John Barker talks ‘Tilt' and putting emerging artists on center stage

Extra.ie​

22-04-2025

At a time when the Irish music industry is flourishing globally, one monthly event is trying to shine a spotlight on the next generation of rising stars.
Tilt is a free monthly music showcase event held in The Button Factory, curated by John Barker and produced by Steve Caffrey and The Sound Training College, which aims to highlight the best of the best of the independent Irish scene.
Extra.ie caught up with Barker ahead of their April event, to discuss platforming emerging talent and the struggles faced by the music industry in Ireland. View this post on Instagram
A post shared by TiLT Dublin (@tiltdublin)
Tilt #33 takes place in The Button Factory on Tuesday April 22 and features three rising Irish stars; Tebi Rex, Bobbi Arlo & Joe Butler.
The aim of the live events, which were founded in October 2019, is to highlight the best in Irish music talent while also providing exclusive hands-on training for students pursuing a career in the live music industry.
Over the years, hundreds of acclaimed artists have graced the Tilt stage since 2019 including Sprints, Gurriers, Curtisy, Tolü Makay, Yankari, Ben Bix, Shiv and Annie-Dog. Tilt #33 takes place in The Button Factory on Tuesday April 22 and features three rising Irish stars; Tebi Rex, Bobbi Arlo & Joe Butler.
Chatting ahead of the April event, John discussed how the idea for Tilt originally formed over a cup of coffee.
'We discussed the idea of maybe starting a regular full band showcase event, because the three of us were quite surprised when we realized that there was none in Dublin.
'For such a vibrant music scene and for a city that has so many musicians that create in lots of different genres, we were quite surprised to find out there was no regular full band showcase event in Dublin.' Extra.ie caught up with Barker ahead of their April event, to discuss platforming emerging talent and the struggles faced by the music industry in Ireland.
'There was none that provided a big venue, full setup in terms of gear and lighting and production. So we decided to give it a go.'
Tilt #1 was a daunting prospect for the founders, but thankfully, music lovers showed up in their droves for what would soon be known as an integral event in the Irish music calendar.
'We were kind of up and running from then. It's taken a lot of hard work, because obviously, something new like this has to take time in terms of word of mouth – that's kind of how we've built up our reputation.' View this post on Instagram
A post shared by TiLT Dublin (@tiltdublin)
'The thing I really love about it is, I've been asked previously to do similar types of showcase events, but it would have been like, one or two people involved.
'What I like about Tilt is that from the very start, there's always been a large crew involved. It's not just myself and Steve Caffrey, there's a large number of students from sound training college that work at each particular live Tilt event. So they're getting hands-on experience at every event in terms of how production works, how lighting and sound work.'
John's aim has always been to champion the artist, with the founder recognising the challenges facing emerging acts within the Irish music industry.
'It's tough just living in Dublin in terms of paying rent and cost of living, but it's even harder then if you're a musician,' he began.
'You've got to think about equipment, and think about how much it costs to rent space and to rehearse and numerous kinds of costs of being in the band, and then you try to make money from it. It's really tough and only a handful of them are able to survive and make a living out of it.'
Tilt #33 is presented with thanks to funding from IMRO in The Button Factory on Tuesday April 22.
Admission is free. Doors are at 7.30pm. Entry is over 18s.