From stark poetry to rugged hip-hop and more.
Irish identity is up for grabs.
St Patricks Day emphasises the island s global reach, the manner in which the diaspora has survived and thrives in corners around the world.
Yet Irishness has become increasingly hard to define, with new generations, political developments, and increased immigration causing the country to take a step back, and look at itself once more.
The process has been mirrored and enhanced in the country s complex network of music communities. Simply put: Irish music is thriving, but there s no one defining sound or idea. Indeed, diversity is its strength, whether that s the rollicking post-punk of
Predicting the names who will matter.
The pandemic has changed the way we look at new music.
With touring - largely - off the cards, artists have been forced to shift the manner in which they operate, finding fresh ways to connect with their audience.
As these pathways have become more splintered, convoluted, and difficult to follow, the speed at which music arrives on our screen, before dashing into the ether, seems to have multiplied.
It s an enormously difficult landscape to traverse, but it s also one fraught with opportunity - put simply, music truly does feel as though it exists at a crossroads.