Over four nights, beginning in winter 2023 and ending in spring 2024, An Táin Arts Centre and The Spirit Store are collaborating to bring you COLLIDE, a series of late night events in which an eclectic mix of Irish musicians will take to the stage of The Spirit Store, Dundalk’s premiere music venue, with support from the best local talent the North East has, to offer and produced by an Táin Arts Centre.

Thursday 14th December | The Bonk with support from Clara Tracey | 10PM 

Taking elliptical rhythms and repetitive ritualistic wordplay as a framework, the group uses improvisation to explore the fringes of traditional forms. Their debut The Bonk Seems To Be A Verb, has attracted a loyal following since its release in 2017 with shorter digital-only releases following in the intervening years while the band’s live show has become increasingly in demand. Their second LP Greater Than Or Equal To The Bonk is due for release in May 2023 and will see the band collaborating again with boutique imprint thirty-three45. 

Bandleader and songwriter Phil Christie has long been involved in music in Ireland. As a principal songwriter in the collaborative group O Emperor (2008 -2018), he recorded and toured internationally with the band, sharing the stage with the likes of Beck and MGMT along the way. The group were awarded the Choice Music Prize Irish Album of The Year  in 2018 for their final long playerJason. 

 “The Bonk are one of Ireland’s most interesting and experimental outfits today” – The Thin Air.

The Bonk will be supported by Clara Tracey 

Born in Fermanagh and based in Belfast, Clara discovered her passion for writing songs in France, where she lived for a decade. On returning to Ireland She played with Aoife Nessa Frances, Maija Sofia and Paddy Hanna. As well as performing internationally, playing solo shows in Montreal, Paris, London, and New York. In 2022 she was one of three winning artists on the John Richardson French Residency.

COLLIDE is a late-night collaboration, produced by An Táin Arts Centre in association with The Spirit Store, supported by the Late-Night Events Programme from the Arts Council of Ireland in partnership with Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media.

Tickets €15 (+ €1.50 booking fee per ticket)

Season ticket for all four gigs €50 (+ €1.50 Booking Fee per ticket)

Tickets can be purchased from An Táin Arts Centre and The Spirit Store.

Explore the full Collide Programme. Learn more about our Season Ticket