Damien Dempsey announces two Christmas gigs at Vicar Street, Dublin

Dublin stalwart Damien Dempsey is slated to return to the Vicar Street stage for his annual Christmas gigs, which were livestreamed previously as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The veteran Donaghmede singer-songwriter will perform on December 22nd and 23rd, 2021, with tickets going on sale this Friday, October 9th at 9am from ticketmaster.ie.

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In other news, Dempsey's Love Yourself Today tour is heading to the UK for a week long tour as part of the Doc 'n' Roll Films festival. The UK premiere will take place in London's Barbican Centre on October 30th and the team will travel across the country with a week of screenings in various cities after that.

Through the prism of the concert, the film follows Dempsey and three members of his audience. They share their stories, unravel their grief and find the light in the darkness through communal art.

With themes of addiction, loss but also hope and positivity, Dempsey’s music often reflects his fans' pain, alleviates their anguish and ultimately provides peace as they ‘sing all their cares away’.

Hot Press has called the film – which is part documentary, part concert film – "a powerful call for empathy and understanding. Love Yourself Today is an emotional celebration of modern spirituality and the power of music in healing.

“Singing and music are two of the few spiritual entities in the physical world, so we need to harness them and get people immersed in them," Dempsey explains, "because when people lose themselves at a gig, when everyone sings together, they carry a vibration away from the gig that spreads out like a ripple into others, it’s a way of healing."

“Pre-Covid, we filmed in Vicar Street and captured the energy and spirituality in the room," adds director Ross Killeen. "It was special, with Damo the conduit on stage. The first job of the film was to capture what happens in the room authentically. The second job was to go deep with our three characters Nadia, Jonathan and Packy as they opened up about things that have happened to them in their lives.

"I’m immensely proud of this film and hope it does justice to the incredible power of Damo’s music and what he stands for but also the honesty, bravery and integrity of our cast. I can’t begin to describe the journey of making this film but I’m really excited by the idea of people watching it together in a cinema soon.”

Check out the trailer below: