Gig In A Gaff
Irish people love live music, which should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody. Live music is a treasured third space in Ireland; a place of expression, liberation and connection. From ceilí dances at crossroads, to trad sessions in pubs, to dancing boards, traditions of congregating for live music performances encompass the nation and span back centuries in Ireland’s history.
Up to more recent history, you can cite the golden age of the nineties and noughties dance scene descending into the dried-up, destitute, forgotten dreams of Celtic Tiger nightclubs. Presently, concert-goers are facing a cost of ticket crisis. Dynamic pricing systems leave gig-goers priced out of spaces to get lost in the dance, not to mention venues themselves struggling to afford to keep the lights on.
But what if a new trend in the spatial presence of live music was wiggling its way into the gig scene? What if you could attend a free gig with the same sound quality and the same buzzing energy as a national music venue, but rather hosted in some fella’s front room instead?
That’s what Gig in a Gaff (GIAG) have begun to organise. GIAG is a grassroots event-planning organisation, who have gained a serious amount of traction online since January for posting their plans to host national gigs in people’s houses, with free tickets for successful applicants and free promotion for the live music that they choose to host.
“In the grand scheme of things, it’s a simple idea.” says Gig in a Gaff organiser Aaron Coleman “Get bands playing in a house, get sound equipment and a sound engineer, and you’re good to go.”
The GIAG idea emerged from Aaron’s own reminiscences on the glory days of college afterparties, and how simplistic and freeing it was to be given the bizarre third space of somebody’s kitchen or sitting room to let loose and have fun. Aaron became inspired to tweak the concept to fit that of a homemade live gig.
“When I was in college… you go to [an afters] and it’s a bunch of absolute feens in a sitting room with no lights on,” he recalls “And it’s so fun. But I have never seen that being done with a band. I have never heard of bands playing in somebody’s sitting room. I would have lost my mind if that was a thing.”
Aaron became inspired to tweak the concept to fit that of a homemade live gig.
“A house party is the most fun,” he states, “And when you boil it down, it’s just because it’s in somebody’s house.”
The bands featured at each location are from the surrounding locality, meaning Gig in a Gaff additionally supports the live music scene wherever they land. Bands are kept secret to promote communal listening and to encourage attendants to enjoy the music for music’s sake.
“I want to leave the acts secret just because I think it’s a bit more fun,” Aaron admits. “I think the people that do genuinely want to go to these gigs want to see live music anyway.”
“They’re going to be good bands that know what they’re doing.” He affirms. “Get people moving and enjoying themselves.”
The specific ‘gaff’ location for each Gig in a Gaff is kept private, with the Instagram page promoting the individual counties the event will be hosted in. There is a limited capacity for each house, dependent on the varying size of the venue and conditions of the houseowner.
“We’re grateful that people are letting us use their homes.” Aaron states “This literally couldn’t exist if we didn’t have the space to hold it in. In an ideal world, I would want it to be open to everybody. But we have to limit it to just what we can.”
Aaron and his two friends Matthew Melia and Ciaran McBrearty first formed the idea for GIAG as a half-joking pub chat over Christmas pints in their hometown near Letterkenny in Co. Donegal. Their passion for the idea grew stealthily from there on, and the trio decided that it was time to take this seriously if it was going to get off the ground.
“I don’t want anybody getting hurt. I want everyone to be able to enjoy themselves.” Aaron insists “We started organising this in January. And we decided to have the first [gig] in April just to give ourselves enough time to think about this. Planning is honestly 90% of it.”
Since their first post on the official Instagram at the start of this year, the appetite for a unique grassroots event of its kind became immediately apparent. Gig in a Gaff has amassed over 2,000 followers, with over 200 Irish bands nationwide applying for a chance to play at one of their upcoming gigs.
GIAG is backed by a team with an unfettered drive to help draw attention to the best of the Irish independent music scene, including those on the outskirts of the larger city circles. Aaron’s passion for promoting the hidden gems of Ireland’s bands scene is immediately apparent.
“The best band you’ll ever hear in your life probably has like 400 followers… and like 20 streams.” He says “When you find [a good band] like that it’s fucking crazy. It blows your mind. You’re like, how are these people not famous?”
Gig in a Gaff kicked off with a bang on Donegal home soil, with the first show hosted in mid-April. Overlapping strings of multicoloured fairylights were strung from wall-to-wall of the homeowners’ concrete-walled shed, with old, thick sitting room curtains draped behind the stage to soften the sound. Mismatched table lamps emitted a golden glow around the stage, adding to the warm, homely, and charming DIY atmosphere.
The bands featured for the very first house show were The Notions, Rowdy and Rubberneck. Derry-based alt-rock band Rowdy took on the honourable position as the debut GIAG recorded set, which is now available to stream on Youtube. Each band swooned the ecstatic crowd deeper into the night with their dreamy melodies and cinematic textures. Some lively rock tunes were peppered in there too, courtesy of the Donegal-based band The Notions.
The night marked a superb take-off for Aaron (also Rubberneck frontman) and the rest of the team, leaving them with a renewed passion for the future of the project.
“We ended up having [the gig] in a shed,” Aaron says, reflecting on their first set up “Going in we thought the sound would be weird, but it was very easy to deal with and turned out great. A perfect start to Gig in a Gaff.”
GIAG is a project with integrity at its’ core. Genuine passion can take an idea far enough, but add stellar bands, a top-notch sound system, and perfect lighting into the mix and you have an unstoppable force.
“The gig was truly fantastic” Aaron reflects “My only thoughts on future gigs is bigger and better!”
The Gig in a Gaff train does not stop here. In a time when the flames of underfunding are licking at the corners of the independent Irish music scene, a community-oriented event planning organisation of GIAG’s kind is all the more vital.
GIAG debuted their second GIAG set in Dundalk, Co. Louth, on May 16, rolling into the Summer with many more dates lined up, including a house show in Dublin 13 on June 6. To be the first to know of upcoming sets and to get your hands on the free tickets to these one-of-kind shows, keep an eye on the official Instagram, @giginagaff. If it’s a taste of the stage you’re after, hit up the Instagram to get involved in hosting or performing. Here’s to more gigs, more music and more dancing.