating with How to Gael's Doireann Ní Ghlacáin, giving up alcohol, and lots more. ispiní na hÉireann tour dates: November 21: Bank Lane, Waterford (Official Album Launch Night) November 22: DeBarra’s, Clonakilty November 26: 30 min set at Spindizzy, Dublin (signing + meet & greet) November 28: The Commercial, Limerick November 29: Gleneagle, Killarney Buy the album: sausagesofireland.com irishmusicmarket.com

Cork-based band The Altered Hours released their self-titled third album via Pizza Pizza Records on November 7. In this episode, co-frontperson and guitarist Cathal Mac Gabhann talks through the band’s 15-year journey and why this record marks a new chapter - their most collaborative and instinct-led work yet. He discusses recording live to tape at Analogue Catalogue, the musical community that surrounds the group, and the influence of projects such as Elaine Howley’s acclaimed solo work. The conversation reflects on energy, curiosity, and connection - both in the studio and on stage. The Altered Hours live dates: December 10: Whelan’s, Dublin (Main Room) December 12: Live at St Luke’s, Cork December 13: St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, Galway Album available at thealteredhours.bandcamp.com

Eoghan and Ciara talk new Irish albums: The Altered Hours - The Altered Hours Anamoe Drive - Thank God It's Friday Eamon Brady - Half Light Aoife Ní Bhriain & Cormac McCarthy - Cosán Casta Seán Mac Erlaine & Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh - Old Segotia They discuss recent live shows and the rise of Madra Salach, plus new tracks of the week: Cypress, Mine! - Spellbinding Fred Again.. ft Reggie - Talk of the Town

Cork-based band Ways of Seeing released their second album The Inheritence of Fear on October 10. Singer and guitarist James O'Donnell talks about his long road to the album, from starting out alongside Eoin 'Talos' French a decade and a half ago to Dear Desert before a years-long estrangement from music. We talk about how he came back to music, his health issues such as losing his voice and tinnitus, literature and influences on The Inheritence of Fear. Ways of Seeing play the Kino, Cork, on Friday, November 14. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ways-of-seeing-album-launch-party-tickets-1773309459329 Buy The Inheritence of Fear: https://waysofseeing.bandcamp.com/album/the-inheritance-of-fear

Dublin producer Rory Sweeney released his second album Old Earth on October 24. Written between Dublin, Manchester, Letterkenny and Sligo, the record draws on Stone Tape Theory - the idea that ghosts and hauntings are echoes imprinted into the land. Old Earth explores memory, history and the esoteric in the information age, and features a stacked cast including RÓIS, Saoirse Miller, Risteárd Ó hAodha, Emby, Emily Beattie, Curtisy, Ahmed With Love, Roo Honeychild and Ushmush, among others. We talk about the Irish Hash Mafia Mixtape, Rory’s creative partnerships, and his ever-evolving production style. Buy Old Earth: https://rory2.bandcamp.com/album/old-earth