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My 50 best Irish music acts right now

My 50 best Irish music acts right now

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I took my cue from the list published in The Irish Times today. While that does suffer slightly from “middle-of-the-road-itis” or “lowest common denominator-list” theory (Both made up on the spot obviously), there’s nothing overtly wrong with the list as picked by Jim Carroll, Tony Clayton-Lea, Sinead Gleeson and Lauren Murphy. It’s a good representation of Irish music right now even though everybody will probably agree that there’s something missing from the list and that it favours indie or rock acts over other genres. Someone on Jim’s blog scoffed at the ability to be able to come up with 50 great Irish acts in operation right now but I’d also like to test that theory. Most lists will always favour the already-established, more well-known names who perhaps are riding on the coat-tails of former glories. That’s why all lists are pants. They are fun to make however.

As blogs are seeing as an alternative to mainstream media, I thought it’d be fun to post my own. My list was selected as an accurate representation of the 50 acts I’m most interested in hearing more of right now. These are the 50 acts who are making Irish music good enough to stick around this country in the times of recession and who are not eye-rollingly shit. The fact that it was such a piss-easy exercise and I left off loads proves that Irish music is healthier than its been for years and years. Get purchasing.

So here are the top 50 acts in Ireland, in alphabetical order I’m keenly watching right now.

  1. 202s
  2. Adebisi Shank
  3. Adrian Crowley
  4. Alias Empire
  5. And So I Watch You From Afar..
  6. Baby Beef
  7. Bats
  8. Cap Pas Cap
  9. Cashier no. 9
  10. Cathy Davey
  11. Chequerboard (aka Boldypants)
  12. David Kitt
  13. Fight Like Apes
  14. Gran Casino
  15. Grand Pocket Orchestra
  16. Halves
  17. Heathers
  18. Hunter Gatherer
  19. Jape
  20. John Shelley and the Creatures
  21. Kill Krinkle Club
  22. Le Galaxie
  23. Legion of Two
  24. Lines Drawing Circles
  25. Lisa Hannigan
  26. Mail Order Messiahs
  27. Messiah J and the Expert
  28. Mumblin Deaf Ro
  29. Nouveaunoise
  30. One Day International
  31. Patrick Kelleher and Band
  32. Prince Kong
  33. R.S.A.G
  34. Robotnik
  35. Sarsparilla
  36. So Cow
  37. Sunken Foal
  38. Super Extra Bonus Party
  39. Tenaka
  40. The Ambience Affair
  41. The Holy Roman Army
  42. The Infomatics
  43. The Jimmy Cake
  44. The Lowly Knights
  45. The Mighty Stef
  46. The Rubberbandits
  47. The Spook of the 13th Lock
  48. The Vinny Club
  49. Villagers
  50. You’re Only Massive

Of course, it doesn’t end there. These lists are all about awareness. So if you feel like it, make your own list or suggest away. It won’t change this list but it might change others.


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