The Waterford Local Hero 2024 Search Has Been Whittled Down To 4
And it's now time to have your say on who is the Waterford Local Hero 2024!
A New Local Hero search is part of the Irish Music Month campaign. Each radio station involved has campaigned for original local musicians and bands to submit their music to be in with a chance of winning a prize fund of €10,000.
Over the past number of weeks, original artists from Waterford submitted tracks for WLR's A Local Hero search. Irish Music Month runs for September in association with, Hot Press, Independent Broadcasters of Ireland and Coimisiún na Meán’s Sound and Vision fund.
Voting for your Waterford Local Hero 2024
Our judging panel had a very hard task to whittle the entries down to four. Each of the acts recorded live versions of their entries. Along with two WLR judges, you and the public will have the opportunity to decide which of these four incredible artists will advance to the national stage of the "A New Local Hero" search.
Public voting is now underway. You can vote below, but first, have a look or listen to the acts performing their songs for WLR.
Sara Lou
Sara Lou is a Country Pop Singer-Songwriter and guitarist. Her love of performance began at a very young age when she began Irish Dancing and playing the tin Whistle and flute. At fifteen, she got her first acoustic guitar and fell in love with singing and songwriting. Sara Lou has been performing on stages across Ireland, the UK, Australia, and America. She has built a significant fan base via the open mic & charity concert scene in combination with support slots to some great Irish artists including Mick Flannery, Republic of Loose, Aslan, Bagatelle, Eleanor McEvoy and Ryan Sheridan.
Listen Here:
Watch Here:
Shane Barry
Waterford-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer, Shane Barry, re-emerged on the original music scene in 2023 having decided to re-focus on education for over a decade. Having had previous success with the soul/indie influenced Shane Barry & the Distractions, the pause in performance opportunities in 2020 led to a rediscovery of enjoying music and writing songs.
Listen Here:
Watch Here:
Washed Out
Washed Out is a young band aged from 16-19 and is making waves in Waterford’s music scene with their unique blend of funk and indie sounds. Known for their original music and soulful covers, they bring a fresh and energetic vibe to every performance. The band, comprising Heather Deely (vocals), Danny Byrne (guitar), Oscar Devlin (keys), Ben Walsh (saxophone), Siofra Bartels-Shortt (bass) and Sara Whelan (drums)They have been creating a lasting impression on local audiences in recent months, with gigs at Summer in the City, Luca Records, Bank Lane, Europe Direct/ European Year of Skills for Young People Conference at Theatre Royal Waterford and Waterford Council’s Dungarvan Samhain Session, as well as featuring in the 2024 Waterford Spraoi parade
Listen Here:
Watch Here:
Woody
Woody is an indie rock band from Kilmeaden that formed in 2020 and released their first EP Bananas. Since then they have made a name for themselves playing across all of Waterford's main giving venues including Theatre Royal and An Uisce Beatha. They self-released their debut album Beans On Toast earlier this year and have begun working on our second album ‘While I’m Away’.
Listen Here:
Watch Here:
How to vote for your Waterford Local Hero 2024
The public vote will run from 10 am on Monday, September 2nd until 12 pm on Sunday, September 8th.
If you are having issues voting click HERE
Please pick your favourite act and click submit.
