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music · Saturday 29 August 2026 · 7:00pm 
The Tallest Man on Earth
At St. Canice's Cathedral · St. Canice's Cathedral & Round Tower, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny
At St. Canice's Cathedral · St. Canice's Cathedral & Round Tower, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny
Kristian Matsson - the Swedish singer-songwriter who records as The Tallest Man on Earth - brings his sparse, intense folk to one of Ireland’s most striking medieval spaces this August. It is the kind of show that is hard to replicate in a conventional venue: just a voice, a guitar, and stone walls that have been standing since the 1200s. If you have ever wanted to hear acoustic music performed somewhere that feels genuinely weighted with history, this is exactly that.
The Tallest Man on Earth has spent two decades building a reputation on the strength of his live performances. Matsson plays acoustic guitar, banjo, and violin, and critics have long noted how much ground he covers with those instruments alone - The New York Times described him roaming the stage, “darting around, crouching, stretching, hip-twitching,” which is not what you usually picture from a folk act. The songs lean into existential territory without ever becoming heavy-handed, carried by a raw, grainy voice that tends to stay with you.
This concert opens the new “Come On Up To The House” series, a run of internationally acclaimed artists performing inside St. Canice’s Cathedral. The cathedral dates to the 13th century and is the second-largest medieval church in Ireland after St. Patrick’s in Dublin. Its stone walls and timber ceiling give the room a natural warmth and acoustic presence that suits solo string playing well. The space holds up to 500 for concerts, keeping things on the intimate side relative to a standard arena or festival stage.
The series also includes Jeff Tweedy later in the run, so the programming signals real ambition for what the cathedral can offer as a live music venue.
Kilkenny city is roughly 120 km south of Dublin and 50 km east of Waterford. By road, the M9 motorway connects Dublin to Kilkenny in about 90 minutes. Bus Eireann and JJ Kavanagh & Sons both run regular coach services from Dublin, and Kilkenny has a train station on the Dublin Heuston to Waterford line with several services a day.
St. Canice’s Cathedral sits at the northern end of the city, a short walk from the medieval centre. Parking is available in the city - the Kilkenny City car parks on Ormond Road and at the Market Cross Shopping Centre are the most central options. The city is compact enough that walking from the main car parks takes under ten minutes.
Kilkenny city has the density of medieval architecture to make a full day of it before or after the show - the castle, the Smithwick’s Experience, and the network of lanes off High Street are all within easy reach of the cathedral. There is more to see in Kilkenny and across Co. Kilkenny.
Heading to St. Canice's Cathedral 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.