New season of Fanning at Whelan's is "the strongest yet"

Now entering its sixth season, Fanning At Whelan's has earned its reputation as a captivating medium for experiencing established acts and emerging Irish talent.

The show’s eponymous host Dave Fanning believes the 2025–26 run “tops everything that’s come before” - a confidence that stems from some star power in the first two episodes, which feature The Waterboys and Finneas.

“It’s a pretty strong line-up, as strong as we could get, really. We’ve got loads of stuff.

"I texted Mike Scott asking if he’d do the programme and he said yeah. “It was great, the full band came in. The band really, as you know, is Mike Scott and whoever he happens to have at the time. He’s got a really sound band this time, they really are flamboyant and they rock with two keyboards and all that kind of thing.”

Mike Scott

One of the first 2026 episodes will feature Fisherman’s Blues, marking the 40th anniversary of the album’s original recording sessions.

Finneas also makes an appearance, after what Fanning describes as a straightforward booking.

“We rang the mother and said get him in here so he came in with his American band and he did a couple of numbers and he did the conversation as well - it’s just a big long conversation,” he says. “Normally during the middle part is somebody talking about their favourite music but with Finneas and with Mike Scott I just let the interviews happen.”

Also appearing on the new season will be UK indie heroes Miles Kane and Declan McKenna, as well as a slew of rising Irish acts, including chart-toppers Amble, rock outfit Florence Road, singer-songwriter Nell Mescal and folksters Madra Salach.

Elsewhere, TV star Damian Lewis’ long-standing passion for music gets centre stage. As ever, the show’s genre palette is broad.

“This is the strongest line-up. Now, you think I’d say that every year. I never said it in previous years,” Fanning observes. “There’s such a wide variety. There really is We’ve always had a couple of rap artists in every single programme. I’m glad to have Curtisy and KhakiKid this time around.”

KhakiKid

In Fanning's eyes, nothing quite beats a live band. He cites alternative rockers Bold Love, Limerick's Theatre and trad-infused metal heads The Scratch as ones to watch out for.

“What I like, to be honest, is bands. To be blunt, bands fill up the screen. Bands are the reason to have nine cameras. It is a visual medium. I’d like to be able to show the bass guitar, I’d like to be able to show the keyboard player, all that kind of thing. But I mean, that’s just me being pathetic, really!”

He also touches on how it’s become harder for bands these days, underlining the shift in the charts away from groups towards solo pop acts. Much of that change, Fanning notes, is down to costs, which brings us back to why Fanning at Whelan’s began in the first place: as a means of supporting musicians who couldn't tour during the pandemic.

The Scratch with Dave Fanning

“In the past, If I was talking to a band who had just done five dates around Ireland, I'd say, ‘Did you make enough money kind of, you know, to make a single or an album?’

“Now it's like, ‘you didn't lose too much, did you?’ I don't think people necessarily invest as much as they used to in going to see a band and watching them grow all the way up. Regardless of how much people like to go and see a live band, they have other distractions.

“When Covid came along it was really pretty scary because so many people who wanted to do music went back to the factory, back to the office, emigrated or went back to studying.”

Recording the show during Covid meant artists had to play in an empty room, giving performances a distinct atmosphere. The setting, Fanning reveals, has its practical benefits too.

“We might do four bands a day,” he says. “We know we could fit six, but we give them more time, so they can do a song for the second time or the third time without getting embarrassed because there’s nobody there.”

Even so, Fanning says they may incorporate an audience in future. What remains the same is the tradition of spotlighting musical icons through archive interviews. Past series have featured Sinéad O’Connor and Noel Gallagher. This year Fanning revisits one of his many conversations with David Bowie, marking ten years since the passing of “the greatest singer of the 70s.”

• Fanning at Whelan's airs on Saturday's at 10pm on Vrigin Media 2. The show is also available to stream on the Virgin Media Player.