The Scratch

The Scratch are four Dubliners who blend folk and metal into something that sounds like an evening in a pub slowly spiralling into something much bigger. Their name for that feeling: "Pull like a dog" - just start and see what happens, a phrase from Irish Olympic rowers Gary and Paul O'Donovan.

The band broke through in 2017 with a festival set at the Rory Gallagher International Festival in Ballyshannon that went viral. Signed to Sony Music Ireland, they released their second album Mind Yourself in 2023: immediately #1 on the Irish vinyl charts, a nomination for the Choice Music Prize, a performance on The Late Late Show and airplay on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6. Their music also appeared in the Netflix series House of Guinness, created by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. In recent months they toured with the Dropkick Murphys across the US, played festival sets throughout Europe, supported Dermot Kennedy in Australia and performed at the British Download Festival.

In March 2026 they released Pull Like A Dog, their third album. With that album in their back pocket, they come to Poppodium Nieuwe Nor in Heerlen on Sunday 13 December - their first performance in the city. Support comes from DUG. Tickets are available from 17 April at 10:00. This is a club card show.