Esmeralda Road have signed to the new label 26.2 and shared a new single, ‘Here Honey’. The Belfast band, who come from jazz backgrounds, will follow it with an EP in the first quarter of 2027.
The band (a three-piece down from a seven-piece) describe the song as a response to the constant distractions that wear down relationships. It is a ballad, and moves away from the jazz and soul shades of their earlier music into emotional pop-rock. The video was directed by Jay Whylie.
The band, who were formerly known as Moonboot, won Single of the Year at the 2023 NI Music Prize for ‘To U’. They have since shared stages with Primal Scream and Liam Gallagher, toured the UK and Ireland supporting Basht., and have festival slots at Iceland Airwaves and The Great Escape. They are also among the Irish acts announced for Eurosonic 2027, which runs from January 13th to 15th in Groningen.
Esmeralda Road’s upcoming live dates:
- Thursday November 12th: Oslo, London
- Tuesday November 17th: The Grove, Newcastle
- Wednesday November 18th: The People’s Leisure Club, Edinburgh
- Sunday November 22nd: Papillon, Southampton
- Tuesday November 24th: Scala, London
- Wednesday November 25th: Project House, Leeds
- Thursday November 26th: The Fleece, Bristol
- Tuesday December 1st: Voodoo, Belfast
- Wednesday December 2nd: Voodoo, Belfast
- Tuesday December 8th: Róisín Dubh, Galway
- Thursday December 10th: Dolan’s, Limerick
- Friday December 11th: Workman’s Club, Dublin
- Saturday December 12th: Workman’s Club, Dublin
- Saturday May 1st 2027: Limelight 1, Belfast
- May 12th to 15th 2027: The Great Escape, Brighton
- Sunday May 30th 2027: Neighbourhood Weekender, Warrington
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.
