Gig of the week:
Harmonic: feat Grizzly Bear, Midlake, Camera Obscura and Villagers @ the Marquee, Friday 25 June at 8pm
This is not just the gig of the week but potentially gig of the year. Two of the finest contemporary bands in Grizzly Bear and Midlake are accompanied by serious rising Irish talent in Villagers and quirky Scottish act Camera Obscura. Highly recommended.

Philip Glass is one of the twentieth century's most famous and important composers. The New York native is remarkably successful at bringing classical music to a popular audience. This may be due to the many film soundtracks he has worked on, or his collaborations with high profile music artists such as David Bowie, Paul Simon and Aphex Twin.

The nightlife in Cork City is about to move to a new beat. The Brazilians are currently ripping it up in the World Cup and their influence will move into the night club! A major nationwide club night is arriving in Cubins Nightclub on Saturday 26 June. The Samba Carnival Party is arriving to continue its remarkable nationwide trek that has seen it play in venues all the way from Dundalk to Galway to Wexford.

[Sub]Merge is a new weekly club night taking place on Friday nights in the Liquid Lounge Club. The musical focus will be on the genres of wonky techno, hip hop, dubstep and general bass music, and will feature three areas of music at all times. The night will feature some of Ireland's finest talent, occasionally with international guests. The door price will always be €5 before midnight and €8 after.

Midlake are one of the headliners of the exceptional quartet of groups along with the dazzling Grizzly Bear, Camera Obscura and Villagers that make up the Harmonic night in the Marquee in a few weeks. Singer and songwriter for the group Tim Smith spoke to The Cork Independent about the band's jazz origins, the difficult recording process of the new album and the band's success in Europe

Recently, Black Sun celebrated a year in existence with a free DJ set. It usually fuses experimental alternative music with avant-garde films and this re-emergence of the almost monthly night is no exception.

In the beginning of punk in England, Don Letts was instrumental in fusing the ferocious raw power of punk with the bass grooves of dread. He was a huge direct influence on the Clash who fused raggae with punk in their later albums.

Though Al Green has previously played the Marquee, he is one of the standouts of the entire line up. He is a true musical legend, one of the greatest soul singers who has ever lived. His voice is beautifully expressive with a still impressive range that is uniquely his own.

Lucky Dragons are not a conventional band nor do they make music that could be described as common. The communal experiment that is Lucky Dragons started as a band around ten years ago in San Francisco.

Rarely Seen Above Ground aka Jeremy Hickey is a very talented one-man band hailing from Kilkenny. The multi-instrumentalist has impressed all who have seen him for the last few years and his first release 'Organic Sampler' was a much-feted Choice Music Prize nominated album in 2008. That album was a fantastic mix of Talking Heads, afrobeat and Joy Division.