How Gig In A Gaff Is Filling The Void Left By Closing Venues

Venues in Ireland are closing at an alarming rate. The closure of the Complex is just the latest example in a long trend of venues disappearing across the country. Over 2100 pubs have closed since 2005, many of which hosted live music, and more broadly, at least 522 nightclubs have closed since 2000. This lack of venues directly impacts young musicians trying to get a start on the scene, as more and more performers are competing for the same few spots in these remaining venues.

This is happening at the same time as a surge in concert ticket prices. IMRO reports that on average an Irish person spends €757 on concerts every year, leaving young people in Ireland with scarce options to experience live music as either a performer or audience member. This is where Gig In A Gaff comes in. 

Donegal-based musician Aaron Coleman created Gig In A Gaff from his love of live music and frustration with the lack of accessibility when it comes to gigs, “I believe that concert venues should be supported massively, as they’re cultural institutions. There’s nothing better than live music,” he tells District. “But concerts […] have gotten overwhelmingly expensive, as has everything else in this country. People still want to see live music. So let’s do it for free and ram everyone into a sitting room!”

“People still want to see live music. So let’s do it for free and ram everyone into a sitting room!”

The structure of Gig In A Gaff is simple: anybody with a gaff they’re willing to give up can reach out and a gig will be put on in their sitting room. The events run on a volunteer basis, with local photographers, videographers, promoters and music fans helping to bring each show together.

Aaron says the project’s success is entirely down to the people who have stepped up to help. “It’s a simple concept, but there are so many bands, photographers and videographers throughout the country that it was hard to keep track,” he says.

Orla Crilly gave up her kitchen for the Dundalk show, “I’m all in favour of supporting local music and supporting Irish music,” she told District. “So it was quite literally a no-brainer for me.” Orla told District that she’d like to see some sort of public funding put behind the idea “People are giving up their time to come and do it and support it, so I think it’d be lovely if they could get some arts grants or some sort of funding, you know, to give something to the bands and to the people that are organising it.”

“I’m all in favour of supporting local music and supporting Irish music… so it was quite literally a no-brainer for me.”

We spoke to Mark, Alex and Abi, three audience members from Gig In A Gaff Dundalk. “I would love to go again and I hope we see more events like this, we always see DJs playing in a gaff but seeing a band in someone’s kitchen there’s just something about that” Mark tells us.

“We always see DJs playing in a gaff but seeing a band in someone’s kitchen there’s just something about that”

Alex credits the community fostered by the event, “It gives local musicians an opportunity to show their talents and create new friendships.” Abi would like to see gigs like this all over the country “I think it’s very important for the future of the Irish music scene to have more accessible events,” she tells District. “I would love to see this happening nationwide, especially as rural counties have crazy cool bands.”

“I would love to see this happening nationwide, especially as rural counties have crazy cool bands.”

Porter Boys Social Club

Dundalk had three bands on the bill: Lapdog, Porter Boys Social Club and the aforementioned Killjoy. For Lapdog, they see the usual bureaucracy involved with booking and promoting as taking away from the music itself “It’s started a conversation of pushing for a DIY-focused scene. You get so caught up in booking venues and ticket sales that you start to lose the joy of just going to a show blind and having a good time. There’s been a real buzz since Gig in a Gaff and hopefully it keeps going into the future.” they tell District

“You get so caught up in booking venues and ticket sales that you start to lose the joy of just going to a show blind and having a good time.”

Killjoy found the audience reaction the most impactful element “The whole experience being on top of one another with no barriers between us and the crowd felt amazing. It felt like an Irish Tiny Desk concert,” they tell District. “Gig In A Gaff could explode all over the country. It was such a unique and genuine experience that really felt like something special. Giving smaller bands like ourselves the opportunity to play in our home town, right in front of the people is exactly what makes GIAG so special, and the sky is the limit with that sort of thing.”

“It felt like an Irish Tiny Desk concert,”

Porter Boys Social Club see Gig In A Gaff as a vehicle for making art accessible to the whole country, “Gig in a Gaff really opens up the possibilities for bringing that unorthodoxy to the whole country. It’s easier to throw on a wild gig when you have the lads from Gig In A Gaff willing to do the logistics and they’re the ones who know how to put on a show and make it savage,” they told District. “There’s something very anti-establishment and anti-capitalist about what the boys are doing, that movement of makeshift shows threatens the industry, it makes homegrown local art accessible and has the potential to reignite the youth rural nightlife.”

“There’s something very anti-establishment and anti-capitalist about what the boys are doing, that movement of makeshift shows threatens the industry, it makes homegrown local art accessible and has the potential to reignite the youth rural nightlife.”

Aaron has big goals and plans for Gin In A Gaff, “A festival would be class. So would doing it overseas. So would doing it in a lighthouse. I just want it to keep going. Every county in Ireland is the goal. We’ll see where the road takes us.” 

“Every county in Ireland is the goal. We’ll see where the road takes us.” 

In an age where everything is becoming increasingly commodified and commercialised, there’s something to be said for showing up just for craic. It is inspiring to see what people will do for fun, for free. Irish people have always had a knack for punching above our weight when it comes to art so despite the failures of our government to safeguard our venues and our cultural centres, initiatives like this will keep pushing back. So maybe take a page out of Gig In A Gaff’s book and in the words of Aaron, “have the craic and listen to tunes pure loud”.