The bursary honours the Fontaines D.C.’s manager’s Trev’s openness, kindness and willingness to help, with its first recipient named as Erin Barker, manager of Madra Salach.
Ireland Music Week has announced The Trevor Dietz Management Bursary, created in partnership with Wildlife Entertainment, honouring Trev Dietz, who passed away earlier this year. The bursary will go to a developing Irish manager of an Irish act, supporting them as they navigate the music industry.
Trev was widely known and loved as a DJ and promoter at The Workman’s Club in Dublin, and as booker for Eamonn Doran’s prior to that. A passionate activist and friend to many, he was instrumental in bringing the precursor to Ireland Music Week, HWCH, into the Workman’s, and convinced plenty of other venues to take a chance on the festival along the way. He discovered and managed Fontaines D.C. before entering a partnership with Wildlife Entertainment to build the band’s international profile.
The bursary offers support across three areas:
- A €5,000 award
- One day a week of free office space at First Music Contact for 12 months
- A monthly one-hour mentorship session for a year with one of the principals at Wildlife Entertainment
Angela Dorgan, CEO of First Music Contact, which runs Ireland Music Week, said “we want to make sure we honour Trev in a very real way, to keep his generosity of spirit and openness in the industry alive.”.
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Ian McAndrew, CEO of Wildlife Entertainment, said ““Trevor was an inspirational, compassionate and dedicated manager who set an example to us all. His support for Irish music and devotion to justice, was recognised and admired by everyone that knew him. We are honoured to support a management bursary in his name and help champion the next generation of Irish managers and artists.”
The first recipient, announced at the Ireland Music Week launch, is Erin Barker, who manages Dublin band Madra Salach, one of the breakout acts of IMW 2025 and now drawing international attention. Dan Lambert paid tribute to Trev on the night.
Ireland Music Week hopes to secure a new management company each year to support the bursary’s continuation, inviting each new recipient to join the selection group and help pass the support on to future Irish artist managers.
Full details:
- Conference schedule
- Artist schedule
- Tickets, from €12, via Lost Lane (daytime) and The Grand Social (evenings)
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Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
