The return of the Thin White Duke is honoured as Dublin Bowie Festival 2026 celebrates the 50th anniversary of Bowie’s landmark album Station To Station, and the 10-year anniversary of his final album Blackstar.
This year’s festival will feature many acclaimed guest performers including Station To Station’s lead guitarist, the legendary Earl Slick, who is also known for his collaborations with other artists such as John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith, to name a few.
This will be his first Festival appearance alongside other notable musicians and Bowie alumni, pianist Mike Garson, bassist/producer Mark Plati and Dubliner Gerry Leonard who was Bowie’s musical director/guitarist & co-writer in the rock icon’s latter years.
This will mark the eleventh year of a Festival that has established itself as the biggest Bowie themed event on the planet. Fans of the beloved artist have in the past travelled from all over the world to experience the treasure trove of Bowie themed events, gigs, parties etc. that the festival has to offer, and this year is set to be no different.
The O’Flanagan Theatre in the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, St Stephens Green is the venue for two intimate masterclasses with Slick and Garson. Slick will have his trusted guitar in hand as he talks us through his years with Bowie and the classic riffs he created on classic Station To Station tracks like ‘Golden Years’ and ‘Stay’.
Mike Garson is Bowie’s longest standing musical cohort and his stories from the Ziggy Stardust years to Bowie’s finally Reality tour are always fascinating and hearing his wonderful avant garde jazz piano playing up close and personal is always a treat. Experiencing personal anecdotes and live performances up close from either of these seasoned artists would be a delight not just Bowie superfans, but any person with a love of music.
Rebel Rebel, the ultimate Bowie Tribute band will be in Opium performing all of his greatest hits from Space Oddity all the way through to Lazarus. Other local acts such as The London Boys and Playback play Bowie’s 1960’s mod/vaudeville influenced material and the album Station To Station respectively while Art Crime Inc return to perform Bowie’s twentieth studio album Outside in its entirety, highlighting one of his more underrated works as the masterpiece that it is.
Renowned French photographer and long time Bowie collaborator Philippe Auliac is the artist in residence at the gorgeous Rathfarnham Castle Gallery, exhibiting a stunning range of Bowie prints shot live from 1976 to 2007 and a selection of wonderful portraits from when Bowie lived in mainland Europe in the late 70’s.
This iconic artists repertoire doesn’t stop with Bowie, having photographed other legends the likes of Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger, Marrianne Faithful, Lou Reed and more throughout his illustrious career. In October of 2025, Auliac released his book Outside the Frame, releasing more than 150 previously unseen images of Bowie and his loved ones into the world.
The Festival will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of Bowie’s final artistic opus, the magnificent Blackstar. Released the weekend before he died Blackstar is considered one of Bowie’s greatest works and a mesmerising, powerful statement on creativity and how it can flourish in times of anguish, especially as Bowie was in the final throes of terminal liver cancer.
There will be a special presentation and panel talk on the album by the esteemed Australian author Dr Leah Kardos, author of Blackstar – The Final Works Of David Bowie.
Other highlights include a live podcast where Dublin historian Donal Fallon will chat with Night Time Economy Advisor (and former DJ & Promoter) Ray O’Donoghue about Bowie’s infamous Drum & Bass sojourn in The Factory Rehearsal space.
Fans can also look forward to Bowie Singalong, a Station To Station & Blackstar Listening Party, a panel discussion on Station To Station and Blackstar and a panel discussion on Bowie’s favourite books, curated by the noted Bowie scholar, Professor Eoin Devereux.
Taking place from Tuesday February 24th to Sunday March 1st, the festival provides something to be enjoyed by every Bowie superfan and casual listener alike.
Words: Erin Murray
Feature Image: Bowie by Philippe Auliac
All event info and ticket links: dublinbowiefestival.ie
