listen live

Dead Calm's four Irish nights begin in Belfast tomorrow

Monday 21st, 2026 - Dead Calm

Liam McCay's project carries more than 1.6 million monthly Spotify listeners into four indie rooms, with no supports listed and tickets on sale since February.

Dead Calm open a four-date Irish headline run tomorrow, moving from Belfast to Galway, Derry and Dublin on consecutive nights. The project, fronted by Donegal musician Liam McCay, plays Ulster Sports Club in Belfast on Tuesday 22 September, Róisín Dubh in Galway on Wednesday 23 September, Sandinos in Derry on Thursday 24 September, and Whelan's in Dublin on Friday 25 September.

Tickets went on sale in February 2026 via Singular Artists and Ticketmaster. No support acts are listed for these dates. As of 21 September, the remaining shows are the full run set out above: four headline nights, with no further dates announced beyond the Dublin show on Friday.

McCay is also known as Sign Crushes Motorist and Take Care. Under the Dead Calm name he has built a substantial following, with more than 1.6 million monthly Spotify listeners. The gigs form part of the project's growing live presence in the Irish indie and slowcore scenes, and are among the week's live highlights in Dublin, Belfast, Galway and Derry.

Belfast to Dublin, night by night

The tour is compact by design. It opens at Ulster Sports Club on the Tuesday, a Belfast room sized for a headline set rather than a festival turnout. The following evening Dead Calm play Róisín Dubh in Galway. Thursday brings Sandinos in Derry; Friday closes the run at Whelan's in Dublin. Four cities, four venues and a midweek-to-weekend arc that keeps the focus on the stage rather than on long travel between dates.

With no supports listed, each night is presented as a full Dead Calm headline show. That choice suits a project whose audience has gathered in large numbers online and is now being met in rooms where the music can sit at the centre of the evening. The Spotify monthly figure — more than 1.6 million listeners for Dead Calm alone — underlines how far the project has travelled in recorded releases and streaming; the September dates bring that audience into Belfast, Galway, Derry and Dublin in turn.

A Donegal name on the indie circuit

Liam McCay's work across Dead Calm, Sign Crushes Motorist and Take Care has given him a clear place among listeners who follow Irish independent music. Dead Calm's live presence has been growing on the indie and slowcore circuit, and this four-date stretch is a concentrated expression of that: headline billing, no listed supports, and a route through four of the island's active live cities in as many nights.

Singular Artists and Ticketmaster have handled tickets since they went on sale in February. The shows remain the live story of the week for this project. Nothing has been posted beyond Dublin on 25 September, so the immediate horizon is simply the run itself — Belfast tomorrow, then Galway, Derry and the final night at Whelan's.

For readers of British and Irish pop and rock, the craft on stage is the point. Dead Calm arrive with a large streaming base and a set of rooms that match the scale of a headline indie show. The first date is Tuesday at Ulster Sports Club; the last is Friday in Dublin.
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