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music · Saturday 19 September 2026 · 8:00pm 
Eddi Reader and The Alan Kelly Gang at The Source Arts Centre
At The Source Arts Centre · Cathedral Street, Thurles, Co. Tipperary
At The Source Arts Centre · Cathedral Street, Thurles, Co. Tipperary
Scottish singer Eddi Reader, best known as the voice of Fairground Attraction and for three decades of solo folk and pop records since, brings her voice to Thurles on Saturday, 19 September 2026, backed by the Alan Kelly Gang. Alan Kelly is one of Irish traditional music’s leading button accordion players, and his band has built its reputation on tight, inventive arrangements around a folk repertoire. The pairing puts a Scottish folk-pop voice on stage with an Irish trad backing band at The Source Arts Centre.
Eddi Reader’s career runs from Fairground Attraction’s chart success in the late 1980s through solo albums that draw on Scottish folk song, jazz phrasing and pop songwriting. Her live shows move between her own written material and older songs she has reworked over the years, built around her voice rather than a fixed setlist. The Alan Kelly Gang brings a different energy, rooted in Irish traditional dance music but arranged for a full band rather than a session line-up, with Kelly’s accordion driving most of the set. Expect a two-part show in The Source Arts Centre’s 250-seat theatre, an intimate room with clear sightlines from every seat. The bar is open before the show and during the interval. This is a seated theatre concert rather than a session or a dance night, and past shows at this venue have started on time, so allow a few minutes to find your seat.
The Source Arts Centre is on Cathedral Street in Thurles town centre, a short walk from Thurles railway station, which has regular Iarnród Éireann services on the Dublin to Cork and Limerick lines. The venue is close to the Liberty Square car parks. Thurles sits on the N62 and N75, with Bus Éireann services connecting the town to Nenagh, Clonmel and beyond.
Thurles is the birthplace of the GAA, founded in the town in 1884, and Semple Stadium is a short walk from the arts centre. There is more to see in Thurles and across Co. Tipperary, from the cathedral to the town’s Victorian streetscape.
Heading to The Source Arts Centre in Thurles? Tipperary has plenty more to see. Read the Thurles area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.