MUSIC: The Waterboys to play pre-Christmas shows in Dublin

AIKEN Promotions has announced that The Waterboys will play two intimate shows in Dublin this December.

They will be in Vicar Street on December 3 and 4 while a third gig will take place in O’ Reilly Theatre, National Opera House, Wexford on December 5. Tickets for these unmissable shows will go on sale on Thursday, September 27 at 9am.

Few bands have changed as much as The Waterboys. Formed in 1983, on their first three albums Mike Scott sculpted a layered post-punk sound, culminating in 1985’s sky-scraping ‘This is the Sea’.

The early Waterboys sound was dubbed ‘The Big Music’ after a song on their second album, ‘A Pagan Place’. This style was described by Scott as “a metaphor for seeing God’s signature in the world”.

‘The Big Music’ either influenced or was used to describe a number of other bands including U2, Simple Minds, In Tua Nua, and Big Country.

Since then the music has never ceased to evolve, from the influential mix of Celtic, gospel, country and rock on the classic ‘Fisherman’s Blues’, to the fired-up poetic passion of 2011's ‘An Appointment with Mr Yeats’ and 2015's return to the rootsy, funky ‘Modern Blues’.