éistmusic is a club where the bar is not allowed dominate the music; a club that sees great virtue in its small capacity; an audience that listens carefully, but is loud in its appreciation. éistmusic prides itself on providing our patrons with as wide a range of music as possible. Our first two seasons (September 2006-June 2008) have featured Singer/songwriters, Blues, Folk, Country, and Irish Traditional, and we have welcomed a diverse range of artists: Duke Special, Andy Irvine, Frankie Gavin, Julie Feeney, Séamus Begley & Jim Murray, Declan O'Rourke, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Heathers, Colm Lynch, Tadhg Cooke, Laura Stevenson, Gary Dunne, Dermot 'Blues' Byrne, The Kill Nashvilles, Heathers, Íse, Bill Coleman, Nicole Maguire, Jenny Lindfors, Eleanor McEvoy, The House of Cosy Cushions, Peter Doran, John Spillane, David Geraghty, Jimi Cullen, Rory Faithfield, Carla Brunell, Felix Sonny Boy Wilson and Chris Ward. And, demonstrating our committment to emerging artists from our local area, we have been proud to present Shane Booth, Terry Byrne, James O'Connor, David Bowe, Bonnefires, Emer Dunne, Aoife Corcoran, Dave Morrissey, Adela Meally, Niamh O'Neill, George Mercer, and The Sham Lawlor. Our thanks to each and every one of them. And to you, our audience, for making nearly every éistmusic gig sold out well in advance.
MAY 15TH 2009. FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE, éistmusic IS NO LONGER ORGANISING GIGS. THANKS TO ALL THE MUSICIANS AND AUDIENCES WHO GAVE US THREE GREAT YEARS. BEST WISHES TO YOU ALL.
éistmusic... listeners welcome
Kavanagh's, Main Street, Portlaoise
éistmusic is an acoustic music club in Portlaoise. Whether you like singer/songwriters, rock, pop, folk, traditional, classical, blues or jazz, éistmusic will provide an opportunity to enjoy performances by both well-known and emerging artists in intimate, atmospheric surroundings. éistmusic is a listeners' club and, since we started in September 2006, we have had memorable performances by artists as diverse as Damien Dempsey, Duke Special, Andy Irvine, Cathy Davey, Declan O'Rourke, Julie Feeney, Séamus Begley & Jim Murray, Mundy, David Geraghty, Paddy Keenan & Tommy O'Sullivan, The Driftwood Manor, Wayne Brennan, Nick Carswell & The Elective Orchestra, Gordon Reeves, Eleanor McEvoy, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Frankie Gavin, Tír na nÓg, John Spillane, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Gary Dunne and Dermot 'Blues' Byrne plus many local singers and musicians. Please note that, because other Portlaoise venues do so, éistmusic does not present full electric bands.
éistmusic is currently creating a database of future performers.
If you are a musician, or member of a group who would like to be part of this exciting new venture, please contact Vincent or
John by e-mailing eistmusic@gmail.com. Please note that all patrons and performers should be over 18 years of age.
éistmusic performers please note that, given the capacity of the venue (maximum 80),
and our belief that you should be paid as much as possible, there will be no guestlist for any event. With the exception of one guest per performer, this policy will be strictly adhered to.
We regret that, at present, support acts will be paid travel expenses only.
éistmusic promises performers a listening, appreciative audience.
éistmusic promises patrons a wide variety of interesting, enjoyable performers. Please note that admission is by ticket only. Tickets for most events will be available from the venue (057 8621744) from the night of the previous event. Tickets for all éistmusic events are offered to our regular patrons first. Any remaining tickets will then go on general sale. We are happy to be able to say that most éistmusic gigs are sold out well in advance.
CATHY DAVEY @ éistmusic. 14.05.09
PADDY KEENAN & TOMMY O'SULLIVAN @ éistmusic. 20.02.09
Hi John, Thanks so much for having us at éistmusic, we had a great time! We've posted our video on our site too - many thanks for that! Wishing you all the best, and we hope to make it back to Portlaoise in the future. Nick & Co.
Friday night proved to us the power of éist music. It was a last minute decision on our part to head over, we ahven't stopped talking about the night all weekend! We went with no expectations apart from to get away from the kids for a few hours and listen to some music. Wayne blew me away (and no am not just being biased with the Sligo connection!), for a guy to take to a stage in a venue where no one knew anything about him or his music and to have the crowd eating out of his hand by the end of his set shows true talent. As for Maria, I really didn't think I was going to get her music, how wrong I was. JD fell in love with her from her first song, and hasn't stopped praising her al weekend! I just thought she was not only a brilliant musician but also an amazing performer, and such a decent person. John & Vinnie, thanks for a great night, éistmusic really is a special club, the atmosphere is amazing, the calibre of musicians is up there with the best of them and the dedication on yer part to bring quality music to Portlaoise is fantastic. See ye on the 28th. Ciara & JD.
John, Vinny and all involved...Thank you for asking me to come down and play. Its a great space you have there and portlaoise is a lucky town to have such a lovely spot and people as committed to supporting music as yourselves. Definitely up there with the best venues and crowds in the country. I enjoyed playing and meeting u all and of course seeing Maria was another bonus. Thanks especially john for the hospitality, I owe you one. Good luck in the future endeavours. :)
Hi John, Vincent and all at Eistmusic...We really enjoyed our visit to Eistmusic last night...Thank you for your hospitality and attention to detail which made it all the more enjoyable for us. Wishing you continuing success with the best music club in Ireland...Leo & Sonny.
To all at Eistmusic, I cannot express enough in words how much it warmed my heart to perform at your club. It really was a privilege. Eistmusic is a true gem.
Just wanted to leave a short note to say how much I enjoyed the gig at 'eist'. It was such a lovely, lovely night. It really was. You run the whole night so beautifully and draw a fantastic, warm, music loving audience. It was a real pleasure from start to finish. I wish I could be there to see some of the up coming dates too. Keep up the good work.
Hi John, Just to let you know, Dee and I are home safe and sound! :) Thanks so much for inviting me down to play on Friday - it's such a great venue you're running there and the atmosphere is second to none! And it was great to get away for the weekend too! Keep in touch and keep up the good work, Laura
thanks a million for arranging a great night lads!great atmosphere, great venue and great people. pleasure to play for you! hopefully see you all again soon, dermot
Thank you to ÉistMusic for an amazing night and also to everyone who turned up and listened...we had a really great time! See you again soon I hope. Cheers D
Congratulations to all in éistmusic and thanks for bringing this great music venue to Portlaoise. I really appreciated the opportunity I was given to perform my own songs there, and I enjoyed taking over from Flatley on the second night with my few solo steps! Thanks for everything. I am looking forward to next season's line up and playing there again in the future. Emer
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