Jack Lukeman partners with Mayo Dark Sky Festival
JACK Lukeman is releasing a new EP, Dark Skies, this Friday, with focus track ‘Vincent’.
The release arrives ahead of his appearance at Mayo Dark Sky Festival on November 1 - a celestial event celebrating astronomy, culture, wellbeing and biodiversity, whilst building awareness about the impact of light pollution.
Lukeman closes Mayo Dark Sky Festival 2026 with a finale performance on November 1. Tickets are on sale now, available from mayodarkskyfestival.ie.
For almost all of human history, the sky has been our clock, compass and calendar and an endless inspiration for music and art. Across cultures, people have joined its points of light into constellations. The stars are there; the connections carry our stories.
Could Vincent van Gogh have painted The Starry Night beneath today’s light-polluted skies? We can only wonder what he might see - and imagine - if he looked upwards from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence now.
"I was at a 3D Van Gogh show and wondered what Vincent would see to paint if he looked up now. Shag all, I figured! It got me thinking how much we take for granted,” Lukeman says.
EP Dark Skies comprises three celestial-themed songs, including 'Vincent' and David Bowie's 'Starman', alongside three remixes by Greek producer Vasileios Gourgourinis.
“Talking to the Mayo Dark Sky Festival team got me joining the dots between these songs,” Lukeman says. “They seemed to belong together.”
Focus track ‘Vincent’ is a personal favourite of Lukeman’s, who has notably performed it as part of his ambassador role for Darkness Into Light in his hometown of Athy.
Also following on from Lukeman’s past role as ambassador of the Blackrock Castle Observatory in Co. Cork, helping to inspire youths to explore their interest in space and astronomy, the EP features the National Children’s Choir on track four, ‘Starman’.
As Bowie’s otherworldly presence inspired a generation to imagine different ways of being, Lukeman’s 2018 recording with the National Children’s Choir carries that invitation to younger voices and, on release, was introduced into Irish secondary schools as part of Science Week.
Through the Dark Skies EP, Lukeman and Mayo Dark Sky Festival aim to highlight how everyday choices about lighting can help reduce unnecessary illumination, light pollution and wasted energy, while encouraging young people to engage with the night sky and inspiring the next generation of astronomy enthusiasts.
The Mayo Dark Sky Festival group says: “We protect darkness as a habitat for wildlife and a source of human imagination. Keeping the stars visible keeps open the possibility of paintings, discoveries and songs still to come.”
The specially-crafted EP is part of Lukeman’s journey towards two nights in Dublin's 3Olympia Theatre on March 19 and 20, 2027, performing two individually curated shows:
For more information on Mayo Dark Sky Festival, visit mayodarkskyfestival.ie.