What’s on Saturday: Dimensions, Céilí House Live and Iiro Rantala

LAUNCH

Dimensions
Twisted Pepper, Dublin 10.30pm €15/€13
dimensionsfestival.com

The countdown is on for this year’s Dimensions festival, which takes place in Croatia, with thousands expected at the Fort Punta Christo in Pula at the end of August.

Tonight is the Dublin leg of the festival launch tour, with Belfast DJ and production dup Bicep, London producer MssingNo (the geezer behind XE2 for Goon Club Allstars), the Welcome crew, Mike Black and Al Murphy providing the soundtrack.

SINGER-SONGWRITERS

John Spillane & Ger Wolfe
Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre, The Naul, Co Dublin 7.30pm €20
seamusenniscentre.com

As if one smart and talented singer-songwriter from Cork isn’t good enough, along come two. This double headline bill is a match made in songwriter heaven – both Spillane and Wolfe have been plying their successful trades for more than several years. Expect good tunes, great banter, and plenty of laughter.

TRAD

Céilí House Live
National Concert Hall, Dublin 8pm €35/€30/€25/€18
nch.ie

St Patrick’s Festival returns to a venue that it has made its own in recent years for the national holiday. This promises to be a celebration of past, present and future, with Irish/Breton trio Triad, featuring Dónal Lunny, Pádraig Rynne and Sylvain Barou on bouzouki, concertina and Breton flute. Singer Karan Casey brings her voluminous songbook to the party, and Donegal trio Fidil bring an equally jampacked tune set. The Céilí House All Stars and sean nós singer Sibéal Davit will doubtless ensure that no bums remain on seats by night’s end.

JAZZ

Iiro Rantala
The Model, Sligo Also Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin on Sunday

Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala was the creative force behind the groundbreaking Trio Töykeät but since 2008 he’s been going it alone, defying the genre-police with his own classical-meets-jazz compositions. Fleet of finger and gleeful of intent, with a wide conception of what improvised piano can be, Rantala is the sort of player that makes every jaw in the room drop to the floor.