Name: Leslie Dowdall
Start: 2025-12-06T20:00:00+00:00
Location: Wexford Arts Centre

As part of her Autumn/Winter 2025 tour, Leslie Dowdall returns to the stage for a special concert at the Wexford Arts Centre on Saturday, December 6th, joined by acclaimed musician Fran Harper. Best known as the distinctive voice of Celtic rock band In Tua Nua, Leslie is recognised as one of Ireland’s finest female voices and a former Heineken Hot Press Award winner for Best Female Artist.
Fresh from her recent appearance at Vicar Street with Flo McSweeney, Leslie brings her trademark warmth, energy and powerful vocals to this intimate setting. With a career that’s seen her share stages with U2, Bob Dylan and The Pretenders, this promises to be an unforgettable evening of great songs and musicianship.
Leslie Dowdall first hit the headlines as lead singer with Celtic rock band, In Tua Nua – recording four albums, touring the world and sharing the stage with names including: U2, Simple Minds, Bob Dylan, and The Pretenders.
As a solo artist Leslie has enjoyed critical acclaim. Hit single, Wonderful Thing (No Guilt, No Guile) was chosen as the anthem for both the RTE National Lottery and National Daffodil Day ad campaigns. Her album Out There featured the hit single Freedom, plus her stunning version of Jimi Hendrix classic, Angel.
Previous winner of the Heineken Hotpress Award for Best Female Artist, Leslie has collaborated with Ireland’s finest, including Paul Brady, Ronan Hardiman, Fiachra Trench, Honor Heffernan and an ongoing musical partnership with Stockton’s Wing legend, Mike Hanrahan. One of her favourite music moments was being hand-picked by Sir George Martin, to feature in a series of Beatles tribute concerts he conducted at The National Concert Hall, Dublin.
Leslie has worked in various areas of TV, and has presented a six-part music series, Songs for the Tempted, as well as The Whoseday Club, both on RTE Radio.
Passionate about music education for future generations, her well-established workshop project, Songcraft, teaches performance and singing skills to young aspiring artists. Leslie also set up Summer School of Rock with fellow musicians Dave Hingerty (Frames) and Conor Brady (Gerry Fish and the Mudbug Club). She has also been working with Music Generation, teaching music to appx 600 children per week.
Two of Leslie’s songs, Sparkle and Coming up Roses, have been recorded by American artist, Christine McCaul and will feature on her upcoming album Don’t look back. Most recently, Leslie took part in a series of online concerts, including Rock against Homelessness, and Rathfarnham Rhythms, recorded at Rathfarnham Castle.