Ireland Performers Archive

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Chris Keys (Belfast)

Thursday, May 12, 8.15pm, Auntie Annie's (Belfast) Northern Irish Singer/songwriter Chris Keys had a passion for music from a young age. He grew up in Portstewart, a small seaside town where the beach, night sky and surfing brought out his creativity and had a big influence on his songwriting. As a teenager Chris played in many bands gigging around the north coast area and began writing original material. In 2005 he won North Down 'Pubstar' wowing the Judges with his increasing catalogue of songs. Chris has been performing for many years as a solo artist in a wide range of venues. In 2010 he has made appearances on BalconyTV, Blast Fm, feile Fm and Bandwagon Tv. Also in August 2010 Chris went to No.1 on the Northern Irish Chart with 'City Lights,' followed by a second No.1 in December with 'There for You.' He is continously writing new material and looking for opportunities to showcase his music to a wider audience.

http://www.chriskeys.com

 

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Preachers Son

Wednesday, May 11, 8pm at Sweeney's Mongrel Preachers Son are Dubliners Brian Hogan (Kíla) and Emmaline Duffy-Fallon (previously of Engine Alley). Together since 2009, they've created a unique, hard-rock sound that positively drips with drama and raw musicality. Their debut album "Love Life & Limb" released Oct 15th 2010, was mixed by Dave Bascombe (Placebo, Korn, Kylie Minogue, Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode) in the Metropolis studios in London. Guest artists on the album include Gavin Friday and Liam Ó Maonlaí. Preachers Son are frequently joined on stage by guests of mighty stature and their energy and charisma live is indisputable. Alongside the recent Irish national tour, they've played in Italy and London, UK. March 2011 will see Preachers Son playing Canadian Music Fest in Toronto and the Manchester Irish Festival, UK with guests Tabby Callaghan and Ste O'Neill.

"Preacher's Son is more than the sum of it's parts. With an impressive cast of guest musicians including Gavin Friday and Liam Ó'Maonlaoí and Keiran Kennedy, the sound is glam- meets-swamp rock southern gothic...when she does take to the mic Emmaline Duffy-Fallon's sweet tones provide a fine foil for Hogan's dark, deep growl....This one has potential to run and run." - Hot Press, IE

http://www.preachersson.com

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Darlings of Chelsea - INDIE WEEK CANADA 2009 Winners

Tues. Apr. 13 - Auntie Annie’s (Belfast) - midnight Thurs. Apr. 15 - Cellar Bar (Galway) - 10:30pm Fri. Apr. 16 - The Twisted Pepper (Dublin) - 11:50pm Sat. Apr. 17 - Baker’s Place (Limerick) - 10:30pm Like an alliance of organized crime families, the union known as Darlings of Chelsea is the amalgamation and commingling of Canada's seediest, most guttural rock/punk masterminds. Culled from legendary mainstays including The Black Halos, Kill Cheerleader, Parkas, Robin Black and the IRS, Scratching Post, CJ Sleez, and more, Darlings of Chelsea may only be six months old but the well - or rather, cesspool - of talent and experience runs extraordinarily deep. With their sights keenly set on obliterating the current onslaught of saccharine pop/rock, their skills honed to razor-sharp perfection and enthusiasm stoked to hyperactivity on their new EP "The Mimico Sessions", Darlings of Chelsea are primed for action. The question is... are you?

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Cutaways - INDIE WEEK IRELAND 2009 Winners

Fri. Apr. 16 - The Twisted Pepper (Dublin) - 1:30am Sat. Apr. 17 - Baker's Place (Limerick) - 11:15pm Paul DJs on Tues. Apr. 13 - Auntie Annie's (Belfast) Paul McIver sings and plays guitar Grace McMacken sings and plays synths Ryan Simpson hits drums Check out the blogs they wrote for the BBC about their experiences in Toronto: Cutaways, Canadian Diary #1 - BBC Cutaways, Canadian Diary #2 - BBC Cutaways use two boys, one girl, two synths, one guitar, a drum kit and bags full of hooks and melodies to make their jagged and boisterous pop music. Encouraged by the response from the Start Stop! Start Stop! EP, Cutaways released their debut album Earth and Earthly Things in July 2009, preceded by the single, Milo of Kroton in May. Cutaways have taken their vibrant live show all across Ireland and the UK as well as playing recent shows in Toronto, Canada as part of Indie Week Canada. This summer Cutaways played some of their most exciting shows to date, taking to the stage at a number of festivals including headlining Belfast Pride and also taking in Indie Week Ireland, Glasgowbury and Feile Festivals. The gigs themselves featured anything from impromptu puppet shows to 'rap' cameos. The band’s puppet counterparts also starred in the video for Lovers Are Lunatics; and Blue Bird, Yellow Bird and Red Bird from the EP's artwork sprung to life terrorizing the streets of Belfast in the video for I Don't Understand What You Don't Say. In September, Cutaways were also selected to represent New British Music as part of a feature for Rolling Stone magazine in Japan. The coming months promise to be just as colourful, with the NME hailing Cutaways as "your new favourite band" and Ireland's Hot Press and AU magazines both naming Cutaways as one of the bands to watch in the coming year. Their 11-track debut album Earth and Earthly Things is a superb introduction to the delirious and dizzying world of Cutaways; merging infectious indie pop-rock with pounding synth soundscapes and boy/girl harmonies. http://www.wearecutaways.co.uk/

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Belfast Winners : Here Comes the Landed Gentry

Here Comes the Landed Gentry put on an impressive set of a collection of raunchy rock n roll with influences from country to punk. The band looked very comfortable which showed confidence and the band impressed the judges enough for them to be selected as the top act of the night. The band now goes on to perform at the Twisted Pepper in Dublin on Friday for a chance to win a trip / showcase at INDIE WEEK CANADA 2010. Watch for new material as the band will be recording a live-dvd-cd on Apr 26. The Varionis started the night with a set that consisted of tight hook-laden songs. They showed promise and could be a band to watch in the next few years as they are young and show a great deal of potential. Another band to watch for is Froud. The band took awhile to settle into their set but by halfway through they had found their stride and proved they had some cool songs. martin, the vocalist/bassist had some shining moments.

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Sixteen Layers

Tues. Apr. 13 - Auntie Annie's (Belfast) - 12:45am Thurs. Apr. 15 - Cellar Bar (Galway) - 9:45pm Fri. Apr. 16 - The Twisted Pepper (Dublin) - 12:35am Since their inception in 2006, Sixteen Layers have been witness to some serious highs and lows of the industry. Two years ago, after winning the Bodog Battle of the Bands, Sixteen Layers were approached by, and ultimately ended up signing with, an independent record label based out of Ireland. The band wasted no time and immediately began recording their self-penned debut album with Jim Lowe (Foo Fighters, Charlatans, Stereophonics) at The Sawmills Studio in Cornwall. The dream, however, did not last long. Due to a loss in financial backing their label folded. Sixteen Layers found themselves at a crossroad; repair the damage that had come from the dissolution of the label and continue or give up the fight. Not ones to admit defeat, they returned home to Dublin armed with the tracks they had from the Jim Lowe sessions and set to work, picking up where they left off. Due in large part to their wealth of studio knowledge from their pasts as session musicians and work in music for film/TV, the band was able to come together and finish recording the remaining tracks for the album – mixing and mastering it themselves. Their debut album I AM NO ONE, “a beautifully produced eleven-track stomp along the line between straight-up old school rock and modern-day anthemic indie” (State.ie), was released in March 2009 on their own No One Records. Securing distribution through Tower Records in Dublin and various mainstream online retailers, the album garnered immediate attention, selling out of stock at Tower Records within a few weeks of release, as well as receiving stunning reviews in the Irish press. The first single “Torch” did well as part of the Independents Day (UK) compilation album released a few months prior to I AM NO ONE. “Torch” and the second single “Eight Miles Down” have been added to rotation at a number of radio stations, including RTE/2FM/2XM, 98FM, I105, KCLR, KFM, Live 95FM, East Coast, Phantom, WLR, Spin FM, Beat FM and others. In January 2009 Sixteen Layers were approached by Ten Ways Media, a production company based in Ireland who were interested in documenting the process of an independent band releasing and promoting an album on their own. Tom O’Neill and his crew stuck by the band for three months filming everything from rehearsals, shows and in-store appearances, up to and including the album launch at a sold out Crawdaddy’s in Dublin where Sixteen Layers played an incendiary set to the frenzied crowd of friends and fans in attendance. The finished product is the short documentary “Into the Hurricane” which gives a sharp look into to the world of Sixteen Layers and the amount of work and dedication it took to bring their album to life. The documentary premiered in June 2009 prior to another sold out show by Sixteen Layers, this time The Sugar Club in Dublin. Since the release of I AM NO ONE Sixteen Layers have been on the road wowing audiences with their unforgettable live shows. In July 2009 they won the Dublin leg of Indie Week Ireland, run by Toronto-based Promoter Darryl Hurs, allowing Sixteen Layers the opportunity to come to Toronto and showcase during the Canadian Indie Week competition in the early part of October 2009. Sixteen Layers were largely voted as the band to see over Indie Week. According to one reviewer “Sixteen Layers was brilliant, really one to remember. Sixteen Layers kicked ass and had everyone smiling. For the first time in a long time I saw a band play an encore and this encore was fully merited. I never wanted this show to end. Sixteen Layers at The Hideout, one of the best shows I’ve ever seen in Toronto” (Music Vice). Back home in Dublin, the band are now filming two music videos to promote the release of their double ‘A’ side Exile/Into the Sun to be released in early November 2009. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response from their showcases over Indie Week, Sixteen Layers are currently in talks to return to Canada in the early part of the New Year. Sixteen Layers are gaining momentum at break-neck speed. Their reputation as a brilliant live band will carry Sixteen Layers well into 2010 winning over fans worldwide. In the rare time they have off the road, Sixteen Layers are starting to write in preparation for their follow up album due sometime in late 2010/early 2011. http://www.sixteenlayers.com

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Fingersmith

Fri. Apr. 16 - The Twisted Pepper (Dublin) - 9:45pm

Philip Murphy Shane O'Leary Cian O'Leary Eoin Ryan Fingersmith are an alternative rock band from Cork. Formerly known as Silo, the band changed their name in late 2009 to coincide with the launch of their debut album "The Annexe". Under the name Silo, the band received a lot of national radio play in Ireland, most notably recording live sessions for Ireland's leading national radio station 2fm, where top DJ Cormac Battle (ex-Kerbdog) described them as "the best unsigned band in the world". “The Annexe” was recorded in July 2009 with Neal Calderwood (Fighting With Wire, The Answer) at Manor Park Studio in Northern Ireland. It includes a re-recorded version of the hugely successful single “Unlucky for Some”, which garnered the band so much attention in late 2008 and 2009. It also contains new and improved versions of the songs recorded for 2fm's live session, and many more brand new songs. The album was officially launched on the 4th December 2009, and is available on iTunes. Fingersmith are already planning ahead for what will inevitably be a very busy new year. 2010 will see the band capitalising on the release of the album, gigging all over the country and going further afield to the UK and US in the later half of the year. A new EP is also in the works, to be released by the end of the year. The Fingersmith live show is a tumultuous affair, blending raw power and melodic sensibility with a rare energy and passion. Every gig is unique, so make sure to check them out when they are playing near you. www.myspace.com/fingersmithband

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Stone Throwing Youths

Fri. Apr. 16 - The Twisted Pepper (Dublin) - 7:00pm

HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE, HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL, HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS: Stone Throwing Youths are THE  LARGEST SOUNDING 2 PIECE ROCK BAND KNOWN TO MAN!  Maximising song, string, stick and skin since 2009. Beginning as a self produced band centring around 20 year old multi instrumentalist Brian Casey, who has produced, written and performed all of the band’s studio material to date, STY has now grown to absorb the rhythmic fury of drummer Andrew O’Sullivan. After playing as a varying and loose collective of musicians for a number of months, STY settled the lineup as a 2 piece outfit in December 2009. The band has since generated much word of mouth endorsement for their unique live shows; an edgy and spontaneous dynamic, an ever-changing live performance – pounding rhythms, a deeply inventive guitar arsenal and a hell of a noise created by just two musicians in realtime without any prerecorded or automated gadgetry. Having already been chosen to play in the heats of the JD set competition, having played well received shows in every corner of the country including a set at the “Live at the Marquee” series of gigs in the summer of 2009 and having recorded an extensive collection of tracks, 2010 will be the starting point for things to come from STY. With a well oiled live show and a unique and powerful sound in the bag, the band will be spending much of 2010 experimenting in the studio, capturing the originality of what they do to release in recorded form. http://www.myspace.com/stonethrowingyouths

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Drea

INDIE WEEK IRELAND Showcase: Sat. Apr. 17 - Baker Place (Limerick) - Midnight Drea approaches each new song as though it could be his last.  It is this driving intensity that is fuelling Drea’s break from Vesta Varro, the band he was with for 3 years.  With a new repertoire of songs (somewhat reminiscent of Coldplay and Snow Patrol), Drea is poised to take his solo career and explosive stage presence to new heights with all the fire and fervor he’s known for. As the lead singer/song-writer of Vesta Varro, Drea’s rock-based, epical style landed his former band two hits on the Irish Top 40 and earned them high-profile showcases in prominent festivals such as Canadian Music Week, INDIE WEEK INTERNATIONAL (which Vesta Varro won in 2007), and Rogers Spring Music Festival.  Through his extensive performances throughout Toronto, Drea has developed a loyal Canadian fan base. He has worked with some of the industry’s top talent, including producer Richard Rainey (U2/Mansun), engineer Kieran Lynch (REM/Elvis Costello), and Nick Seymour (Crowded House).  Most recently he has collaborated with British song-writing guru and producer Alan Glass (Aretha Franklin). “Vocalist Drea has one amazingly gripping stage presence; he captivated the audience from the start and didn’t let us go until the end of their set,” says Pam Nichol of TorontoIndie.com.  Indeed Drea is an intuitive rocker whose expansive, symphonic sound heats up any room he plays.

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Spy-Fu

Thurs. Apr. 15 - Cellar Bar (Galway) - 11:15pm Sat. Apr. 17 - Baker's Place (Limerick) - 9:00pm Spy-Fu are an Irish quintet. The overwhelming ambition is perform meaningful music which can cast the same spell of aspiration; the same joy to be alive, on its listener, as it does on its creator and performers when it is delivered. A strong emphasis on melody softens the steely rock undertones which make this thumping anthemic music much more than a sound, but a feeling. Our aim is not to steal your money, or corrupt your mind. We do not intend to assimilate all of humanity into our collective. We want you to assimilate us. Our resistance to you is futile. We have something to share. We feel that the real magic in performance, and the real moments of true kinship among large groups of people is in sharing a moment of the same emotion, in the same place, at the same time. Sometimes during a performance people embrace each other as 1 in a large group as they all feel that same shiver, that same moment where they feel they can jump ten feet into the air. We try to create these moments. This is a Roaming Horde. We trade in emotion. We breathe passion and exhale atmosphere. All people have passion locked inside them, we have a few keys. Who knows, they just might fit. http://www.spy-fu.net