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2009 in Irish music

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Popular music in Ireland
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Awards
Choice Music Prize IMRO Live Music Venue of the Year Awards Irish Music Television Awards Meteor Music Awards
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Current festivals: Castlepalooza Cois Fharraige Electric Picnic Indie-pendence KnockanStockan Live at the Marquee Oxegen Slane Solas Defunct festivals: Creamfields Féile Forfey Garden Party Green Energy Witnness
Venues
Indoor theatres: Ambassador Olympia O₂ RDS Outdoor venues: Belvedere House and Gardens Malahide Castle Marlay Park Slane Castle Dublin Castle Phoenix Park Thomond Park Punchestown Racecourse Stradbally Hall Smaller venues: The Academy Eamonn Doran's Róisín Dubh Vicar Street The Village Whelan's
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List of albums released

Overview of the events of 2009 in Irish music

List of years in Irish music
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This is a summary of the year2009 in theIrish music industry.

Summary

[edit]

January

[edit]

On 6 January, it was revealed that a track fromEnya's albumAnd Winter Came... was to feature in a Japanese television drama. "Dreams Are More Precious" is the theme tune forArifureta Kiseki, the first episode of which aired onFuji Television on 8 January.^[1]
On 14 January, the nominations for theChoice Music Prize were announced.^[2]^[3]^[4]
From January 15–17,The Coronas andFight Like Apes represented Ireland in theEurosonic Festival inGroningen, Netherlands.^[5]^[6] FormerClann Zú memberDeclan de Barra also performed, having received an invitation directly from the organisers.^[7]
On 16 January,State, launched in March 2008, announced it was to cease publication of its print edition due to difficulties in attracting advertising revenue. It said it would continue as an online entity.^[8]
On 18 January,U2 were amongst the performers at theconcert precedingBarack Obama'sinauguration as the44th President of the United States. They played "Pride (In the Name of Love)", a song which references theassassination ofMartin Luther King Jr., and "City of Blinding Lights".^[9]
On 19 January,Dave Fanning conducted the worldwide premiere of theU2 single "Get on Your Boots" onThe Colm & Jim-Jim Breakfast Show onRTÉ 2fm.^[10]
On 20 January, it was reported that thousands ofeuro worth of equipment owned by the bandFred had been stolen from their van parked across from Anglesea Garda Station inCork, just as the band were to begin a North American tour.^[11] The missing gear was recovered within 48 hours.^[12]
On 28 January, the 2009Meteor Music Awards was launched and thenominations announced.^[13]^[14]^[15]
Also on 28 January,Kings of Leon became the first act scheduled to appear atOxegen 2009 to be announced. It was the second consecutive year in which this occurred.^[16]^[17]
On 30 January, four more acts were announced forOxegen 2009. These wereSnow Patrol,^[18]Katy Perry,Bloc Party andThe Script.^[19]

February

[edit]

On 1 February, theIrish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) took over the administration of the rights of the Irish mechanical rights society, MCPSI.^[20]
On 5 February, the reformedBlur were announced as one ofOxegen 2009's headliners in what will be their only Irish appearance of the year^[21]^[22] and their first in Ireland since three shows in theOlympia Theatre, Dublin in 2003.^[23]
ThePriest Feast Tour featuringJudas Priest,Megadeth andTestament played two Irish shows in February 2009,^[24] prior to the start of its seven-concert UK run. The dates were February 10 at theO₂ inDublin and February 11 at theOdyssey Arena inBelfast.^[25]
On 12 February,RTÉ 2XM featured the world premiere of the title track fromU2'sNo Line on the Horizon album.^[26]
On Friday, 13 February, the Irish-owned music channelBubble Hits burst.^[27]
Also on 13 February, ten more acts were announced forOxegen 2009:Pete Doherty,Razorlight,Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds,Elbow,Yeah Yeah Yeahs,The Ting Tings,White Lies,Fight Like Apes,Pendulum andJason Mraz.^[28]^[29]^[30]
On 15 February, theIrish Film and Television Awards took place in theBurlington Hotel inDublin.David Holmes won an IFTA for hisHunger score, whilstMaria Doyle Kennedy won in the Best Supporting Actress category for her part inThe Tudors.^[31]
On 16 February, the 20-store Irish music retail chain,Golden Discs, enteredexaminership with debts of €9.5 million.^[32]
On 19 February, a new batch of acts, includingBlondie,Simple Minds,Crosby, Stills & Nash,Bell X1,Des Bishop andMick Flannery/John Spillane, were announced forLive at the Marquee inCork.^[33]
Kaiser Chiefs did theO₂ on 19 February, with support fromBlack Kids.^[34]
The Killers played theO₂,Dublin on February 20, 2009, as part of a UK and Ireland arena tour.^[35] Tickets for the entire tour sold out within hours after going on sale on 10 October 2008.^[36] The band opened the show with their single "Spaceman", with the encore including "When You Were Young".^[37]
U2 brought London to a standstill on 27 February, the same day of the Irish release of their albumNo Line on the Horizon. The band performed a surprise rooftop show in front of 5,000 fans during the evening rush hour on top of theBroadcasting House inRegent Street, consisting of the songs "Get on Your Boots", "Magnificent", "Vertigo" and "Beautiful Day".^[38]
Snow Patrol did theO₂ on 28 February.

March

[edit]

U2 released their twelfth studio albumNo Line on the Horizon internationally on 2 March 2009.^[39] It was released in five editions – standard CD, double vinyl and three limited editions.^[40] The band then embarked on a world tour following the release of what was the follow-up to their 2004 album,How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.^[41]^[42] It was claimed that the band would play three shows inCroke Park,Dublin in front of 240,000 people.^[43] In January the band warned fans against buying fake concert tickets from bogus websites.^[44] From 2 – 6 March, the band partake in a week-long residency on theLate Show with David Letterman, a television talk show in the United States.^[45]
On 3 March, eleven new acts were added to the line-up forOxegen 2009. These wereLady Gaga,Manic Street Preachers,Florence and the Machine,TV on the Radio,The Game,Ladyhawke,James,Foals,Of Montreal,Friendly Fires andSqueeze.^[46]
On 4 March, theChoice Music Prize forIrish Album of the Year 2008 was awarded toJape for the album,Ritual, during a live ceremony atVicar Street,Dublin.^[47]^[48]^[49]^[50]^[51]^[52]^[53]
On 5 March,Oxegen 2009 was officially launched, with an initial stage breakdown unveiled and a number of new acts announced. These includedNine Inch Nails,Jane's Addiction,Pet Shop Boys,Glasvegas,The Saturdays,Doves,Eagles of Death Metal andGod Is an Astronaut.^[54]^[55]^[56]^[57]
On 9 March,U2 announced details of their World Stadium Tour with approximately 25 shows in Europe and 25 in North America beforeChristmas. European ticket sales commenced on 14 – 15 March with the Irish leg due to consist of a three-night run inCroke Park,Dublin on 24, 25, 27 July. The band said they would play surrounded by their audience.^[58]
From 13 to 22 March, nearly twenty Irish acts performed atSouth by Southwest inAustin, Texas, United States.^[59]
On 17 March, the2009 Meteor Awards took place at theRDS inDublin.The Script won two awards, Best Irish Band and Best Irish Band fortheir self-titled debut album.^[60]^[61]^[62]^[63]
Also on 17 March, "In the Name of the Grandfather", an episode ofThe Simpsons guest starringGlen Hansard premiered in Ireland ahead of its U.S. broadcast, the first time that this had ever happened.^[64]^[65]^[66] The episode sees the Simpsons travelling to Ireland where a drunkenHomer andGrandpa buy a pub.^[67]
On 20 March, tickets forU2's first twoCroke Park shows on 24 and 25 July sold out within forty minutes of going on sale, with a third show announced within five days.^[68]^[69]
According to theDaily Mirror,Tina Turner would perform two shows at the newly refurbishedPoint Theatre,Dublin in 2009. A third concert was added at a later date. Tickets were expected to go on sale in August 2008 and might have cost up to €150.^[70]Hot Press concluded that Turner would be in Dublin fora theatre show in March 2009 but was less certain of the venue, stating that it waslikely to take place at the refurbished Point. Turner, who officially retired from live performance eight years ago, decided to tour again after performing at theGrammys withBeyoncé. “The response was overwhelming,” she said. “Everywhere I went people were asking me when I was going back on tour again. So after a lot of thought and planning we announced an American tour. Now Europe beckons!”^[71] On 28 August 2008, after three months of uncertainty, a 26 March date was announced, with tickets (priced between €91.25 and €156.25) going on sale on Thursday 4 September 2008.^[72]

April

[edit]

On 15 April,Electric Picnic 2009 was launched, with acts announced includingOrbital,The Flaming Lips,Basement Jaxx,Madness,Klaxons,Bell X1,Fleet Foxes andMGMT.^[73]
On 17 April, tickets forElectric Picnic 2009 went on sale.^[74]
On 18 April,AC/DC played theO₂,Dublin as part of theirBlack Ice World Tour. When tickets, priced €67.70, went on sale on 17 October 2008 – the same day that their first studio album in eight years,Black Ice, was released in Ireland – they sold out within two minutes flat.
On 22 April, the line-up forCastlepalooza 2009 was announced, includingDavid Kitt,Dark Room Notes,Project Jenny, Project Jan,R.S.A.G.,Channel One,Robotnik,The Lost Brothers,Noise Control,8 Ball,Glint andLe Galaxie.^[75]^[76]
On 28 April,Calvin Harris,Noisettes,The Saw Doctors,The Coronas,The Blizzards,The Answer,The Horrors,Iglu & Hartly,Starsailor andSpinnerette were added to theOxegen 2009 line-up.^[77]La Roux cancelled citing "touring commitments.^[78]

May

[edit]

On 5 May, the full line-up for 2009'sSlane Concert was announced. It includedThe Prodigy,Kasabian andThe Blizzards being announced assupport acts for headliner,Oasis.^[79]
On 5–6 May,Bob Dylan played two shows at theO₂,Dublin.^[80]^[81]
On 7 May, more dance acts, includingFelix da Housecat andThe Japanese Popstars, were announced forOxegen 2009.^[82]
On 13 May,Brian Wilson,Röyksopp,Amadou & Mariam,The Wailers,Fionn Regan,Mundy,James Murphy and Pat Mahoney ofLCD Soundsystem,A Flock of Seagulls,Bell Orchestre,The Field,Jeffrey Lewis,Marina and the Diamonds andRichmond Fontaine were announced forElectric Picnic 2009.^[83]^[84]
On 14 May, the 2009Indie-pendence was launched, with headlinersSuper Furry Animals andOcean Colour Scene amongst the initial acts announced.^[85] Admission fees were charged for the first time as the festival lost its free status.^[86]
Also on 14 May,Therapy?,Tinchy Stryder,Boys Noize andFever Ray (Karin Dreijer Andersson ofThe Knife) were all announced forOxegen 2009.^[87]
From 14 to 17 May,The Great Escape took place inBrighton, England. Irish acts to perform includedBell X1,Villagers,And So I Watch You from Afar,Fight Like Apes,Valerie Francis, Panama Kings,Angel Pier,Iain Archer andGeneral Fiasco.^[88]
On 29 May, the line-up for the 2009Le Chéile was announced, featuringLisa Hannigan,Delorentos,Fight Like Apes,Mundy,Declan O'Rourke andJason Byrne.^[89]

June

[edit]

ExRevs front man Rory Gallagher won the award of Best Album of 2009 fromLanzarote's English language radio stationUKawayFM for his solo albumGod Bless the Big Bang.^[90]
On 6 June,Elton John playedThomond Park inLimerick.^[91]
On June 12,Def Leppard andWhitesnake played theO2 Arena with support fromJourney andTesla.^[92]
On June 13,Take That playedCroke Park with support fromThe Script.^[93]
Slane 2009 took place on 20 June. It was headlined byOasis with support fromThe Prodigy.^[94]^[95]Kasabian,Glasvegas andThe Blizzards also performed.^[96]
Live at the Marquee took place inCork in June and July.^[97]
On 22 June, the full line-up forIndie-pendence was announced.^[98] Panama Kings,Pocket Promise,SetMaker,Nicole Maguire andGillian Verrechia were added on 26 June 2009.^[99]
Thedeath ofMichael Jackson on 25 June 2009 led to reactions from Ireland.Hot Press made its three Jackson covers (from 1984, 1987 and 1988) available for download and promised to upload the interviews to its site.^[100]Louis Walsh, a fan, toldHot Press that he "purposely avoided the media in the immediate aftermath of Jackson's death, as he didn't want to be quoted as an expert on the life of a man he'd only met once".^[101]Mick Pyro dubbed Jackson "the best singer who ever sang on record".^[102]The Edge spoke of meeting him.^[103]
From 26 to 28 June, several Irish musical acts performed atGlastonbury Festival, includingFight Like Apes (Queen's Head Stage on 28 June),General Fiasco (John Peel Stage on 26 June),Lisa Hannigan,Two Door Cinema Club,Imelda May,Sharon Corr,In Case of Fire andThe Script.^[104]
AC/DC playedPunchestown Racecourse,County Kildare on 28 June,^[105]^[106]^[107] their biggest Irish show to date and their first in the country since 1996.^[108] It was described beforehand as "one of the biggest outdoor concerts of the summer".^[109] They were supported byThin Lizzy andThe Answer.^[110] Thin Lizzy later cancelled after drummerTommy Aldridge broke his collarbone in a cycling accident, withThe Blizzards taking their place at short notice.^[111]
On 30 June,U2 began theirU2 360° Tour, their first world tour for three years, with a show at theCamp Nou inBarcelona.^[112]^[113] They played under a fifty metre tall "claw" covered in lasers in front of 90,000 people.^[114]^[115]Dave Fanning described it as "perfect, you couldn't ask for more [...] fantastic [...] an amazing show".^[116]

July

[edit]

On 4 July,Rod Stewart playedThomond Park inLimerick.^[117]
Oxegen 2009 took place from July 10–12 atPunchestown Racecourse inNaas,County Kildare.
On 12 July,Bruce Springsteen played theRDS inDublin. The show began at 20:05 and lasted for three hours, with thirty songs being played.^[118]^[119]
U2 360° Tour atCroke Park
- U2 played Croke Park,Dublin on 24, 25 and 27 July, supported byGlasvegas andDamien Dempsey,Kaiser Chiefs andRepublic of Loose,Bell X1 andThe Script respectively.^[68]^[69]^[120]^[121]^[122]^[123]^[124]^[125]^[126]RTÉ 2fm played archived interviews withDave Fanning from 1979 to 2009 before the shows began.^[127]
- Gates opened at 18:00 for the first show on the 24th,^[128] with 23 songs being performed, including "The Unforgettable Fire" (rarely played live), and references toBrendan Behan,The Beatles,The Clash,The Corrs,The Rolling Stones and a speech byArchbishop Desmond Tutu included on the night.^[129] Those in attendance wore a mask bearing the image ofAung San Suu Kyi when U2 played their song "Walk On", whilst there was a tribute toRonnie Drew as well.^[130]Bono referred toHill 16 as the "rubble of revolution".^[131] The last songs of the night were "With or Without You" and "Moment of Surrender".^[132]
- The final show on the 26th coincided with heavy traffic as a result of the rush hour, the opening of anIKEA store inBallymun and a new bus gate operating for the first time inCollege Green.^[133]
- There were protests afterwards by disgruntled residents who objected to the quick dismantling of the stage in preparation for severalfootball matches scheduled to take place at the venue the following weekend.^[134]^[135]^[136] There were fears that the next show on the tour inGothenburg would have to be cancelled due to the delay.^[137]^[138]^[139]
- Fourteen U2 albums occupied theIrish Albums Chart following their Croke Park shows, whilstThe Script, one of the acts who supported U2, reached 52 consecutive weeks in the same chart on 7 August.^[140]
On 21 July,Lisa Hannigan'sSea Sew album was nominated for theMercury Prize.^[141]^[142]^[143]^[144]^[145]^[146]^[147]^[148] It lost toSpeech Debelle'sSpeech Therapy album on 8 September 2009.^[149]
Le Chéile took place inOldcastle,County Meath from 28 July until 3 August, featuring artists such asLisa Hannigan,Mundy,Declan O'Rourke,Delorentos andFight Like Apes.^[150]
On 30 July,Hot Press.com andRTÉ.ie hosted a live web transmission byArctic Monkeys which featured tracks from their third album,Humbug.^[151]^[152]^[153] RTÉ.ie also webcast the animated video forColdplay single "Strawberry Swing".^[154]
On 30 July,Noel Hogan revealed in aHot Press interview that he had been sending "a few little bits" to fellow member ofThe Cranberries,Dolores O'Riordan, and indicated that the band may reform.^[155]

August

[edit]

Metallica playedMarlay Park,Dublin on 1 August in a show originally intended forFairyhouse.^[156] Support was provided byAvenged Sevenfold,Alice in Chains, andMastodon.^[157]^[158] The performance by Alice in Chains was named as the Ticket Gig of the Week byThe Irish Times.^[159]
Fatboy Slim playedMarlay Park,Dublin on 2 August, with support fromDavid Guetta,Dizzee Rascal andCalvin Harris.^[160]^[161]Zane Lowe was also due to appear but pulled out due to illness and was replaced withBitches with Wolves.^[162] Fatboy Slim's first song at Marlay Park was "Praise You".^[163]
On 6 August, the line-up forCois Fharraige was announced, with tickets going on sale on 11 August. It featured acts such asDoves,The Zutons,Newton Faulkner,Noah and the Whale,The Hold Steady,Stereo MCs,The Lightning Seeds andJerry Fish & The Mudbug Club.^[164]The Blizzards andLaura Izibor were later added on 21 August.^[165]
On 8 August,U2 topped the Billboard Hot Tours list after five shows in theAmsterdam ArenA andCroke Park which grossed$41.3 million, more than twice as much asMadonna in second place.^[166]
On 14 August, it was thought thatU2 had set a new attendance record for aWembley Stadium concert during the first UK show of theirU2 360° Tour.^[167]^[168] The previous figure was 5,000 less and was set in 1995 byRod Stewart then equalled byFoo Fighters in 2008.^[167]^[168]
On 23 August,Snow Patrol headlinedV Festival inHylands Park, UK, afterOasis cancelled withviral laryngitis.^[169]^[170]

September

[edit]

On 3 September, Peter Crawley ofThe Irish Times wrote a negative review of aChris de Burgh concert in theGaiety Theatre, Dublin in that newspaper. De Burgh later circulated a letter attacking the review and reviewer.^[171]^[172]^[173]
Electric Picnic 2009 took place from September 4–6.
Cois Fharraige took place from 11 – 13 September.
On 14 September,Coldplay played thePhoenix Park inDublin.^[174]^[175]Elbow andWhite Lies supported.^[176]^[177]
On 23 September 2009, a report from the UK'sMusic Week revealed thatThe Corrs albumTalk on Corners was the twentieth best selling album in that country's chart history and the top selling Irish album there. Albums bySnow Patrol andU2 also featured in the top fifty.^[178]
24 September—Arthur's Day: The 250th anniversary of the signing of a lease byArthur Guinness fora brewery at St James's Gate inDublin. Events organised byDiageo get underway in Dublin,Kuala Lumpur,Lagos, New York andYaoundé.^[179]^[180]^[181]^[182] International performers who came to Dublin for the occasion includedTom Jones,Ronnie Wood,The Kooks,Paolo Nutini andThe Enemy.^[183] The British music magazineNME referred to it as a "piss-up in a brewery".^[184]
On 24 September,U2 set a new all-time attendance record of 84,472 at their second concert at New York City'sGiants Stadium during the American leg of theirU2 360° Tour. They beat a previous record set byPope John Paul II in 1995, announcing their achievement from the stage.^[185] They also announced their first ever appearances in Russia and Turkey for 2010.^[185] British fans, upon noticing a lack of any further dates in their country, began to speculate about the possibility of U2 "hitting the festival circuit" as the music weeklyNME termed it.^[186]

October

[edit]

On 3–4 October,The Music Show took place at theRDS,Dublin.^[187]
On 5 October,The Cranberries announced their first live shows since their reformation, a 19-date tour across several cities in Canada and the United States.^[188]
On 10 October, Boyzone singer Stephen Gately dies while on holiday with partner Andrew Cowles in Majorca. He was 33.
On 13 October, the reformedSpandau Ballet played theO₂,Dublin in the first date of their planned world tour.^[189]^[190]^[191]^[192]^[193]
On 16 October,Dublin to Gaza – "One concert, two cities", abenefit concert being held in aid of theGaza Strip's latest bombardment byIsrael, took place inDublin and be broadcast live inGaza City.^[194] It was organised by documentary makerDearbhla Glynn and featured performances from artists such asKíla,Liam Ó Maonlaí andShadia Mansour.^[194]
From 16 to 18 October,Hard Working Class Heroes took place.^[195]^[196]^[197]
On 25 October,U2 had theirU2 360° Tour show from theRose Bowl inPasadena, California, U.S., streamed live on YouTube in sixteen countries, including Ireland.^[198]^[199]^[200]^[201]
On 31 October, a statue was erected inTralee and an album,A Friend of Mine, was released in memory ofChristie Hennessy as the second anniversary in December 2007 approaches.^[202]

November

[edit]

On 5 November,U2 performed a mini-concert comprising four songs at theBrandenburg Gate in Germany to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the fall of theBerlin Wall as part of theMTV Europe Music Awards.^[203]^[204] A special wall was built to keep any unwanted people out for the occasion.^[205]^[206]
On 6 November,The Killers releasedLive from the Royal Albert Hall. The live DVD features footage from their headlining performance atOxegen 2009.^[207]
On 15 November,Yusuf Islam opened his first world tour in 33 years atThe O2, giving his debut Irish concert.^[208] The show was controversial, with many audience members walking out in protest at the performance.^[209]^[210] Yusuf returned to discuss the controversy onThe Late Late Show the following month.^[211]

December

[edit]

On 1 December,Vicar Street andCyprus Avenue were the main winners at theLive Music Venue of The Year Awards.^[212]
On 3 and 5 December,Horslips played their first live shows since 1980, at theOdyssey Arena,Belfast and theO₂,Dublin.^[213]
On 4 December, early bird tickets for the 2010Electric Picnic andOxegen music festivals went on sale.^[214]^[215] Oxegen tickets went on sale at2007 prices as the organisers attempted to generate interest.^[216]
On 8 December,Sinéad O'Connor, ina letter toHot Press, asked for the resignations ofPope Benedict XVI andTaoiseach Brian Cowen and for thePapal Nuncio to be expelled by theGovernment of Ireland, saying Church officials were "not fit to call themselves representatives of Christ. They represent nothing but evil anymore" and that Cowen had "no testicles in the matter" of clerical sexual abuse of children.^[217]
On 10 December,Depeche Mode played theO₂,Dublin.^[218] Tickets went on sale on 27 March, with 6,000 being sold within forty minutes.^[219]
On 12 December,The Blizzards played theOlympia Theatre,Dublin, in their biggest headline show to date.^[220] The show sold out several months in advance.^[221] They were supported byEver27.^[221]
On 20 December,Paul McCartney played theO₂,Dublin, in his first Irish concert since his May 2003 concert which was his first Irish show since he played withThe Beatles in the 1960s.^[222]^[223] The concert was part of an eight-date tour called Good Evening Europe.^[222]^[223] The show was attended by industry professionals such asIan Dempsey,Dave Fanning,Ryan Tubridy andLouis Walsh who flew in especially from the UK.^[224]^[225]Evening Herald reviewer Chris Wasser described the show as "an astonishing performance, and a late – but by all means, welcome – contender for gig of the year, if not the decade".^[224] Eamon Sweeney of theIrish Independent called it "one of the finest live performances of recent memory [...] It really doesn't get any better than this".^[226] Tony Clayton-Lea ofThe Irish Times said: "If there was one member of the audience who went home in a grumpy mood, then truly they were the Christmas Grinch".^[227]
On 24 December,Bono,Glen Hansard,Mundy andDamien Rice participated in abusking session onGrafton Street,Dublin alongside volunteers who were raising money for theSimon Community.^[228]^[229]

Bands disbanded

[edit]

Delorentos(announced on 17 February)^[230]^[231]^[232]
The Dagger Lees(announced on 17 February)^[233]
Giveamanakick(announced 17 August)^[234]
Oppenheimer(announced on 12 December)^[235]

Bands reformed

[edit]

3/4 ofThe Cranberries^[236]
Little Palace^[237]
Delorentos(announced 22 April)^[238]^[239]
Bob Geldof andThe Boomtown Rats (temporary)^[240]
The Lookalikes (temporary)^[241]
All quarters of The Cranberries(announced 26 August)^[242]

Albums & EPs

[edit]

Below is a list of notable albums & EPs released by Irish artists in Ireland in 2009.

This list of songs or music-related items isincomplete; you can help byadding missing items.(October 2021)

Issue date	Album title	Artist	Source	Sales	Notes
__ January	A Fire to Scare the Sun	Declan de Barra			His second album, featuringCora Venus Lunny, theRTÉ Symphony Orchestra’s James Dunne,Kíla’s Brian Hogan andMary Barneccutt from theVyvienne Long Band.
26 January	Some Kind of Kick	The Things			Released on Nicotine Records.
5 February	Dolls and Jigsaws	Aoife Moriarty	^[243]
6 February	100 Midnights	The Mighty Stef			Released onFirstborn Recordings.
13 February	Everyday Demons	The Answer	^[244]		Released byAlbert Productions.
20 February	Blue Lights on the Runway	Bell X1	^[245]
20 February	Coffee Houses	Television Room			Released onFaction Records.
23 February	Untitled	Estel	^[246]
27 February	No Line on the Horizon	U2	^[247]	484,000 copies in its first week^[124]	Artwork Debuted at the top of the US charts, the band's seventh number one album in that country. Debuted at #1 in the UK. #1 in thirty countries internationally.^[124]
6 March	Hands	Emmet Scanlon and What the Good Thought
6 March	Aye Aye Aye Aye	The Kinetiks			Recorded withGareth Mannix and featuring the lead track "Lightbulb" and bonus cuts of previous singles "Bite the Bullet" and "Shuffle Your Feet".
7 March	Beware of the God	Paranoid Visions	^[248]		Eleven-track third album released three years after the band's official reformation, including the single "Missing in Action", which was one of the winners of theHot Press/Tisch competition, the prize of which was a chance to have a professional quality music video made for them.
9 March	Let the Truth Be Told	Laura Izibor	^[249]		Released onAtlantic Records.
20 March	And So I Watch You From Afar	And So I Watch You From Afar	^[250]		Released onSmalltown America Records.
20 March	To The Pine Roots	Iain Archer	^[244]		Full release to the nine-track album sold the previous year on the internet. Released onBlack Records.
20 March	Trauma Themes Idiot Times	Jinx Lennon	^[251]^[252]
20 March	Crooked Timber	Therapy?	^[253]
27 March	The Nightsaver	David Kitt			Artwork and tracklisting. Kitt's sixth studio album.
__ April	TBA	The Brothers Movement			Debut album by the band formerly known as Mainline.
10 April	We Love You Dark Matter	Dark Room Notes	^[254]		Released onGonzo Records. Recorded over a fortnight in July 2008 in a London studio, it features reworked versions of old songs such as "Love Like Nicotine" and "Shake Shake My Ceiling", and lead single "Let's Light Fires".Artwork.
17 April	Human Nature	Alphastates	^[255]		Second studio album. Due for a U.S. release in late 2009.
17 April	Listen	Christy Moore	^[256]		First studio album since 2005'sBurning Times.
17 April	Strawberry Blood	Mundy	^[257]^[258]^[259]		Fourth studio album.Artwork
24 April	The Beautiful Untrue	Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club	^[260]
8 May	I'll Wait for Sound	Director	^[261]^[262]		Completed in LA in late 2008.
__ May	U2: Medium, Rare & Remastered	U2	^[263]		2 CD package described as “a limited-edition collection of rare tracks and lost cuts spanning three decades in the studio”, containing songs such as "Love You Like Mad", "Smile", "Beautiful Ghost", "Xanax And Wine" and "Jesus Christ", previously only available as part of the digitalThe Complete U2 box set. Released on U2.com.
15 May	Transworld	Le Galaxie	^[264]		Debut EP.
29 May	Pages	Julie Feeney	^[265]		Artwork Launch details
29 May	Aliquot Strings	TUCAN	^[266]		Debut album from the instrumental duo.
30 May	Fragile Things (EP)	The Ambiance Affair	^[267]
5 June	Grenade	The Chapman Society	^[268]		Debut five-track EP.
5 June	Perfect Stranger	The Chapters	^[269]		Debut studio album.
6 July	Jiggery Pokery	The Duckworth Lewis Method	^[270]^[271]		Neil Hannon/Thomas Walsh collaboration set to be the first Irish concept album aboutcricket. To be released on1969 Records.Artwork
24 July	New Boots	Wallis Bird	^[272]		Released onRubyworks Records.
2 August	No Baggage	Dolores O'Riordan	^[273]		Second solo album, released onCooking Vinyl.
28 August	The Victory Dance	David Geraghty	^[274]		Second solo album.
Unknown	Democracy of One	Colin Devlin	^[275]
Autumn	TBA	The Aftermath			Worked on withNoel Hogan.
Autumn	TBA	D. C. Tempest	^[276]		Debut album.
11 September	No Bird Sang	Ger Wolfe	^[277]		Fifth album, produced byPeadar O'Riada, released onRaggedy Records, launched at Cork's Corner House Bar at 6 pm on Friday, September 11.
18 September	Trees Dream in Algebra	Codes	^[278]^[279]^[280]
18 September	Colours	Reemo	^[281]		Debut album, launched in The Village onWexford Street, Dublin, on 26 September.
18 September	After the Wedding	Sanskrit	^[282]^[283]		Artwork. Featuring banjos, accordions, trumpets and samples of the Pope's voice.
25 September	Tony Was an Ex-Con	The Coronas	^[284]		Revealed atOxegen 2009.
28 September	Singled Out	Eleanor McEvoy	^[285]		Compilation album of 15 singles from McEvoy's four albums and her new single "Oh Uganda".
__ September	Proceeds	Neosupervital	^[286]
__ September	TBA	Royseven			Completed in the band's ownDublin studio and released onRoadrunner Records.
9 October	You Can Make Sound	Delorentos	^[287]		Artwork. Released on DeloRecords label through ADA Global distribution.
10 October	Analogue Droids (EP)	Cowboy X	^[288]		Four-track EP, featuring the songs "Analogue Droids", "Squirrel Chase Ball", "Ed White's Glove" and "Villain In Disguise".
23 October	Strict Joy	The Swell Season	^[289]^[290]^[291]		Featuring members ofThe Frames and recorded with producerPeter Katis in hisConnecticut studio. US release due on 29 September 2009. General release date later pushed back from 25 September until 23 October 2009.
26 October	Yes Cadets (EP)	Yes Cadets	^[292]		Follow-up to the quartet's debut single "Canada" which was released at the beginning of September 2009.
__ November	Live, Love, Lost It — NYC	Mark Geary	^[293]		Live album recorded during the summer in New York City and released through Independent Records.
9 November	Up to Now	Snow Patrol	^[294]
13 November	Sidney Maxwell Williamson (EP)	Heritage Centre	^[295]
11 December	Little Revelations (rarities album); "Lucky Me", "My Villain Heart" and "Your Vandal" (box set of EPs)	Duke Special	^[296]
12 December	Ceol Cheann Dubhrann	Various	^[297]

TBA –Sharon Corr (Spring 2009)^[298]
TBA –The Dagger Lees (Summer 2009)^{To be recorded early 2009 with Detroit producerJim Diamond (The White Stripes,The Von Bondies andElectric Six).}
TBA –Hooray For Humans (Spring 2009)
TBA –The Minutes^[299]
TBA –Vyvienne Long^[300]
Blood Is Not Enough –Myp et Jeep^[301]
TBA –Supermodel Twins (2009)^[302]
Still Dangerous: Live at the Tower Theatre, Philadelphia –Thin Lizzy (2009)^[303]

Singles

[edit]

Below is a list of notable singles released by Irish artists in Ireland in 2009.

This list of songs or music-related items isincomplete; you can help byadding missing items.(October 2021)

Issue date	Song title	Artist	Source	Notes
5 February 2009	"Alphabet Soup"	Aoife Moriarty	^[304]
6 February	"There's a Darkness"	The Aftermath
6 February	"Under the Weather"	Emmet Scanlon and What the Good Thought
15 February 2009	"Get on Your Boots"	U2	^[305]	Date of official digital release, but released oniTunes on 19 January. Originally titled "Sexy Boots", it had reached #1 in Irish Airplay Charts within a week. Thevideo given an online debut on the website of theIrish Independent. #1 in Ireland, #12 in the UK –first time in 12 years a U2 single was not in the UK Top 10.
30 January 2009	"The Great Defector"	Bell X1	^[306]	Internationally released on 3 February 2009.
27 February 2009	"Postcards"	The Blizzards
5 March 2009	"Sometimes"	Reemo	^[307]^[308]	Produced byMarc Carolan and available onReekus Records.
13 March	"Awful Cold"	Republic of Loose	^[125]
25 March	"Champagne Glass"	Alphastates	^[255]	Mastered by Nilesh Patel, includes two Arveene & Misk remixes and taken from the trio's second studio albumHuman Nature
27 March	"Forgotten Man"	Peakin' Trippers	^[309]
23 April	"Bits & Bobs"	The Focus Group	^[310]
1 May	"Magnificent"	U2	^[311]	Released in CD, 7" and download formats, b-sides include "Breathe" (live fromSommerville Theatre,Boston) on the 7" and a live cut of "Vertigo" and aJustice remix of first single "Get on Your Boots" on the CD release.
1 May	"Sing It Without a Tune"	Director	^[262]	Taken from the albumI'll Wait for Sound and released through the band's ownCrapshoot Economics label
8 May	"I Will Protect You"	Heritage Centre	^[312]	Taken from their debut EPThe City, The Tree and The Fox released in February 2009.
22 May	"Love Is a Tricky Thing"	Julie Feeney	^[313]	Lead single from thePages LP.
22 May	"Trouble with a Capital T"	The Troublemakers	^[314]	Downloadable charity cover single recorded atWindmill Lane Studios forThe Raw Sessions. The track was released in aid of theIrish Youth Foundation, with a performance onThe Late Late Show on the day of its release. The group includes members ofThe Blizzards,Republic of Loose, Brian Hogan,Kevin Godley and some former members ofThe Horslips, who are the original performers of the song.
28 May	"I'm Every Woman"	Róisín Murphy/Sinéad O'Connor	^[315]	Chaka Khan cover version released forActionAid charity.
29 May	"Imagination"	D. C. Tempest	^[276]
12 June	"The Dry Law"	The Last Tycoons	^[316]
29 June	"The Age of Revolution"	The Duckworth Lewis Method	^[317]	Digital release.
2 July	"To My Bones"	Wallis Bird	^[272]	Video link
10 July	"This is Goodbye"	Codes	^[279]
10 July	"Dance with You"	Neosupervital	^[286]^[318]
__ August 2009	"Scream"	Jester	^[319]
__ August	"It's Not a Dream"	Sharon Corr	^[320]^[321]	Featured on theBBC Radio 2 A-list in its first week of release above other Irish artists such asDolores O'Riordan (C-List),Reamonn (C-List),The Duckworth Lewis Method (C-List) andU2 (B-List). ManagerJohn Hughes said: "Normally you expect to debut on the C-list and maybe progress to the B-list—but going straight to the A-list with a debut release is really special. It is a statement of how highly they rate the record". The song later entered the UK Airplay Top 50, climbing from #315 to #41 in one week.
__ August/September 2009	"Oh Uganda/Hands Off Him"	Eleanor McEvoy	^[285]
__ September	"Listen Dear"	The Coronas		Video directed by Simon Eustace. Lead single from the albumTony Was an Ex-Con.
11 September	"A Song from Earth"	Ger Wolfe		Lead single from the albumNo Bird Sang.
18 September	"City Lights"	Sleep Thieves	^[322]	The electronic trio's first proper single.
28 September	"Higher"	Jaded Sun	^[323]	Taken from the albumGypsy Trip.
__ October	"Into the Trees"	Miracle Bell	^[324]	Free download from band website.
__ October	"Rose"	Theme Tune Boy	^[325]	49 second single available in several formats including download. Released by Niall Quinn, formerly ofThe Hitchers andPennywhores, under the name Theme Tune Boy.
2 October	"Secret"	Delorentos	^[287]	From the albumYou Can Make Sound.
9 October	"And Another Thing..."	The Blizzards	^[326]	Inspired byEoin Colfer'sAnd Another Thing... novel fromThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Also released in the United Kingdom.
12 October	"True Love1980"	Ash	^[327]^[328]^[329]	Part one of theA-Z Series of fortnightly releases.
19 October	"Howl On"	Bap Kennedy	^[330]	Taken from the albumHowl On.
24 October	"Closer" "Wake Up"	Ever27	^[221]	Two singles released on the same day.
30 October	"Just Say Yes"	Snow Patrol	^[294]
__ November	"You Talked I Can Tell"	Alphastates	^[331]	Third single taken from the band's second albumHuman Nature. Released on Magi records with their two previous singles, "Human Nature" and "Champagne Glass".
6 November	"Out of the Darkness"	Ham Sandwich	^[332]
19 November	"Vinegar Joe"	Sounds of System Breakdown	^[333]	Available as a free download from the band's MySpace page.
23 November	"Comfort Zone"	The Answer	^[334]
__ December	"Wrong So Wrong"	Eleanor McEvoy	^[335]
2 December	"This Is to Mother You"	Sinéad O'Connor	^[336]	Re-recorded version of her 1997 song released in aid of Girls Education & Mentoring Services (GEMS) as an anti-child prostitution single. Produced by Doc McKinney andAli Shaheed Muhammad fromA Tribe Called Quest, extra vocals provided byMary J. Blige andSantigold.
11 December	"Sing to Me"	The Mighty Stef	^[337]
2009	"Raise the Dead"	Colin Devlin
2009	"Let's Light Fires"	Dark Room Notes	^[254]
2009	"Shine"	Laura Izibor
2009	"Big Bad Handsome Man"	Imelda May	^[338]
2009	"Time"	Michele Ann Kelly	^[339]	Dedicated to marriage equality.

Festivals

[edit]

Oxegen 2009

[edit]

Oxegen 2009 took place from 10 to 12 July. Tickets went on sale on 15 August 2008 and 6 March 2009.Snow Patrol,Blur,Kings of Leon andThe Killers headlined a line-up which also featuredBloc Party,The Specials,Nine Inch Nails,Jane's Addiction,Pet Shop Boys,The Script,Katy Perry,Lily Allen,Elbow,Razorlight,Squeeze,Manic Street Preachers,Eagles of Death Metal,Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds,TV on the Radio,James,Keane,Doves,Pete Doherty,The Ting Tings,Lady Gaga,Pendulum,Glasvegas,Foals,Yeah Yeah Yeahs,White Lies,Fight Like Apes andGod Is an Astronaut.

Electric Picnic 2009

[edit]

Electric Picnic 2009 took place atStradbally,County Laois from 4 – 6 September. On Friday 10 October 2008, a limited number of ‘Early Bird’ tickets went on sale at the 2008 price of €199, which included camping.^[340]^[341]Orbital,The Flaming Lips,Basement Jaxx,Madness,Klaxons,Bell X1,Fleet Foxes andMGMT were amongst the artists who performed.

Lord Henry Mountcharles is understood to be in "serious negotiations" with potential acts forSlane in 2009.^[342] At the time the concert was due to take placeAC/DC would have been in the middle of an 18-month world tour, their first in eight years, making the band one of the favourites to be the headline act.^[343] However, on October 14, 2008, the band confirmed a date at theO₂,Dublin which cast doubt on such a likelihood.^[344] Then, the following day,Oasis confirmed themselves as Slane 2009 headliners.^[345]Noel Gallagher and guitaristGem Archer flew by helicopter^[346] into theCounty Meath venue for a photoshoot and press conference.^[347] The show will take place on Saturday June 20, 2009.^[348] PromoterMCD had planned to keep the announcement secret but news was leaked on online bulletin boards and blogs^[349] with media reports beginning to leak the evening before.^[350]^[351]^[352]

Music awards

[edit]

2009 Meteor Awards

[edit]

The2009 Meteor Awards took place at theRDS inDublin on 17 March 2009. Below are the winners:^[353]

Award	Winner(s)
Best Irish Male	Mick Flannery
Best Irish Female	Celine Hopkins
Best Irish Band	The Script
Best Irish Album	The Script – The Script
Best Irish Pop Act	Westlife
Best Irish Live Performance	The Blizzards – Oxegen
Best National DJ	Ray Foley – Today FM
Best Regional DJ	Dermot, Dave & Siobhan – Dublin's 98
Hope for 2009	Wallis Bird
Most Downloaded Irish Song	Galway Girl – Mundy and Sharon Shannon
Best International Male	James Morrison
Best International Female	Duffy
Best International Band	Elbow
Best International Album	Only by the Night – Kings of Leon
Best Live International Performance
Industry Award	Niall Stokes^[354]
Humanitarian Award	Father Shay Cullen'sPREDA Foundation^[354]
Lifetime Achievement Award	Sharon Shannon^[355]