Supporting Irish Musicians and Artists

Calum Agnew, Arco Arena, Lisa Murray and The Hopeful Kind have been announced as local finalists in the A New Local Hero national talent search – a key part of Irish Music Month which kicks off on 21 stations across Ireland, on September 1st.

As one of the central features of Irish Music Month, A New Local Hero is a major call to arms for Irish musicians and bands – with all 21 participating radio stations having reached out for submissions in recent months. The excitement is rising, with a slew of announcements expected over the next few days. Each of the acts selected by the stations will perform and be interviewed on their local station, with one act from each station going forward onto the long-list of contenders for the national A New Local Hero award.

Launched in 2021, Irish Music Month is an initiative of Hot Press and the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland, and is funded by Coimisiún na Meán.

What Irish Music Month means, across participating independent stations, is:

– More Irish music song plays

– More Irish music artist mentions

– More Irish music features

– More Irish artist gig pushes

– More Irish artist interviews

And – what's more – we'll be putting over €100,000 into the hands of music makers and their crews across the country too.

So, without further ado, let's meet LMFM's shortlisted artists...

The Hopeful Kind:

Meath/Donegal Indie-pop duo Cara Ward and Ruth Teeling are an established live draw, with their harmonious sadgirl anthems lending themselves to both big-sounding full band shows and intimate acoustic sets. The pair have graced stages across the country, including The Ghostlight sessions, The Mary From Dungloe Festival and iconic Dublin venue Whelan's. Their driving debut single 'Wherever You Go' was released in February, with impressive follow-up 'The Right Way' arriving in May. We are not surprised to see them emerging strongly here.

The Hopeful Kind

Lisa Murray:

With a background as an audio engineer, this Meath artist's self-produced recordings are packed with relatable lyrics, earworm melodies, and lusciously layered vocals. She recently left her role as a full-time engineer to focus on her burgeoning career as an artist, boasting a sound which pays homage to radio favourites like Taylor Swift, Chapell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter. Murray's initial breakthrough came via Gen Z bop 'i unfollowed u', which garnered 3 million impacts on Irish radio. We're talking serious potential indeed...

Lisa Murray by Bogdan Hrechka.

Calum Agnew:

Familiar to the tastemakers at Hot Press HQ as a rising soul-popper, Agnew has consolidated his position within the local scene superbly, His tunes are characterised by a balanced musical ecosystem of flickering percussion, technicolour soul, R&B layerings and smooth-as-butter vocals. The Dublin-based artist had his first sold-out headline show in The Beehive in London in 2021, and has since performed in numerous venues across his native country, including an impressive recent show in Whelan’s Main Room in March.

Calum Agnew

Arco Arena:

Among the latest crop of exciting artists to hail from the musically fruitful realm of Dundalk, this funk-flavoured four-piece pride themselves on fashioning infectious hooks and delivering them with impressive musical chops. They combine the grit of bands like IDLES with the dance-appropriateness of outfits like Foals and Two Door Cinema Club. They've already performed at prestigious venues and festivals all over Ireland, from The Spirit Store in Louth to the Galway's Roisin Dubh. As Yazz once sang: the only way is up!

Irish Music Month is also supported by IMRO, RAAP, Live Nation, Rubyworks and Camden Recording Studios.

See the full list of participating radio stations below:

Clare FM
Classic Hits
Cork's 96FM
East Coast FM
FM104
Galway Bay Fm
Highland Radio
KCLR
KFM
Limerick Live 95FM
LMFM
Midlands 103
MidWest Radio
Northern Sound
Ocean FM
Radio Kerry
Radio Nova
Shannonside
South-East Radio
Tipp FM
WLR FM

• Irish Music Month - Irish Radio Supporting Artists - in association with IBI, Hot Press & Coimisiún na Meán's Sound & Vision Scheme, funded by the Television License Fee

IMM Footer