Fionn Regan

McHugh’s Music Venue, Drogheda, Co Louth Tonight 9pm €20 041-9835995

What a curious little guy Fionn Regan is. He came out of pretty much nowhere a few years ago with a beguiling, engaging debut album The End of History, a record so downright folksy and enchanting that it nabbed nominations for both the Mercury and Choice Prizes, as well as comparisons to the holy-folk pair of Nick Drake and (early) Bob Dylan.

Since then, it’s been something of a Louisiana hayride for the Bray singer-songwriter, as he negotiates a path between commercial success, critical plaudits and his own brand of oddity.

This gig is one of several highlights of the fifth Drogheda Arts Festival (which also features DJ Norman Jay on Sunday and Eliza Carthy on Monday).

One hopes that the venue and the audience are, respectively, acoustically tight and reasonably quiet for Regan’s often beautifully fragile type of music.

Can’t See That? Catch This

Bob Dylan, Tuesday/ Wednesday, Dublin