Iron & Wine, aka Sam Beam, has unveiled two concerts in Dublin and Belfast to support the release of his forthcoming record Light Verse, out 26 April via Subpop.

This autumn, Iron & Wine will play Belfast's Mandela Hall on 22 October 2024 before heading to Dublin for a gig in Vicar St on 23 October.

Known for his somber folk persuasion - which has earned him widespread acclaim and GRAMMY nods - Light Verse sees the artist changing gears, taking a more playful approach as he reflects on the pandemic. This hindsight granted Beam newfound agency as an artist, pedalled by a desire to 'lighten up' following such dark times.

“I feel blessed and grateful that I and most of my friends and family made it through the pandemic relatively unscathed compared to so many others, but it completely paralyzed the songwriter in me," Beam notes. "The last thing I wanted to write about was COVID, and yet every moment I sat with my pen, it lingered around the edges and wouldn’t leave."

With this new album, Beam’s lyrics draw on a series of fictional and personal insights, suffused with anguished characters and wide-eyed optimists, offering promise and a heaping dose of heartache, tears and laughter, life and love.

Taking stock in the album’s title, Beam quips, "Light verse is a form of poetry about playful themes that often uses nonsense and wordplay, and it’s my first official Iron & Wine comedy album!…. Just kidding…."

While this may be Iron & Wine’s most "playful" record, Beam infers that the title largely expresses the way the songs came from a place of joy were following the heaviness and anxiety of the pandemic.

Iron & Wine promises to share this joy and whimsy when he comes to Ireland this autumn for his Dublin and Belfast shows.

Tickets start from €27.00 and will go on sale this Friday 8 March at 10 AM via Ticketmaster and Singular Artists.