Andrew Strong - Westenra Arms Hotel

Soul and blues singer Andrew Strong plays the Westenra Arms Hotel on the Diamond in Monaghan town on Sunday, 6 September 2026, from 7pm, as one of the ticketed shows on the Harvest Time Blues Festival programme. Strong is best known as the singer who fronted the fictional soul band in the 1991 film The Commitments, recorded as a teenager in Dublin, and the 2026 show marks the 35th anniversary of that film. Tickets are €35.

What to expect

Expect a soul and blues set drawing on the Motown and Stax era material that made Strong’s name in The Commitments, played with a full backing band rather than a stripped down acoustic show. The performance is billed around the film’s 35th anniversary, so the soundtrack’s best known numbers should feature alongside material from Strong’s own career as a touring soul and blues vocalist over the past three decades. It runs inside Harvest Time Blues, Monaghan town’s long running blues festival that takes over the Diamond and nearby venues with live music from 3 to 7 September 2026, so expect a busy festival weekend around the hotel as well as the show itself.

Getting there

The Westenra Arms Hotel is on the Diamond in the centre of Monaghan town, within walking distance of the rest of the town’s pubs and restaurants. Parking around the Diamond is tight during the festival weekend, with the hotel car park the more reliable option.

While you’re in Monaghan

The Diamond is Monaghan town’s main square, so a night at the Westenra Arms sits right in the middle of the town centre and the rest of the festival’s activity that weekend. There is more to see in Monaghan and across Co. Monaghan.

Good to know

• Date: Sunday, 6 September 2026
• Time: 7pm
• Venue: Westenra Arms Hotel, The Diamond, Monaghan
• Price: €35
• Context: Part of the Harvest Time Blues Festival programme, 3 to 7 September 2026