Sunday 26 October | 8:00 PM | Garter Lane Arts Centre | Waterford
Waterford’s Imagine Arts Festival 2025 proudly presents Phil Christie, celebrated Irish musician, songwriter and composer, as this year’s Commissioned Artist.
Best known as the creative force behind The Bonk, Christie will premiere a new work at Garter Lane Arts Centre on Sunday 26 October at 8:00 PM, created especially for the festival. The piece continues his ongoing exploration of rhythm, repetition, improvisation and the blurred boundaries between composition and performance.
An Artist Who Rewrites the Rules
Phil Christie has long been recognised as one of Ireland’s most inventive contemporary musicians.
His work as The Bonk merges 1960s garage rock, minimalist pop and free jazz, building hypnotic grooves that loop and evolve with mathematical precision and raw human energy.
Having first come to prominence as a founding member of the acclaimed band O Emperor, Christie’s trajectory has consistently pushed the limits of genre. His music thrives on experimentation — layering harmonic textures and cyclic patterns to create immersive live experiences.
His new Imagine Arts Festival commission extends this approach into new territory, incorporating voice, improvisation and language structures into an ever-shifting soundscape. The result is music that feels at once ancient and futuristic — full of rhythm, curiosity and risk.
Championing New Work in Waterford
Festival Director Sinéad Dunphy says:
“Phil Christie represents everything Imagine stands for — innovation, artistry and fearlessness. His ability to weave melody, rhythm and improvisation into something completely new makes him one of the most exciting artists working in Ireland today.
We’re honoured to have supported this new commission and to premiere it here in Waterford, where Phil’s creativity will close the festival in spectacular style.”
For Christie, the opportunity has been equally meaningful:
“I’ve always been drawn to the edge between structure and chaos — that moment when a piece of music starts to build its own logic. This commission has been about leaning into that process, writing something that grows and mutates in real time. Imagine has given me the space to take those risks.”
Part of a Wider Festival of Creativity
Phil Christie’s commission is one of several new works premiering at this year’s Imagine Arts Festival, which runs 21–26 October 2025 across Waterford City. Other highlights include the Festival Residency with dancer Ksenia Parkhatskaya and composer David Duffy, the MDA Commission Shadow Lands by Cathy Purcell & Anadem, and installations by Molly Buí Hennessy and Chris Falconer at the Festival Hub on Michael Street.
Tickets for Phil Christie (The Bonk) are €20, available now at www.imagineartsfestival.com/2025-programme or via Garter Lane Arts Centre.
