The unmissable gigs to look out for in Ireland in 2023

The former One Direction heart-throb will bring his Love On Tour show to the iconic Meath venue on June 10 next year.

It will also be a day when Bono sees his life come full circle as one of the support bands, Inhaler, features his young son Eli on lead vocals. British indie rock duo Wet Leg are also on the bill.

With live events now back to normal post pandemic, 2023 is set to be a bumper year for big music events. Here is a selection for your diary.

Electric Picnic

Bosom and boozing buddies Niall Horan and Lewis Capaldi are among the acts who will perform at the sold out 2023 Electric Picnic Festival in Stradbally, Co Laois from Sept 1- Sept 3.

Also among the acts already announced are The Killers, Billie Eilish, Fred Again, Steve Lacy, IDLES, Jamie XX, Tom Odell, Rick Astley and Amyl & The Sniffers.

RDS Arena

Bruce Springsteen, who will play Dublin’s RDS Arena on May 5&7, says that “performing live is probably the best thing do.”

The 73-year-old icon tells how playing live at the recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame event in the States made him realise what he was missing.

“It's just the excitement of playing live again, seeing what it feels like. I realised you get out there and suddenly all those muscles come to the front again, and you go yeah, this is so natural me,” says Bruce who has been touring with the E Street Band for nearly 50 years.

Thomand Park

Dermot Kennedy will perform a record-breaking three concerts at Limerick’s Thomand Park from Friday, July 7 to Sunday July 9.

Kennedy’s latest album, SONDER, went to number one in Ireland and the UK - his second album to reach the top spot after debut, Without Fear, became the highest-selling debut of the millennium in Ireland on its release and has since achieved platinum status in the UK.

Dermot, who played to over 70,000 people at Electric Picnic in September, has become one of the biggest and fastest-selling live artists ever following his historic run of Irish shows in 2022 - with eight huge concerts across Ireland.

Malahide Castle

Blur, Sting, Blondie, Florence + The Machine, Depeche Mode, Sam Fender and Paolo Nutini have all been announced for Dublin’s Malahide Castle in 2023.

The castle grounds will come alive with the music of Depeche Mode on June 14, following by Paolo Nutini (June 16), Blue (June 24), Sam Fender (June 25), Florence + The Machine (June 27), Sting and Blondie (June 28).

Fairview Park

LITTLE Bit Of Love singer Tom Grennan says he’s looking forward to playing Dublin’s Fairview Park next June as it will be a homecoming of sorts. Tom’s father is from Ballycumber, Co Offaly. “I’m proud to be Irish,” he says.

Becky Hill will kick off the series of Fairview Park 2023 concerts on June 16, followed by The Coronas (June 17), Dec Pierce (June 24), Aitch (June 25), The Kooks (June 28), The Prodigy (June 29) and Tom Grennan (June 30).

St Anne’s Park

Golden oldie Lionel Richie is among the artists set to play Dublin’s St Anne’s Park next June 4.

Richie’s soulful voice has been in our lives since 1974 with the Commodores when he brought us hits such as Easy, Sail On and Just To Be Close To You. In 1981 Richie hit No.1 with“Endless Love, a duet with Diana Ross, setting the stage for a phenomenally successful solo career.

Other acts play St Anne’s are set to be Lumineers with Sigrid and Vance Joy (June 2), Soft Cell (June 3) and Pulp (June 9).

Live at the Iveagh Gardens

One of the best outdoor spaces in Dublin, the Iveagh Gardens will be the setting next summer for concerts by Damien Dempsey (July 7&8), The Waterboys (July 14), Bell X1 (July 21) and Imelda May (July 22).

Live at the Marquee

Next year will mark 33 years since Glen Hansard founded The Frames and the legendary group is one of the acts set to play Live at the Marquee series of concerts.

The Frames play the Marquee on June 2&3, followed by Aitch (June 7), Olly Murs (June 9), Bell X1 (June 10), Mimi Webb (June 16) and Christy Moore (June 17).

Ormeau Park

Belfast’s Ormeau Park will feature George Ezra (June 9), David Guetta (June 10), Lizzo (June 22), Sam Fender (June 23) and Florence + The Machine (June 28).

Botanic Gardens

Top acts set to play Belfast’s Botanic Gardens include Kip Moore (May 27), Seb Fontaine (June 3), Aitch (June 8), Frames (June 9) and Olly Murs (June 10).

3Arena

One of the busiest venues in Europe, the 3Arena will next year play host to acts such as Dropkick Murphys (Jan 14), The 1975 (Jan 29), Lewis Capaldi (Jan 30), Florence + The Machine (Feb 8), Chris Brown (Feb 11 & 12), Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott (Feb 17), Clannad (Feb 18), George Ezra (March 8), Country to Country Festival (March 10-12), Lizzo (March 13), Bicep Live (March 17)

Aslan (March 18), Elton John (March 28 & 29), Macklemore (April 3), Paramore (April 13), Sam Smith (April 14 & 15), Andre Rieu (April 21), Duran Duran (May 7), Michael Bublé (May 13), Ozzy Osbourne (June 10), Jools Holland (June 17), Pet Shop Boys (June 19), Iron Maiden (June 24), Peter Gabriel (June 25) and Shawn Mendes (August 1).