Metropolis – What Not to Miss This Weekend

Grace Jones

With her concert in The Olympia last month having gone down as one of the most bloody fabulous things to ever happen in this city, Jones will no doubt be bringing much of the same divinity to the Main Hall on Saturday, sans proscenium. With hits like the so-good-she-played-it-twice-and-we-still-wanted-more “Slave to the Rhythm” and “Pull Up to the Bumper” alongside material from 2008’s Hurricane, her set promises to be both a mind-blowing spectacle and a chance to see beyond the disco goddess facade to the multifariously talented, resourceful daughter of a clergyman that has made this woman from Spanish Town, Jamaica one of the last living icons of her era. DK

Saturday, Main Hall, 10pm

Trinity Orchestra Perform Bowie

With their latest project perhaps choosing them rather than the other way around, Trinity Orchestra’s Bowie tribute (arranged by Trinity student Seamus Byrne and Royal Irish Academy of Music graduate Aran O’Grady) will be a great starter to the Saturday. With the same set going down a storm at Electric Picnic (with former Trinity student Hozier’s guest appearance singing “Heroes” being a real treat), their festival cred is beyond refute. The Exam Hall concert earlier this month was a moving, skillful eulogy to Bowie’s work and impact. The avoidance of mawkishness and the guarantee of an audience that’s up for a dance inherent in this Saturday’s format will surely work in their favour. DK

Saturday, Main Hall, 3:30pm

Crystal Castles

This will be Crystal Castles’ first performance in Ireland since former frontwoman Alice Glass’ fraught departure in 2014. The band’s latest album, Amnesty (I), was released in August to lukewarm reviews. However, with Edith Frances joining songwriter and producer Ethan Kath, they still seem to be hitting all the right spots live, with their distinct deep, dreamy electro-industrial sound remaining a festival shoo-in. DK

Saturday, Shelbourne Hall, 7pm

DJ Shadow

Veteran Hip-Hop instrumentalist DJ Shadow will headline the opening night of the festival on Thursday. Most well-known for his debut album Endtroducing (1996) which was composed entirely of sampled music, he is now on tour for the 20th anniversary of that album with the recent release of Endtroducing Re-Emagined. Expect an atmospheric set in lieu with other artists such as Massive Attack and Portishead. KB

Thursday, Shelbourne Hall, 9.30pm

Girl Band

One of the most exciting and ground-breaking Irish bands to come out in the last few years, Girl Band have pushed the limits of what rock music can do. Their 2015 debut album Holding Hands With Jamie was voted Irish album of year on music blog Nialler9 and was praised internationally. Expect a deafening set of intelligent noise rock. KB

Friday, Shelbourne Hall, 5:50pm

Novelist

19 year old Grime artist Novelist has been described as “the poster child for the first generation of real grime kids” by DJ Logan Sama and is a founding member of The Square Crew. He has risen to fame through prominent airplay on BBC Radio 1Xtra and is now signed to XL records. KB

Friday, Serpentine Hall, 7.45pm

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