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Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Folk trio who became a viral sensation with expats deliver simple debut that gets under the skin
Both bands have grown their fan-bases so quickly thanks to the likes of TikTok that it will have come as a surprise to many that each are set to play headline shows at Dublin's 3Arena later this year. There are many, long-established household name acts here who will never be big enough to do that. Amble, a trio from Leitrim, Longford and Sligo, got together in Dublin in 2022 and found they had an easy rapport, especially when it comes to penning highly accessible, instantly hummable folk songs. Digital natives, teachers Robbie Cunningham and Ross McNerney and data scientist Oisín McCaffrey didn't need a marketeer to tell them about the power of social media. Soon, their songs were finding favour on TikTok, in particular, with one track, Lonely Island, favoured by Irish expats making videos about what they missed back home. Social media drove interest and they soon signed with Warner Music. Debut album Reverie is a likeable affair, stuffed with songs about love and belonging and the joys of being young. These aren't tracks that challenge the listener — such as those from Irish folk's leading lights Lankum — but they do get under the skin, easily, and it would take a churlish critic indeed not to appreciate the craft that's at play here. The songs are deceptively simple, mostly built around guitars and a mandolin and the vocals of Cunningham and McCaffrey, but it's easy to see why they work in the big arenas they now find themselves in. They toured with Hozier earlier this year. The bright, lovely Marlay Park celebrates new love with lyrics about summertime in Stephen's Green and a happy couple singing the Chili Peppers' Dani California 'walking down to Marlay Park'. Even songs with more sombre lyrical content, such as Ode to John, have a pleasing directness to them. 'The bundle in your arms I know/ It weighs the world… The moon can't face the sight/ Of our child alone.' Folk purists might argue that much of this album is more pop than folk, more redolent of the likes of the Coronas, for instance, than the sort of troubadours who cut their teeth in Dublin's Cobblestone. But a number of songs, including the quietly lovely title track and the more spirited Little White Chapel, underline their folk credentials. Rarely has a band's name been more suitable for the music they make. Reverie won't turn anyone's world on their head, but sometimes an amble through a well-made, sincere album is a pleasure in these fraught times.
RTÉ News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Why it's time to tune into Ireland's female musicians
We present an extract from Why Not Her? A Manifesto for Culture Change, the new book by Linda Coogan Byrne. Through a combination of hard-hitting data, personal testimony, and case studies by activist, PR specialist, and gender equity champion Linda Coogan Byrne, Why Not Her? offers a bold and unflinching examination of the systemic inequalities within the music industry — and far beyond. Most Irish female artists' experiences of music industry and radio support are vastly different from those of their male counterparts — artists like Dermot Kennedy, Hozier, Moncrieff, Robert Grace, Gavin James, The Script, Cian Ducrot, Amble, Kingfisher, Kneecap, Snow Patrol, and Picture This, to name but a few. The list of "breakthrough" Irish male acts feels endless — bolstered by consistent, heavy radio rotation, festival bookings, and widespread media backing. But for Irish women in music, the path has been steeper, quieter, and relentlessly overlooked. Too often, the only route to real success has meant working ten times harder — or leaving Ireland altogether. Artists like CMAT, Orla Gartland, RuthAnne, Bambi Thug, Biig Piig, Áine Tyrrell, Wallis Bird, and Wyvern Lingo have all pursued their careers abroad — in the UK, Berlin, Australia, and beyond — where access, airplay, and opportunities are far more abundant for women and gender-diverse artists who continue to be overlooked in Ireland. Even The Cranberries — now icons of Irish music — famously broke America before being fully embraced at home. It's a pattern that continues today: for many Irish women, meaningful recognition only arrives once they've made noise elsewhere. One notable exception in recent years has been Jazzy, whose breakout came through a collaboration with two male producers — Belters Only. That track, Make Me Feel Good, became a viral and chart-topping hit, making her the first Irish female artist to reach Number 1 on Spotify's Top 50 Ireland chart, and the first Irish woman to top the Irish Singles Chart in over 14 years. She then carved her own path with Giving Me, which made her the first Irish female solo artist in over two decades to hit Number 1 on the Irish Singles Chart. She carved her own way once the door was opened — and this is what happens when women are given a chance. Watch: Bambi Thug performs on The Late Late Show The team and I in the Why Not Her? collective conducted a 20-year analysis of the Irish Singles Chart — and the results lay it bare: For every female act that reaches the chart, 4.6 male acts do the same. Male acts have seven entries for every single entry by a female act. For each week a female act spends on the chart, a male act spends 11.5 weeks. 71.1% of Top 10 singles over the past two decades were released by Irish male artists and bands. The scale of exclusion is staggering. Women, and especially women of colour, have been absent from mainstream success. Between 2010 and 2020, not a single Irish woman reached the top rank. The system isn't about talent — it's about access. Then came Irish Women in Harmony — 47 women joining forces to record a powerful rendition of Dreams by The Cranberries. Their voices didn't just break a decade-long drought; they raised vital funds for Safe Ireland, supporting women and children experiencing domestic abuse. The single went on to reach Number 15 on the Official Irish Singles Chart and Number 1 on the Official Irish Homegrown Chart — a chart dedicated to highlighting the most popular songs by Irish artists across streaming, downloads, and sales. This feat marked the first time a female act topped the Homegrown Chart and the first time in over a decade that an Irish female act had broken into the Top 20 of the Official Irish Singles Chart. Watch: Irish Women In Harmony perform on The Late Late Show It took nearly 50 women coming together to reclaim a space that male artists often occupy alone. Even imagining that contrast should tell you everything. Needless to say, the system isn't broken — it was built this way. And it's long past time to change it. This isn't a coincidence. It's a pattern. Male artists dominate radio playlists and festival stages, leaving women to fight for scraps — or feeling isolated if they are among the tiny percentage of female headliners. And airplay, which is the lifeblood of chart success, is gate-kept in a way that excludes them. Even when women write about resilience, adversity, and triumph, their voices don't get the same platform or visibility. Airplay Isn't merit-based. It's access-based This is about visibility — but it's also about infrastructure. Most Irish women are still releasing music independently, without the label support or financial investment their male counterparts more often receive. Take Orla Gartland, for example — an Irish female artist now based in London. Entirely independent, she recently won Best Song Musically and Lyrically at the Ivor Novello Awards — by herself. No label machine. No major-budget backing. Just talent, work, and vision. Her win proves what we already know: when women are given space to flourish, they deliver excellence on their own terms. Listen: Orla Gartland talks to Oliver Callan And yet, she has received just over 600 total radio plays across her entire catalogue in Ireland so far this year. Her peer? Take Gavin James — one of many male artists regularly championed on Irish radio. He has received over 8,000 plays in the same time period. The contrast is staggering. The system isn't about talent — it's about access. Yet even those with major label backing still don't find their way into heavy rotation playlists — rendering the age-old excuses radio executives continue to use both indefensible and absurd. As laid out in Why Not Her?, here's what they've actually said when confronted: "Men make better music than women." "We don't have the budget to be diverse." "We don't make the rules." "Women just moan." "She's too old and long in the tooth to be making music." "You need to be careful and stop stepping on people's toes in radio." "We actually had some women on a special Friday night show back in February." "It's the label's fault, not ours." "People prefer to listen to male acts; they request them on air!" These aren't thoughtful critiques. They're lazy deflections — sexist, patronising, and structurally embedded. They insult not only the intelligence and talent of Irish women artists, but the audience as well. When Irish radio producers say, "We just play what people want," they ignore a fundamental truth: taste is shaped by exposure — and exposure is controlled. You can't love what you're not hearing. Why Not Her? Why Not Now? Because the next generation is not only watching. They are listening. And they are coming.
Sunday World
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Over 40 acts added to Electric Picnic including The Kooks, Becky Hill and Eurovision stars
The largest festival in the country, which already sold out months in advance, will take place in Stradbally, Co Laois, from August 29 to 31 Electric Picnic has revealed more than 40 new acts that will appear alongside headliners like Hozier, Chappell Roan and Fatboy Slim this August. The largest festival in the country, which already sold out months in advance, will take place in Stradbally, Co Laois, from August 29 to 31. Top international acts like Becky Hill, Confidence Man, The Kooks and Lord Huron have been added to the line-up, while Eurovision fans who rated Estonia's entry 'Espresso Macchiato' will be able to see Tommy Cash on stage this summer, joined by last year's Dutch entry Joost. Other acts who will be taking to the stage include Conan Gray and Irish stars like Amble, Kingfishr, Bell X1, Maverick Sabre, The Academic and Aaron Rowe. Around 80,000 people are expected to descend on the 600-acre Stradbally Estate this summer, with a new wave of acts like Suki Waterhouse, Biig Piig, Maribou State, Montell and Barry Can't Swim to join them. Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Co Laois News in 90 Seconds - May 23rd The first five headline acts were revealed in March, with Hozier returning to the festival on Friday alongside Chappell Roan, who has soared to mega-stardom and recently won a Grammy. Brit Award winner Sam Fender will take to the main stage on Saturday off the back of his chart-topping third album, followed by the iconic DJ Fatboy Slim and his biggest hits like 'Praise You' and 'Right Here, Right Now'. The fifth headliner announced today is Kings of Leon, who will make their Electric Picnic debut on the Sunday of the festival. Tickets for the 2025 festival completely sold out last August, just days after the 2024 event which featured Kylie Minogue, Noah Kahan, Calvin Harris, The Wolfe Tones, who drew a record-breaking crowd to the Electric Tent the year prior, and Kneecap.
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Electric Picnic reveals more acts for August line-up
The Electric Picnic has revealed over 40 acts that will be joining the previously announced Hozier, Chappell Roan, Sam Fender, Fatboy Slim, and Kings of Leon at the festival in Stradbally, Co Laois from 29 to 31 August. Hozier and Chappell Roan are Friday's headliners; Sam Fender and Fatboy Slim are top of the bill on Saturday night, and Kings of Leon and the newly announced Becky Hill will close out the festival on Sunday. Joining Hill on the bill this year are: Amble, Barry Can't Swim (Live), Conan Gray, Confidence Man, Kingfishr, Lord Huron, Marc Rebillet, Maribou State, Montell Fish, Self Esteem, Suki Waterhouse, The Kooks, Viagra Boys, Alessi Rose, and Bell X1. Black Country, New Road, For Those I Love, Joost, Just Mustard, KhakiKid, Maverick Sabre, Tommy Cash, Mundy, Orla Gartland, The Academic, Biig Piig, Arthur Hill, Blair Davie, Esmeralda Road, Hilltop Hoods, Luvcat, NOFUN!, Sunday (1994), and Aaron Rowe have also been announced. Over in the festival's Terminus section, AZYR, DJ Heartstring, Ewan McVicar, Girls Don't Sync, Holy Priest, Horsegiirl, Juicy Romance, Mark Blair, Pretty Girl, Sim0ne, and Puzzy Wrangler are on the bill.
Irish Independent
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Over 40 acts added to Electric Picnic line-up including The Kooks, Becky Hill and Eurovision stars
The largest festival in the country, which already sold out months in advance, will take place in Stradbally, Co Laois, from August 29 to 31. Top international acts like Becky Hill, Confidence Man, The Kooks and Lord Huron have been added to the line-up, while Eurovision fans who rated Estonia's entry 'Espresso Macchiato' will be able to see Tommy Cash on stage this summer, joined by last year's Dutch entry Joost. Other acts who will be taking to the stage include Conan Gray and Irish stars like Amble, Kingfishr, Bell X1, Maverick Sabre, The Academic and Aaron Rowe. Around 80,000 people are expected to descend on the 600-acre Stradbally Estate this summer, with a new wave of acts like Suki Waterhouse, Biig Piig, Maribou State, Montell and Barry Can't Swim to join them. The first five headline acts were revealed in March, with Hozier returning to the festival on Friday alongside Chappell Roan, who has soared to mega-stardom and recently won a Grammy. Brit Award winner Sam Fender will take to the main stage on Saturday off the back of his chart-topping third album, followed by the iconic DJ Fatboy Slim and his biggest hits like 'Praise You' and 'Right Here, Right Now'. The fifth headliner announced today is Kings of Leon, who will make their Electric Picnic debut on the Sunday of the festival. Tickets for the 2025 festival completely sold out last August, just days after the 2024 event which featured Kylie Minogue, Noah Kahan, Calvin Harris, The Wolfe Tones, who drew a record-breaking crowd to the Electric Tent the year prior, and Kneecap.
