January • On 7 January, the nominees for the
2010 Meteor Awards were announced. • On 11 January,
Neil Hannon was nominated in the Original Score category at the
7th Irish Film and Television Awards for his soundtrack to the film
Wide Open Spaces. • On 13 January, the nominees for Best Album of 2009 at the
Choice Music Prize were announced. • On 14 January, the
BBC admitted giving "inappropriate" promotional coverage and "undue prominence" to
U2 and their 2009 album
No Line on the Horizon through their use of the U2 = BBC slogan. • From 14 to 16 January:
And So I Watch You From Afar,
Delorentos,
Imelda May and
Villagers represented Ireland in the
Eurosonic Festival in
Groningen,
Netherlands. It was broadcast live in Ireland on
RTÉ 2fm. • Aftermath of
2010 Haiti earthquake: • 15 January:
Concern Worldwide's Emergency Appeal fundraiser was held at the weekly Rock' n' Roll club Shakedown in Pacino's on Suffolk Street, Dublin 2. • 22 January:
Bono performed the collaborative effort "
Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)" at the live televised
Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief charity telethon. • 24 January:
Glen Hansard performed a benefit concert for Haiti in
Whelan's,
Dublin. • 24 January:
Noise Control headlined the Help Haiti Fundraising Extravaganza in the Twisted Pepper, Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 2. • 31 January:
The Answer and
David Holmes were among the headlining acts at the
Belfast 4 Haiti event. • On 31 January, the
52nd Grammy Awards took place in
Los Angeles, United States.
Beoga were nominated in the Best Contemporary World Music Album category for their album
The Incident.
U2 received three nominations.
Imelda May performed at the awards ceremony alongside
Jeff Beck on the
Les Paul tribute, "
How High the Moon". May, the second Irish act to perform at the awards in their history, was praised by American critics for "the strong Irish inflection of her pronunciation".
February • Aftermath of
2010 Haiti earthquake: • On 3 February,
Michelle Doherty hosted
Haiti Aid at
Whelan's and The Village in
Dublin, featuring
Ham Sandwich,
O Emperor,
The Chapters and
Patrick Kelleher. • On 11 February,
Cathy Davey,
The Chapters,
Julie Feeney and
Villagers were scheduled to perform at a Drop Haiti's Debt fundraiser in
Vicar Street. This was later cancelled due to "unavoidable circumstances". • On 27 February,
Clash Jam Wallop,
The Dubtones,
Aces Wild,
Primitevo and
Skelton Crew are among the acts scheduled to perform at
Aid for Haiti in Button Factory, Dublin. • In February 2010,
U2 won "Best Live Production" for their
U2 360° Tour at the 2009 Total Production Awards in London. • On 19 February, the
2010 Ireland Music Awards took place at the
RDS in
Dublin, presented by
Amanda Byram. • On 23 February, the first 33 acts were announced at the
Oxegen 2010 launch at
The Academy. • On 26 February,
Eleanor McEvoy began her 2010 Australian Tour at
Nannup Folk Festival in
Western Australia, with the final date due on 21 March as part of the
Saint Patrick's Day Parade in
Sydney. • On 26 February,
Prince settled his court case with
MCD Productions which had sued the musician after he cancelled a 2008
Croke Park concert at short notice.
March • On 3 March, the
Choice Music Prize for
Irish Album of the Year 2009 was awarded during a live ceremony at
Vicar Street,
Dublin. It was awarded to
Adrian Crowley for his album
Season of the Sparks. • On 4 March,
The Saw Doctors commenced their first
Australian tour for seventeen years in
Perth. The tour included a
Saint Patrick's Day show in
Sydney. • On 8 March,
Arcade Fire and
Fatboy Slim were announced for
Oxegen 2010, with this being Arcade Fire's first 2010 European show to be announced. • On 12 March, the 20th anniversary show of
Power of Dreams's internationally successful album
Immigrants, Emigrants and Me took place at
Whelan's in
Dublin. • On 12 and 13 March,
Delorentos and
Something Happens performed at a festival event for
Saint Patrick's Day in Den Haag (
The Hague). • Between 15 and 20 March 2010:
The Waterboys performed twenty poems by
William Butler Yeats set to music in the
Abbey Theatre,
Dublin. All dates had sold out by January: a fifth date was announced for 20 November at the
Grand Canal Theatre. • On 17 March,
Laura Izibor attended a party at the
White House,
Washington, D.C., United States at the invitation of
President of the United States Barack Obama. • On 17 and 19 March, Irish artists performed at
South by Southwest (SXSW) in
Austin, Texas, United States. • On 19 March, the first acts of the 2010
Indie-pendence line-up were announced. • On 23 March,
Christy Moore and
John Spillane performed a show in aid of the
2010 Haiti earthquake at
Vicar Street, with proceeds given to
GOAL. • On 24 March,
Electric Picnic 2010 was launched. • On 25 March, the 2010
IMRO Showcase Tour began in
Belfast, continuing until 1 May at
The Academy,
Dublin. • On 30 March, several new additions to the
Oxegen 2010 line-up were announced: these included
Dizzee Rascal,
Julian Casablancas,
Groove Armada,
The Black Keys,
The Cribs,
The Stranglers and
Earth, Wind & Fire.
April • On 2 April (Good Friday),
Dave Couse released his third solo album
Alonewalk featuring a duet with
Cathal Coughlan on the track "Good Friday". • On 7 April, the line-up for
Castlepalooza was announced, with tickets going on sale two days later. • On 8 April, six bands competed in the King Kong Club Grand Final music competition at
The Village in
Dublin. • On 16 April, Ireland's first
National Music Day took place, with free live events around the country in locations such as
Cork,
Limerick and
Portlaoise being broadcast on
RTÉ lyric fm. • On 13 April, Mindfield, scheduled for 30 April to 2 May, was postponed until
Electric Picnic 2010 after several of the acts who intended to be there were distracted by the announcement of
2010 United Kingdom general election for 6 May. • On 17 April, 18 and 20 April April:
Whitney Houston played three dates at the
O2,
Dublin, as part of her first tour for at least eleven years. • On 20 April,
Duckworth Lewis Method's Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh were nominated for an
Ivor Novello Award for their debut album.
May • On 7 May,
Kiss played a date in
Dublin, taking place at the
O2, as part of their
Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour. • On 11 May and 12 May,
Metallica played their first shows in
Belfast for more than two decades, taking place at the
Odyssey. • 20 May –
Ivor Novello Awards at
Grosvenor House Hotel,
London: Duckworth Lewis Method's Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh were defeated by
Paolo Nutini in their category.
June • On 2 June, a statue of
Rory Gallagher was unveiled in his birthplace of
Ballyshannon,
County Donegal. • On 3 June, the line-up for
Arthur's Day 2010 was announced, including
Snow Patrol, Paolo Nutini,
José González, and
The View. • On 5 June,
Snow Patrol played
Ward Park in
Bangor, County Down, supported by
Lisa Hannigan,
Band of Horses and
General Fiasco. The concert was broadcast on
BBC Northern Ireland at a later date. • On 5 June,
Westlife played
Croke Park,
Dublin, with
JLS for support.
John & Edward were later announced as another support act. • On 8 June,
Rage Against the Machine played
The O2 in
Dublin, with support from
Gallows. • On 9 June,
The Cranberries played at
Thomond Park in their first performance in their native city for more than 15 years. • On 14 June, the complete day and stage breakdown of
Oxegen 2010 was announced. • On 23 June,
Green Day played
Marlay Park in
Dublin. •
Glastonbury Festival 2010: • On 25 June,
U2 were scheduled to headline
Glastonbury Festival 2010, their first festival performance for more than a quarter of a century. • On 25 May 2010, it was announced that U2 had cancelled their appearance at the festival to allow
Bono's recovery from recent back surgery, with Bono issuing a special message of his heartbreak to the fans – "I'm heartbroken" – and said "we even wrote a song especially for the festival". The following day it was announced that
Gorillaz would fill in for U2. • Other Irish acts appearing at the festival included
Two Door Cinema Club (24 June),
Brian Kennedy,
Julie Feeney and
The Big Pink (also on 25 June),
Christy Moore (26 June) and
Ash,
Rodrigo y Gabriela,
Fionn Regan and
Imelda May (27 June). •
Cavan quintet
Shouting at Planes beat more than 100 other acts to win a competition to play at the festival. •
Muse were joined on stage by
The Edge to perform "
Where the Streets Have No Name". • On 30 June,
Sentinel Records closed after ten years.
July •
Oxegen 2010 took place from 9–11 July 2010 at
Punchestown Racecourse,
County Kildare. • On 15 July, music promoter, manager and entrepreneur
Derek Nally died after undergoing a
myocardial infarction. His funeral on 19 July was a crowded affair. • On 17 July,
Ryan Sheridan played
Festival Internacional de Benicàssim in
Spain. • On 20 July,
Villagers were shortlisted for the 2010
Mercury Prize for the album
Becoming a Jackal. • On 23 July Frantic Jack released their debut album 'Independence' and third single Hold On which peaked at No.9 in the Irish charts a week later • On 30 July,
Westlife played
Lissadell House in
County Sligo, their home county, and
Iron Maiden played
The O2, Dublin. • On 31 July,
Leonard Cohen played
Lissadell House in
County Sligo.
August • In August,
Slane Concert 2010 was to occur and was expected to involve an "international artist". It was later announced that there would be no 2010 concert in Slane. • On 11 August, Liberty Kings guitarist
Eoghan Mac Aoidh was killed in a
traffic collision in
Leicestershire,
England, UK. • On 19 August, a man committed suicide during a concert by
The Swell Season in the
U.S. state of
California. • On 27 and 29 August, The Mighty Stef performed at the
Reading and Leeds Festivals.
September • On 1 September,
Guns N' Roses performed at
The O2,
Dublin as part of their
Chinese Democracy World Tour.
Axl Rose was bottled off the stage. The band also played the
Odyssey Arena,
Belfast the night before, the first time that Guns N' Roses played indoor shows in Ireland. • On 3, 4 & 5 September, the
Electric Picnic 2010 took place in
Stradbally,
County Laois. • On 7 September, the winner of the 2010
Mercury Prize was announced, with
Villagers shortlisted. • On 23 September,
Arthur's Day 2010 occurred in
Cork,
Dublin and
Galway. • On 24 & 25 September,
Michael Bublé 'performed at the
Aviva Stadium,
Dublin.
October • On 2 & 3 October,
The Music Show occurred at the
RDS,
Dublin. • On 29 October, it was announced that
Kings of Leon would headline
Slane Concert in 2011, the 30th anniversary event. All 80,000 tickets sold out in 40 minutes when they went on sale one week later.
November • On 24 November, the
IMTV Awards took place at
The Academy in Dublin. • On 5 November, the
BBC, the UK's public service broadcaster, issued an apology to
Bob Geldof and the
Band Aid Trust, after falsely claiming that money raised for
Ethiopia was used to buy weapons instead.
December • In December,
Oxegen 2011 was launched, with headline acts
Arctic Monkeys,
blink-182 and
Foo Fighters. • On 10 December,
The Coronas played a headlining show at the
Olympia Theatre,
Dublin. • On 11 December,
Kings of Leon played at
The O2 to keep up with demand after their 2011
Slane Concert headliner sold out in 40 minutes. == Bands disbanded ==