Gemma Hayes Marks 25 Years in Music at the NCH With Special Night On My Side Performance
By NEXT TUESDAY
Gemma Hayes
Marks 25 Years in Music at the NCH
With Special Night on My Side Performance
Gemma Hayes marks 25 years in music next Tuesday, the 12th of May at the National Concert Hall with aspecial performance of her Mercury-nominated debut album Night on My Side.
Performing the album in full, the night will revisit the atmospheric guitars, poetic precision and raw emotional honesty that defined the record and introduced her unmistakable voice to audiences around the world. The concert will also feature music from across her acclaimed career.
This concert is part of NCH Landmarks, a new occasional series celebrating seminal albums by leading Irish artists.
Tickets 37.50 on sale from nch.ie.
Released in 2002, Night on My Side quickly established Hayes as one of Ireland’s most distinctive musical talents. Its restless, intimate sound earned widespread acclaim, a devoted fanbase and a Mercury Prize nomination that brought her work to international attention.
Over the past two decades, Hayes has continued to evolve as an artist, moving fluidly between folk, alt-rock and cinematic soundscapes. Her subsequent albums — The Roads Don’t Love You, The Hollow of Morning, Let It Break and Bones + Longing — cemented her reputation as a songwriter of depth, subtlety and emotional intelligence.
Her sixth studio album, Blind Faith (2024), marked a powerful creative chapter. Produced with Karl Odlum, David Odlum and Brian Casey, and featuring Lisa Hannigan and Paul Noonan, it was widely praised as a career-defining work of renewal and artistic clarity.
Hayes’ music has also reached global audiences through film and television. Her haunting version of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’, recorded for Pretty Little Liars, has now surpassed 30 million Spotify streams, while her original contribution to the soundtrack of the Roddy Doyle adaptation Greyhound of a Girl further showcased her skill for evocative, cinematic songwriting.
In recent years, Hayes has returned to the stage with renewed energy, selling out multiple shows and touring extensively with her full band. Her performances — spanning early favourites to her most recent work — highlight the breadth of a catalogue that continues to resonate deeply with audiences.
Gemma Hayes says:
“Night on My Side will always hold a very special place in my heart. It was the beginning of everything for me. Revisiting the album at this stage in my life and career feels incredibly meaningful, and I’m thrilled to bring it to the National Concert Hall as part of this new series.” This concert is presented by the National Concert Hall as part of NCH Landmarks.