Antony & The Johnsons for Ireland

No genre or, indeed, gender will be left unbent when Antony & The Johnsons make their Irish debut at Dublin's Vicar St (July 2) and Belfast's Empire Music Hall (3).

Originally from the sleepy English town of Chichester but now domiciled in New York, Antony won a solo deal with Rough Trade after guesting on Lou Reed’s Animal Serenade and The Raven albums.

A well-known Manhattan scenester, he was the first person Steve Buscemi called when he needed an androgynous inmate to sing to a crowd of inmates in his Animal Factory movie.

Variously compared to Bjork, Nina Simone and Billie Holiday, his Danielle Brigham-approved I Am A Bird Now is one of the first great albums of 2005.

Tickets for the live dates are on sale now form the usual outlets nationwide.