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music · Friday 7 August 2026 · 8:00pm 
Crash Ensemble at Kilkenny Arts Festival
At Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle · Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny
At Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle · Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny
Crash Ensemble are one of Ireland’s most respected new music groups, and their performance of Philip Glass’s Glassworks at Kilkenny Arts Festival pairs some of the most accessible contemporary classical music with one of the most atmospheric small venues in the country. It suits anyone who enjoys serious live music in an unusual setting, and equally those who have never quite found their way into contemporary classical but are curious.
Glassworks was Glass’s deliberate attempt to reach a wider audience: written in 1981 and released on CBS the following year, it was designed to work as well on headphones as in a concert hall. It moves through six interlocking pieces for keyboards, woodwinds, and voice, each with the repetitive, hypnotic pulse the composer is known for, but with a melodic accessibility that makes it immediately engaging even on first listen.
Crash Ensemble perform the work in full. The ensemble typically features flute, saxophones, keyboards, and voice, and their performances of this piece have drawn praise for their precision and the way they bring physical energy to music that can sound austere on record. Reviews from earlier tour dates describe a “virtuosic and moving” performance that makes you want to move along with the music.
The venue is the Parade Tower at Kilkenny Castle - a tower room with tiered balconies, an open pine-trussed ceiling, and Kilkenny limestone underfoot. It is an intimate space that suits this repertoire well, and the festival has used it for concerts throughout the full run of the 2026 programme.
Kilkenny is on the M9 from Dublin (about 90 minutes) and reachable from Waterford, Carlow, and Tipperary by road. Bus Eireann runs regular services from Dublin, and Kilkenny train station on the Heuston to Waterford line is a 15-minute walk from the Castle. Pay parking is available along The Parade and at city-centre car parks nearby.
Kilkenny is a medieval city that rewards an unhurried visit - the Castle, St Canice’s Cathedral, the lanes of the medieval mile, and the brewing and food scene around the city centre are all worth your time. If you are coming for the concert, arriving earlier in the day gives you a proper look around before the evening programme. There is more to see in Kilkenny and across Co. Kilkenny.
Heading to Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle in Kilkenny? Kilkenny has plenty more to see. Read the Kilkenny area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.