American singer-songwriter,
Josh Ritter, popular with Irish audiences, collapsed whilst performing on stage at
An Grianán Theatre in
Letterkenny on March 7.[4] Fears that he would be unable to complete his Irish tour proved unfounded and Ritter returned to finish his Letterkenny show on September 4, playing a second gig there the following night.[5] Later (Thursday September 6, 2007), whilst appearing on
Rick O'Shea's show on
2fm, he commented: "If there's one thing I've learned it's to not eat Chinese food in Letterkenny."
May
On May 1,
Snow Patrol's internationally anticipated fourth album Eyes Open was released. It spawned a number of hits including "
Chasing Cars", which gained significant popularity in the United States after being featured on the popular medical drama Grey's Anatomy.[6]
On Friday May 26, it was confirmed by
Slane Castle and music promoters
MCD that no concert would take place at the venue this year as a suitable act could not be found. It was the first time since the mid-1990s that it has not taken place in consecutive years, with
Eminem having pulled out in 2005.
Lord Henry Mountcharles had targeted
Americanrock group
Green Day as his preferred headline act, but the
Californian band were not touring in 2006. He had this to say: "There was no big band that could do it. The acts are not available."[7]
June
On Friday June 9,
Guns N' Roses made their first Irish appearance since May 1992, when they played the
RDS Arena with support from
Mötley Crüe.[8]
July
Oxegen 2006 got under way on the weekend of Saturday July 8 and Sunday July 9 and was memorable for hosting
The Who's first Irish performance in 35 years, the Irish debut of
Arctic Monkeys,
James Brown's final Irish festival performance whilst alive and the
Red Hot Chili Peppers fourth performance in Ireland in five summers.[citation needed]
On Friday September 1, the newly extended three-day
Electric Picnic got under way in
Stradbally,
County Laois. The festival was as usual broadcast on
RTÉ 2fm but for the first time ever it was also broadcast on
RTÉ television, where a large part of the Saturday and Sunday schedule of
RTÉ Two was taken up by the coverage, presented by
Tom Dunne and
Jenny Huston.[13]
Just three days later, on Monday November 6, the
U2/
Green Day duet "
The Saints Are Coming" was released.[14][15] A music video for the song, directed by
Chris Milk, was released on video site YouTube on Friday October 27, 2006. The music video showed the two bands playing at the Abbey Road Studio and at the Louisiana Superdome (though the footage from the live performance at the Superdome was overdubbed with the studio version of the song), intermixed with news footage of the displacement of residents after
Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The second half of the video showed an
alternate history in which
George W. Bush redeployed troops and vehicles from Iraq to New Orleans to help victims of the hurricane, with the military personnel fulfilling the titular role of the "saints." The video had more than two million views on
YouTube five days after its initial upload. The single received a
Grammy nomination for "Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group".
On Friday November 17,
U2's compilation album
U218 Singles was released. The track listing had been announced on Friday November 3.[16][17]
December
On Saturday December 9,
U2 played the final date of their
Vertigo Tour in
Honolulu,
Hawaii. After the show, U2 manager
Paul McGuinness announced that the band were planning to release their new album by late 2007.[18][19]
On Saturday 23 December, news broke that
Bono was to receive an honorary
British knighthood from
Elizabeth II for his humanitarian work and contribution to music. He was eventually presented with the award by the British ambassador to Ireland on Thursday 29 March 2007.[20]
The 11th Heineken Green Energy Festival at
Dublin Castle was headlined by
Snow Patrol who played on April 29.[29]Richard Hawley also played that day. The 2006 event also saw
Ian Brown and
Republic of Loose on April 30 whilst
Kaiser Chiefs and
Graham Coxon finished off the festival on May 1.[30] With many other acts playing around the city during the weekend as part of the "gig trail/fringe" (i.e. the other music venues around the city), Dublin once again became an international music centre for the duration of the festival.[31]
Slane 2006 was cancelled after a failure to find a suitable headline act. It was the first time since the mid-1990s that it has not taken place in consecutive years, with
Eminem having pulled out in 2005.
Lord Henry Mountcharles had targeted
Americanrock group
Green Day as his preferred headline act, but the
Californian band were not touring in 2006. Lord Henry had this to say: "There was no big band that could do it. The acts are not available."[7]
American singer-songwriter,
Josh Ritter, popular with Irish audiences, collapsed whilst performing on stage at
An Grianán Theatre in
Letterkenny on March 7.[4] Fears that he would be unable to complete his Irish tour proved unfounded and Ritter returned to finish his Letterkenny show on September 4, playing a second gig there the following night.[5] Later (Thursday September 6, 2007), whilst appearing on
Rick O'Shea's show on
2fm, he commented: "If there's one thing I've learned it's to not eat Chinese food in Letterkenny."
May
On May 1,
Snow Patrol's internationally anticipated fourth album Eyes Open was released. It spawned a number of hits including "
Chasing Cars", which gained significant popularity in the United States after being featured on the popular medical drama Grey's Anatomy.[6]
On Friday May 26, it was confirmed by
Slane Castle and music promoters
MCD that no concert would take place at the venue this year as a suitable act could not be found. It was the first time since the mid-1990s that it has not taken place in consecutive years, with
Eminem having pulled out in 2005.
Lord Henry Mountcharles had targeted
Americanrock group
Green Day as his preferred headline act, but the
Californian band were not touring in 2006. He had this to say: "There was no big band that could do it. The acts are not available."[7]
June
On Friday June 9,
Guns N' Roses made their first Irish appearance since May 1992, when they played the
RDS Arena with support from
Mötley Crüe.[8]
July
Oxegen 2006 got under way on the weekend of Saturday July 8 and Sunday July 9 and was memorable for hosting
The Who's first Irish performance in 35 years, the Irish debut of
Arctic Monkeys,
James Brown's final Irish festival performance whilst alive and the
Red Hot Chili Peppers fourth performance in Ireland in five summers.[citation needed]
On Friday September 1, the newly extended three-day
Electric Picnic got under way in
Stradbally,
County Laois. The festival was as usual broadcast on
RTÉ 2fm but for the first time ever it was also broadcast on
RTÉ television, where a large part of the Saturday and Sunday schedule of
RTÉ Two was taken up by the coverage, presented by
Tom Dunne and
Jenny Huston.[13]
Just three days later, on Monday November 6, the
U2/
Green Day duet "
The Saints Are Coming" was released.[14][15] A music video for the song, directed by
Chris Milk, was released on video site YouTube on Friday October 27, 2006. The music video showed the two bands playing at the Abbey Road Studio and at the Louisiana Superdome (though the footage from the live performance at the Superdome was overdubbed with the studio version of the song), intermixed with news footage of the displacement of residents after
Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The second half of the video showed an
alternate history in which
George W. Bush redeployed troops and vehicles from Iraq to New Orleans to help victims of the hurricane, with the military personnel fulfilling the titular role of the "saints." The video had more than two million views on
YouTube five days after its initial upload. The single received a
Grammy nomination for "Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group".
On Friday November 17,
U2's compilation album
U218 Singles was released. The track listing had been announced on Friday November 3.[16][17]
December
On Saturday December 9,
U2 played the final date of their
Vertigo Tour in
Honolulu,
Hawaii. After the show, U2 manager
Paul McGuinness announced that the band were planning to release their new album by late 2007.[18][19]
On Saturday 23 December, news broke that
Bono was to receive an honorary
British knighthood from
Elizabeth II for his humanitarian work and contribution to music. He was eventually presented with the award by the British ambassador to Ireland on Thursday 29 March 2007.[20]
The 11th Heineken Green Energy Festival at
Dublin Castle was headlined by
Snow Patrol who played on April 29.[29]Richard Hawley also played that day. The 2006 event also saw
Ian Brown and
Republic of Loose on April 30 whilst
Kaiser Chiefs and
Graham Coxon finished off the festival on May 1.[30] With many other acts playing around the city during the weekend as part of the "gig trail/fringe" (i.e. the other music venues around the city), Dublin once again became an international music centre for the duration of the festival.[31]
Slane 2006 was cancelled after a failure to find a suitable headline act. It was the first time since the mid-1990s that it has not taken place in consecutive years, with
Eminem having pulled out in 2005.
Lord Henry Mountcharles had targeted
Americanrock group
Green Day as his preferred headline act, but the
Californian band were not touring in 2006. Lord Henry had this to say: "There was no big band that could do it. The acts are not available."[7]