There’s no such thing as a free lunch but Dublin City Council are bringing you the next best thing – free weekly lunchtime music sessions for the month of July.

Grab your lunch and your friends and come down to the beautifully renovated Civic Offices Amphitheatre every Thursday in July from 1 – 2pm.

Programmed in asssociation with IMC, First Music Conatct, Music Network and The Contempory Music Centre, there’s something for everyone from jazz to hip-hop and everything in between from some of Irelands best up and coming and established acts. 

It kicks off on Thursday 6th July with two excellent jazz acts handpicked by IMC.

Aleka

Aleka - vocals / Chris Guilfoyle - guitar / Barry Donohue - bass / Brendan Doherty - drums

“Hip cosmopolitan sounds… have a borderless, trans-national flavour, liberally spiced with bossa nova, downtown jazz, outlier pop, art rock and free improv” - The Irish Times

Aleka is a Romanian vocalist, cellist, composer and lyricist who draws influence from her home country, using folk melodies interspersed with jazz harmony and eastern rhythms as well as Debussy and Bella Bartok, inspired by her experience in the classical music world. The approach of the band may seem like it adheres to the traditional sentiments of a vocal jazz quartet however, it is influenced by a broad spectrum of styles from the roots of jazz to the contemporary reaches of pop music.

Aleka’s voice is a myriad of textures and sonorities. She spent time exploring bell canto technique as well as the nuances and colours of oriental music and soul. All of these influences and styles culminate in a refined vocal sound that is very personal. Aleka released her debut EP in November 2016, receiving a 4 star review in The Irish Times.

Cian Boylan Quartet

Cian Boylan - piano / Ben Castle - saxophone / Cote Calmet - drums / Dave Redmond - double bass 

Pianist Cian Boylan joins forces with the wonderful UK saxophonist Ben Castle and an enviable rhythm section for a very special jazz quartet performance, mixing original compositions with favourite jazz standards.  

Cian Boylan is a pianist, songwriter, composer, arranger and producer. A versatile musician, he is equally at home as a jazz and rock/pop session pianist as he is arranging and composing for orchestra, big band and smaller ensembles. He is also an experienced musical director and published songwriter and composer. 

“One of the most exciting, intelligent and structured musicians working in Ireland today” — BBC Radio Ulster on Boylan

British-born, Dublin-resident saxophonist Ben Castle intuitively strikes the perfect balance between studied skill and natural instinct.

A saxophonist, clarinettist, composer, songwriter and arranger, Castle has worked with many of the leading lights of the music world, including Duke Special, Radiohead, Matthew Herbert, Gregory Porter and Sting. In 2014, Castle released Over The Moon EP with his band The Tombola Theory, playing original pop music inspired by traditional jazz.