2006 in Irish music

Summary

January

• January 4 saw the 20th anniversary of the death of Phil Lynott, lead vocalist of legendary Irish rock band Thin Lizzy.

February

• U2 dominated the 2006 Meteor Awards held on February 2, winning three awards; Best Irish Band, Best Irish Album and Best Live Performance.
• February 20 saw the official announcement of the first acts that would perform at Oxegen 2006. These included The Who, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and Kaiser Chiefs.
• The first annual Choice Music Prize was awarded to Julie Feeney's album 13 Songs at Vicar Street on February 28, 2006.

March

• American singer-songwriter, Josh Ritter, popular with Irish audiences, collapsed whilst performing on stage at An Grianán Theatre in Letterkenny on March 7. Fears that he would be unable to complete his Irish tour proved unfounded and Ritter returned to finish his Letterkenny show on September 4, playing a second gig there the following night. Later, whilst appearing on Rick O'Shea's show on 2fm, he commented: ''"If there's one thing I've learned it's to not eat Chinese food in Letterkenny."''

May

• On May 1, Snow Patrol's internationally anticipated fourth album Eyes Open was released. It spawned a number of hits including "Chasing Cars", which gained significant popularity in the United States after being featured on the popular medical drama Grey's Anatomy.
• On Friday May 26, it was confirmed by Slane Castle and music promoters MCD that no concert would take place at the venue this year as a suitable act could not be found. It was the first time since the mid-1990s that it has not taken place in consecutive years, with Eminem having pulled out in 2005. Lord Henry Mountcharles had targeted American rock group Green Day as his preferred headline act, but the Californian band were not touring in 2006. He had this to say: ''"There was no big band that could do it. The acts are not available."''

June

• On Friday June 9, Guns N' Roses made their first Irish appearance since May 1992, when they played the RDS Arena with support from Mötley Crüe.

July

• Oxegen 2006 got under way on the weekend of Saturday July 8 and Sunday July 9 and was memorable for hosting The Who's first Irish performance in 35 years, the Irish debut of Arctic Monkeys, James Brown's final Irish festival performance whilst alive and the Red Hot Chili Peppers fourth performance in Ireland in five summers.

August

• This was the month that saw the addition of a brand new festival to the Irish music spectrum. On Saturday August 5 and Sunday August 6 Hi:Fi Ireland took place in Belvedere House, near Mullingar in County Westmeath. It was headlined by Razorlight, The Streets, The Prodigy, Ian Brown, Mylo, Paul Oakenfold and Audio Bullys.
• On the same weekend, Indie-pendence 06 took place in New Square in Mitchelstown, County Cork. It was a two-day affair, headlined by The Proclaimers, The Sultans Of Ping FC and The Frank and Walters. Wicklow-based electronica group Hybrasil also played at the festival.
• Forfey Festival in Northern Ireland had its first outing, in Enniskillen over 24–26 August. Featured Irish acts included Foy Vance, Sixstarhotel, Mojo Fury and We Are Knives.
• August also saw a host of concerts staged in Dublin's Marlay Park as part of the second year of Bud Rising's summer shows; Radiohead, Snow Patrol, Morrissey, Daft Punk, Faithless with special guests Kasabian, The Dandy Warhols, The Magic Numbers and Beck were among the performers.

September

• On Friday September 1, the newly extended three-day Electric Picnic got under way in Stradbally, County Laois. The festival was as usual broadcast on RTÉ 2fm but for the first time ever it was also broadcast on RTÉ television, where a large part of the Saturday and Sunday schedule of RTÉ Two was taken up by the coverage, presented by Tom Dunne and Jenny Huston.

October

• The inaugural Heinken Green Synergy Festival took place from October 4–8 in various clubs, bars and venues in Dublin City Centre. Performing acts included The Sunshine Underground, Giveamanakick, Ghostface Killah, Messiah J & The Expert, as well as The Fall, Fujiya & Miyagi, The Congos and Nouvelle Vague.

November

• On Friday November 3, a group of largely Irish musical artists release an album The Cake Sale for the charity Oxfam and the Ireland Make Trade Fair campaign. They were formed by Brian Crosby of Bell X1, and other contributing artists included Crosby's bandmates Paul Noonan and David Geraghty, Glen Hansard of The Frames, Damien Rice, Lisa Hannigan, Neil Hannon, Gemma Hayes and Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody.
• Just three days later, on Monday November 6, the U2/Green Day duet "The Saints Are Coming" was released. A music video for the song, directed by Chris Milk, was released on video site YouTube on Friday October 27, 2006. The music video showed the two bands playing at the Abbey Road Studio and at the Louisiana Superdome, intermixed with news footage of the displacement of residents after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The second half of the video showed an alternate history in which George W. Bush redeployed troops and vehicles from Iraq to New Orleans to help victims of the hurricane, with the military personnel fulfilling the titular role of the "saints." The video had more than two million views on YouTube five days after its initial upload. The single received a Grammy nomination for "Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group".
• On Friday November 17, U2's compilation album U218 Singles was released. The track listing had been announced on Friday November 3.

December

• On Saturday December 9, U2 played the final date of their Vertigo Tour in Honolulu, Hawaii. After the show, U2 manager Paul McGuinness announced that the band were planning to release their new album by late 2007.
• On Thursday December 21, Bell X1 announced that they would be playing Malahide Castle in Dublin on Saturday June 30, 2007, and then Live at the Marquee in Cork on Sunday July 1, 2007.
• On Saturday 23 December, news broke that Bono was to receive an honorary British knighthood from Elizabeth II for his humanitarian work and contribution to music. He was eventually presented with the award by the British ambassador to Ireland on Thursday 29 March 2007.

Bands formed

• Fight Like Apes

Bands disbanded

• JJ72
• Turn

Bands reformed

• Horslips
• The Stunning

Albums & EPs

Singles

• "Undercover" – Gemma Hayes
• "Something Outta Nothing" – Messiah J and the Expert
• "When The Bull Gores The Matador" – Messiah J and the Expert

Festivals

Oxegen 2006

Electric Picnic 2006

Hi:Fi Ireland

Heineken Green Energy

Garden Party 2006

Indie-pendence 06

Bud Rising

• August saw a host of concerts staged in Dublin's Marlay Park as part of the second year of Bud Rising's Summer shows; Radiohead, Snow Patrol, Morrissey, Daft Punk, Faithless, Kasabian, The Dandy Warhols, The Magic Numbers and Beck were among the performers.
• * Faithless played Marlay Park on Thursday August 17 with special guests Kasabian.Bud Rising Winter took place in Dublin and lasted for 7 days from Monday November 6 until Sunday November 12. Included in the festival line-up were the Irish debuts of Cansei de Ser Sexy and TV on the Radio, and the event was also headlined by Primal Scream, Brian Jonestown Massacre and newcomers Tapes 'n Tapes. Playing on November 7 in The Village were The Spinto Band, while The Futureheads played the Ambassador and Gnarls Barkley in Vicar Street the following night.

Download Festival

Live at the Marquee

Slane 2006

Music awards

2006 Meteor Awards

Choice Music Prize