Rodrigo y Gabriela @ Barrowlands

An instrumental-only, nylon-string guitar duo playing the Barras? It's sometimes hard to believe that these two young troubadours cut their teeth in the Mexican death metal scene. Tired of the same-old, same-old, they picked up their classical guitars and relocated to Ireland where they were discovered busking on the streets of Dublin by music industry stalwarts. It's no exaggeration to say that this is one of the most inspiring and brilliant young bands anywhere in the world right now, fusing jazz, flamenco, folk and heavy metal influences into every one of their songs. Rodrigo is brilliant, in the most sincere use of that word, but the star is the foul-mouthed and sneeringly sexy Gabriela, who provides both percussion and jaw-droppingly dextrous rhythm guitar, simultaneously. If only there were a less trite incentive to offer than "not to be missed", but no more accurate recommendation for this pair exists. [Les Ogilvie]