The 10 nominees for the 20th RTÉ Choice Music Prize were announced today on RTÉ 2FM.
The 10 albums selected by a panel of 12 judges (including myself) to go forward to the live show at Vicar Street on Thursday March 6th, where a winner will be announced for this main prize of the Choice.
The nominated albums are:
A Lazarus Soul – No Flowers Grow In Cement Gardens
Curtisy – What Was The Question?
Fontaines D.C. – Romance
Orla Gartland – Everybody Needs A Hero
Kneecap – Fine Art
New Dad – MADRA
Niamh Regan – Come As You Are
Róis – Mo Léan
Silverbacks – Easy Being A Winner
Sprints – Letter To Self
Five of my top 10 made it in to the 12 (9 of my top 20).
A strong year once again with absences on the list for albums from Pillow Queens, Villagers, Houseplants, Travy and Elzzz,
The Judges
Nicole Glennon The Examiner
Pat Carty, Freelance
Lillian Smith, RTÉ
Jon Jon Mehigan, RTÉ
Kate Brayden, Freelance
Niall Byrne, Nialler9
Laura Lomax, RTÉ
Aaron Cunningham, Chord Blossom
Dray Morgan, District Magazine
Stephen McCauley, BBC Radio Ulster
Dee Woods, Nova
Fiona Gavin, Raidió na Life
The panel is chaired by Jim Carroll.
Choice Music Prize dates and activity.
Irish Artist of the Year – shortlist Tues 7th January
(winner announced 6th March at Vicar St)
Irish Breakthrough Artist – shortlist Wed 8th January
(winner announced 6th March at Vicar St)
Classic Irish Album – further details Thurs 9th January
(winner announced ahead of the live event)
Irish Song of the Year 2024 – shortlist Fri 10th January
(winner announced 6th March on 2FM daytime)
The public vote for SOTY will open on Friday 10th January.
The RTÉ Choice Music Prize turns 20 this year – that’s 200 shortlisted albums, numerous performances and 20 winning albums from artists including – SOAK, Jape, The Divine Comedy, CMAT, Lankum, Adrian Crowley, Villagers, The Gloaming, Denise Chaila and many more: https://www.choicemusicprize.ie/previous-winners/
Dave Reid, Choice Music Prize co-founder, commented – “The RTÉ Choice Music Prize continues to highlight, promote & support Irish music annually. We are delighted to be hosting the 20th edition of the project in 2025 and right now music across all genres in Ireland is in its healthiest state ever. We would like to thank all our partners and supporters down through the years as we strive to continue to shine a light on quality Irish music both domestically and internationally into the future”.
“Once again, 2FM is delighted to continue our partnership with the RTÉ Choice Music Prize for the 9th year running. With this year holding particular significance as the 20th Anniversary of this very important prize. Through our partnership, we’re delighted to be able to continue to celebrate all that is great about Irish music and Irish artists. Through the ‘Irish Artist of the Year’, ‘Irish Breakthrough Artist of the Year’ and ‘Classic Irish Album’ categories, and the longstanding ‘Irish Song of the Year’ and the preeminent ‘Irish Album of the Year’ prizes we are able to more broadly represent the incredible past, present and exciting future of Irish music. 2FM will continue its support as the flagship partner station, with content and promos across our platforms over the coming months, and this will be reflected more widely across the entire organisation as we get closer to the awards night.” – RTÉ 2FM’s Head of Music, Adam Fogarty
Jim Carroll, Choice Music Prize co-founder and chairperson of the judging panel, added “it’s quite something to be talking about the 20th outing of this event. I firmly believe that the longevity of the Choice Music Prize is due to how Irish bands and musicians have actively and enthusiastically supported the event over the years. It is clear that they value its integrity and independence, as well as its impact on their profile and careers. On the occasion of the 20th Choice, we want to salute and thank the hundreds of musicians who’ve joined us along the way.”
The Irish Album of the Year 2024 will be announced live from Vicar St on RTÉ 2FM in a special show 7-11pm on Thursday 6th March. The show will feature live performances from some of the shortlisted acts, further details on the line-up to be announced soon. Tickets are on sale now.
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The 20th annual RTÉ Choice Music Prize will once again celebrate the best in Irish recorded music. The Prize has become one of the music-industry highlights of the year since its inception in 2005. The Irish Album of the Year award is chosen from a shortlist of ten albums by a panel of eleven Irish music media professionals and industry experts. The list of judges is available via http://www.choicemusicprize.ie
The winning Album of the Year act will receive €10,000, a prize fund which has been provided by The Irish Music Rights Organization (IMRO) and The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). All shortlisted acts will receive a specially commissioned award.
RAAP, Culture Ireland, FMC, Minding Creative Minds, Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet and Coimisiún na Meán are also official project partners of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize.
