MacD on Music: Coming Soon, To A Derry Near You

2025 has gotten off to a strong start for music lovers. So far, we’ve had Record Store Day in Cool Discs and the brilliant triple album launch that night, featuring Hong Kong Nocturne, Hypnic Jerk and The Wood Burning Savages, as well as CHERYM stealing the show opening for Snow Patrol (disclaimer: I wasn’t actually there, but I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet) and new music from the likes of The Marra, Emma White, Hard To Explain, GRIM17 and so many more.

This week, I’m going to be taking a look at some of the great moments we have to look forward to in the coming months:

Stendhal . . . First up, Stendhal. This year marks fifteen years of Ireland’s Woodstock, the festival that showcases some of the best local and not-so-local talent, live from Ballymully Cottage Farm. In years past, we’ve had show-stealing sets from the likes of TRAMP and CHERYM (closers of the 2023 and 2022 festivals, respectively), and this year promises to be just as good.

The first set of acts for this year’s festival was announced this week and features lots of great talent, including Problem Patterns (who are also playing Bennigan’s this Saturday. More on that later), tessio., Winnie Ama, The Wood Burning Savages. Duke Special, Kate Nash Joshua Burnside, The Bonnevilles, The Lightening Seeds and more.

This year’s Stendhal takes place from 4th to 6th July and tickets are on sale now at stendhalfestival.com.

The Jazz Festival . . . Next, we’ve got Ireland’s best jazz festival. Always one of the best weekends of the year for music lovers, the Derry Jazz Festival is back with its usual mix of home-grown talent as well as acts from across the globe. This year, it’s Billy Ocean who’s got the honour of headlining, when he plays the Millennium Forum on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th May.

Also, Una Healy will be playing St. Columb’s Hall along with Luke Thomas for ‘Fly Me to The Moon – A Celebration Of The Great American Songbook’. In a shocking twist, the former Saturdays’ singer will be appearing on a Friday, taking the stage on 2nd May.

As well as this, Derry’s own Ursula McHugh will be playing along with Dee Doherty (piano) and Jude Murphy (double bass) and will be taking the stage in the New Gate Arts & Culture Centre, also on the 2nd May. The show, ‘Women in Black’, features “exquisite melodies and timeless love songs from the Golden Era, reimagined with a modern twist” and promises to be a great night for jazz lovers.

READ MORE: MacD on Music

Tickets for all these gigs, as well as the many others taking place across the weekend, can be found at cityofderryjazzfestival.com/tickets.

The Best of The Rest . . . As well as the aforementioned festivals, we’ve got plenty of other great gigs and releases to look forward to in the coming weeks and months.

The Return of The Marra (Again) . . . A few weeks ago, The Marra (most recently seen in this column as a two piece) announced their new line-up, featuring two thirds of Touts and one quarter of The Switch. This new line-up of O.G.s Shane MacGowan and Ryan Ward along with Matthew Crossan, Luke McLaughlin and Conor Lynch will be making their live debut in Bennigan’s on May 10th. Tickets are £10 and are available now via Eventbrite.

Problem Patterns . . . Also playing Bennigan’s are Belfast-based Problem Patterns, winners of Album of The Year at last year’s NI Music Prize.

The gig, taking place this Saturday (26th April) is presented by NuMuze and features support from Sensory Overload and Cloakroom Q. Tickets are £10 plus booking fee and can be found on Eventbrite.

Miss Mary Jane . . . Now, time for a bit of new music. Last week, Miss Mary Jane announced her new EP ‘The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea’, due to be released on August 15th.

Louise DaCosta . . . Also out now, Cozmic Cat’s remix of Louise DaCosta’s ‘Star Bars’, taken from Louise’s ‘Dance Dance’ album (out now).

CHERYM . . . Following up from their Snow Patrol gig, CHERYM will be playing the Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast as part of the Girls With Guts festival on June 28th. They’ll also be opening for Stiff Little Fingers on August 15th in The Academy in Dublin and 16th in Custom House Square.

And that’s it for this week. Now, time for the socials. Stendhal can be found on Instagram @stendhalireland, the Derry Jazz Festival @derryjazzfest, The Marra @themarra_band, Problem Patterns @probpatterns, NuMuze @_numuze_, Miss Mary Jane @maryjane.miss, Cozmic Cat @cozmiccatofficial, Louise DaCosta @thelouisedacosta and CHERYM @cherymofficial.