Arts & Culture

The popular songs and dance routines from Hannah Montana and High School Musical are coming to Ennis next month as Glór hosts a tribute show on July 3.The Hannah Montana & High School Musical Show comes to Ennis direct from a sell-out nationwide tour. This foot stompin’, all singin’ and dancin’ feast has a broad appeal and promises to have mums and dads on their feet. The production is packed with a wide selection of anthems by teen sensation Miley Cyrus, as well as favourite sing-a-long songs from the film phenomena of High School Musical 1, 2 and 3. This stage performance is the culmination of three months’ intensive choreography, vocal coaching and drama rehearsals, which is brought to the public by a team of fully trained young actors and performers. The show is produced by renowned entertainer Adrian McQuaid and novelist/scriptwriter Emma Heatherington, with choreographer Lynda Wright and vocal coach Jim McKeown who have over 20 years of experience …

After a rousing start to the series during the Fleadh Nua, the Riches of Clare lunchtime concert series continues in the Clare Museum, Ennis next Wednesday.This free concert will feature Kevin Finnucane on fiddle, Noel O’Donoghue on flute, John Canny on accordion and Mick Willis on piano and takes place from 1pm to 2pm. The free CD of last year’s concert series will be available throughout the summer series and admission to the gigs is also free. For further details, visit www.richesofclare.com or to receive text message reminders of upcoming events in the series, text RICHES to 087 419 92 93.

HAVING spent the first half of the year back in the studio, their debut album, Independence is set to hit the shops next month and with this Frantic Jack are bringing their nationwide tour to Brandon’s Bar, Ennis, on August 14. Both their album and third single Hold On on July 23 will be released the same day and with the success of their first two singles the band is hoping to scale the charts yet again.In the short space that this indie-rock band has been on the scene and since Frantic Jack brought their first EP release to the public eye last September, they have seen their first two single’s chart considerably well with Firefly reaching number 23 in October and Free raising the bar yet again to number in December in the official Irish charts.Consisting of five established musicians who all have a background in music, Darragh on vocals and guitar; James on keys and percussion and Pauric …

THE art students of Kilmartin Educational Services will be exhibiting a selection of their works at an upcoming art show in Limerick later this month.The event takes place in the Kilmartin Educational Services on Lower Mallow Street in Limerick on June 25 at 7pm and will include a selection of the art design and architecture student’s portfolio work.

CLARE bands are being encouraged to enter a competition to be in with a chance to win a slot at a major festival in Clapham Common in London on the weekend of July 24 and 25.They would be playing alongside legendary band, Doves and other leading acts at Ben & Jerry’s London’s Nuts about Fairtrade Sundae Festival.There are two warm-up slots up for grabs for unsigned bands to support alt rock band Doves, alt rock legend, Billy Bragg, indie rockers Frightened Rabbit and bands of the moment, Cherry Ghost, Exit Calm and Goldheart Assembly.To enter, log on to www.benjerry.ie/moosessions and upload a video or audio of their music. Fans can vote for them on www.benjerry.ie. The final two bands will be selected from a shortlist of the most popular entrants.

Since the release of their first album, The Priests have scooped the Guinness World Record for fastest-selling UK debut for a classical act and have been nominated for two classical Brits.They have played in venues across the world, playing live to 3,000 people in Sydney and to 6,000 people at a homecoming gig in Belfast in June 2009. Other accolades include a personal invitation to sing for The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall as well as a performance in the presence of President Mary McAleese and HM The Queen, for a peace and reconciliation charity.They have appeared on TV shows worldwide with artists from Tom Jones to The Killers including the The Late Late Show, BBC’s Jonathan Ross Show and the News at Ten with Sir Trevor MacDonald. The Priests take to the stage in the University Concert Hall, Limerick on Saturday. They will perform songs including Ave Maria, Pie Jesu, Amazing Grace and You’ll Never Walk …

Poet and publisher Noel King will read from his collection Prophesying the Past from Salmon Poetry, at The Café Gallery, Gort, this Thursday, starting at 8pm.There will be poetry and music from poet and musician Clare Sawtell and Mary O’Sullivan. The reading is one of a number of different events organised by the Western Writers’ Centre, Ionad Scribhneoiri Chaitlín Maude, over the coming months. Noel King was born and lives in Tralee and his poems have been published in more than 30 countries.“We are delighted to be able to have Noel reading from his first collection,” says Fred Johnston, the centre’s director. “He has given so much to other writers through his Doghouse Press.”Next month, renowned Breton publisher and poet Eve Lerner will read for the Western Writers’ Centre at Gort Pubic Library. Eve is a poet and translator, poetry editor of Hopala! Magazine, a sister magazine to Planet: The Welsh Internationalist, and also runs the L’Autre Rive poetry and …

She’s Out Of My League DIRECTED BY: Jim Field Smith STARRING: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, TJ Miller, Mike Vogel CERT: 15A In the movie league table, She’s Out Of My League is maybe a point above most loser-wins-the-girl flicks and sits above much of what passes for romantic comedy these days. And that just about makes it a half-decent film – which says something about the kind of stuff that’s passing through our cinemas.Jay Baruchel has been hanging around the fringes of the Judd Apatow ensemble for a while and he graduates to leading man here with some ease. He plays Kirk, the classic romantic failure, whose girlfriend Marnie (Lindsay Sloane) has just dumped him but continues to hang around his family home with her new boyfriend. Kirk works as an airport security screener at what is clearly the quietest terminal on earth, given the amount of time his colleagues get to spend chatting up every good looking woman who …