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music · Friday 3 July 2026 · 20:00 
Tempest Opening - Steve Wickham
At Roscommon Arts Centre · Roscommon Town, Co. Roscommon
At Roscommon Arts Centre · Roscommon Town, Co. Roscommon
Steve Wickham has been one of the most distinctive voices in Irish music for four decades - the fiddle player whose arrival in The Waterboys in 1985 steered the band toward the traditional sound that produced Fisherman’s Blues. He has since played alongside U2, Sinead O’Connor, Sharon Shannon, and Elvis Costello, and has built a solo catalogue that moves fluidly between rock and trad. Tempest Opening is the premiere performance of his new Tempest project at Roscommon Arts Centre on 3 July 2026 - an event worth travelling for if you have any interest in where Irish fiddle music can go when an original thinker is left to roam.
Wickham plays what he once called the “fuzz fiddle” - electric violin run through effects that blur the line between rock and session music. His solo and collaborative work tends toward the atmospheric and expansive rather than the predictable set-list night. As an opening performance of a new project, Tempest is likely to be exploratory: expect original material showcasing where this new body of work is going, alongside the kind of fiddle playing that made him one of the most sought-after instrumentalists in Irish music. Roscommon Arts Centre’s 194-seat theatre is an intimate setting - this is not an arena show, and the room suits close listening.
Roscommon town sits at a natural crossroads in the middle of Ireland, roughly equidistant from Dublin, Galway, and Sligo. From Dublin, take the M4 west to Kinnegad, then the N61 south into Roscommon - around 90 minutes in light traffic. From Galway, head north on the N63, about an hour. Bus Eireann runs services from Dublin (Expressway) and Galway that stop in Roscommon town; check the current timetable at buseireann.ie before you travel. Roscommon Arts Centre is on Circular Road on the outskirts of town, and the venue has free car parking on site.
Roscommon is a quiet, unhurried county town with a Norman castle worth walking around and a good few pubs that see live music at weekends. An evening show at the arts centre makes a comfortable overnight trip rather than a long drive home late. There is more to see in Roscommon and across Co. Roscommon.
Heading to Roscommon Arts Centre in Roscommon? Roscommon has plenty more to see. Read the Roscommon area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.