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music · Saturday 26 September 2026 · 8:00pm 
The Muddy River Band, Acoustic Performance
At Dunamaise Arts Centre · Church Street, Portlaoise, Co. Laois
At Dunamaise Arts Centre · Church Street, Portlaoise, Co. Laois
The Muddy River Band bring an acoustic set built around the songs of Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Van Morrison to Dunamaise Arts Centre on Saturday, 26 September 2026. Rather than a straight tribute to one artist, the show moves between the three songwriters’ catalogues across a single evening, pairing well-known singles with deeper album tracks. It is a stripped-back format compared to the band-and-orchestra tribute shows elsewhere in the Dunamaise’s autumn programme.
Expect acoustic guitars, harmonies and a small-band setup rather than a full electric show, which suits Dylan, Young and Morrison’s writing better than a bigger production would. The band moves through each songwriter’s work in turn, drawing on staples that Irish audiences know well, from Dylan and Young’s 1960s and ’70s material to Morrison’s soul-inflected songbook. Because the three artists share overlapping fanbases but different moods, expect a set that shifts between reflective and upbeat rather than staying in one register all night. The Dunamaise’s usual seated theatre layout suits the acoustic format, and the show runs a standard evening length with an interval.
Dunamaise Arts Centre is on Church Street in Portlaoise town centre, a short walk from Portlaoise train station on the Dublin to Cork and Limerick line. The venue is close to the M7, which meets the N8 at Portlaoise, making it straightforward to reach by car from across the midlands.
Portlaoise is Laois’s county town, built around its courthouse, shops and the M7/N8 crossroads, with a good spread of pubs and restaurants around Church Street and Main Street for before or after the show. The Rock of Dunamase, a Norman hilltop ruin, is a five-kilometre drive out of town if you want to make an afternoon of it first. There is more to see in Portlaoise and across Co. Laois.
Heading to Dunamaise Arts Centre in Portlaoise? Laois has plenty more to see. Read the Portlaoise area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.