What is Irish Music Month

Irish Music Month begins today, October 1st. It is a new initiative to promote Irish artists and bands. The campaign will see significantly increased radio play across 25 independent radio stations, including on WLR.  In addition, €100,000 will be paid directly to Irish artists. The campaign runs for the month in association with Independent Broadcasters of Ireland  the BAI Sound and Vision Fund and music publication Hot Press.

Local Hero Search as part of Irish Music Month

Over the past number of weeks, over 30 original artists from Waterford submitted tracks for WLR's Local Hero Search, which is all part of the campaign.

The final five..

Our judging panel had a very hard task to whittle the entries down to five, but they did and here they are:

Carrie Baxter 

Hailing from Waterford City, Carrie Baxter is one of the most thrilling voices in the Irish music scene right now. Independently forging a career out of her unique vocal tones and her versatile songwriting abilities that can cross from Motown to 90s club tracks and back again, 2021 sees Carrie head out on her first headline tour of the UK and Ireland, play her first festivals and release her sophomore EP, What Now.

Working predominantly in the Soul, R&B and Jazz arenas, where she saw great success with her debut Placebo EP, and will release her forthcoming What Now ep, as well as collaborations with her peers. Carrie also explores her love for dance music with collaborations with some of the biggest names in the dance world.

CODYY

After spending six years successfully releasing music and touring extensively with Irish band Fallen Lights, CODYY is embarking on a new journey with his solo project. With strong pop influences, he has worked hard to create an original sound, fusing Folk & HipHop. Achieving much radio play with FL, CODYY aims to mirror his success with his pop songwriting abilities on his debut release, set for November.

No stranger to the big stages having played 3 Arena, Vicar St and Olympia Theatre to name a few, he is now heading to Cork this weekend to open up for Irish rock legends, Aslan in Cyprus Avenue.

Toucan  

Toucan is the music project of pop, funk and soul artist, Conor Clancy.

With irresistible guitar licks, dazzling brass hooks, a tightly knit rhythm section and a silky-smooth vocal blend, the band serve up quite a sound.

After releasing their debut single, We Fell for Miles and their debut EP, they've racked up over a million Spotify streams, with huge listenership in the UK, the US and Australia. Following sold out dates across Ireland and the UK in early 2019, the band went on to play support slots for Nile Rodgers & CHIC in Dublin and for the Average White Band at the Royal Albert Hall. They spent the Summer playing on the Irish festival circuit and finished it by playing to a packed-out Electric Arena at Electric Picnic 2019.

They finished 2019 with a UK tour, a new EP release and to finish out the year they put on their biggest show to date in The Academy, Dublin.

Dunluvly 

Dunluvly has been active in the pub circuit in Waterford, Tipperary and Kilkenny since 2017. Following his graduation from a music technology degree in Maynooth University, Dunluvly began playing in a four-piece band under the same title. The addition of bassist Ryan Fahey, guitarist Mark Duggan and jazz drummer Christian Conefery has brought the sound of the Dunluvly band to the next level.

Under Starling  

Known for their live performances which encapsulate the band's emotive and chaotic energy, Under Starling's unique sound is unlike anything the Irish music industry has heard in years. The band evoke a range of emotions with their epic atmospheric sound and polished recordings, incorporating progressive, ambient, and pop elements into their music. Their ability to express character and emotion through instrumentation, dealing with themes such as life, death, love, and freedom, is what makes them a band to keep an eye on.

What happens next?

Each of the acts will record live versions of their entries, to be judged by a panel of three. The panel comprises Ollie Carroll (WLR’s Spin Home) local musician Michelle Haberlin and You! Public voting will get underway later in the month.

Ollie's Spin Home will be the hub of Irish Music Month here on WLR, where he will showcase some of Waterford and Ireland's amazing independent singers and bands. For more on Irish Music Month, click here.