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music · Saturday 5 September 2026 · 8:00 PM 
The Unforeseen with Christine Tobin at Ballina Arts Centre
At Ballina Arts Centre · Barrett Street, Ballina, Co. Mayo, F26 NW83
At Ballina Arts Centre · Barrett Street, Ballina, Co. Mayo, F26 NW83
The Unforeseen bring their cafe-style concert to Ballina Arts Centre on Saturday 5 September 2026. The ensemble is led by Irish singer and songwriter Christine Tobin and features Karen Street on piano accordion, Phil Robson on guitar and Dave Whitford on double bass. The group has won a BBC award and the four musicians all work internationally.
The repertoire moves widely across a two hour set: original compositions, tango arrangements of Astor Piazzolla, traditional Irish ballads, Baroque pieces by Henry Purcell, Brazilian songs by Milton Nascimento, and material by Duke Ellington, Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits. The Irish Times has called the performance starkly beautiful and noted that Tobin’s voice draws the mixed repertoire together, while The Guardian described her as having a 24 carat voice that is gorgeous, affecting and deeply human. The cafe-style layout means table seating rather than rows, and capacity is limited accordingly.
Ballina Arts Centre is on Barrett Street in the town centre, a short walk from the main shopping streets and the River Moy quays, with on-street parking nearby and public car parks within a few minutes’ walk. Ballina sits in north Mayo where the Moy meets Killala Bay. It is about 40 minutes from Castlebar on the N5 and N57, an hour from Sligo on the N59, and roughly three hours from Dublin. Bus Eireann services connect Ballina with Dublin, Castlebar, Sligo and Galway, and Ballina railway station is on a branch of the Dublin Heuston line, about a 15 minute walk from Barrett Street.
Heading to Ballina Arts Centre in Ballina? Mayo has plenty more to see. Read the Ballina area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.