Next week is Ireland Music Week - and 50 Irish artists are showcasing new music online

The festival formerly known as Hard Working Class Heroes spotlights new Irish music of all genres and provides a full range of industry workshops

Beyond the Wash: the alt-rock project of Corkman Patrick O'Donnell. Pic: Nick O'Donnell

Adding their presence to a packed season of festivals and events entering the online realm amid prevailing circumstances is Ireland Music Week - the music industry showcase formerly known as Hard Working Class Heroes.

The brainchild of Cork woman and music industry veteran Angela Dorgan, Ireland Music Week sets out annually to bring together a full programme of emerging Irish music, not only for Dublin's regular gig-going audience, but to bring a packed delegation of music industry professionals into the city's venues after a series of daytime panels and workshops.

This year, the format has gamely made its way online, with fifty different live performances, filmed by Other Voices live-streamers Tiny Ark, premiering across the online event, and its usual workshops also available remotely via the Hopin platform.

CMAT: country-fried pop from Dublin

Among the artists showcasing are Limerick-based hip-hop breakouts Denise Chaila, GodKnows and MurLi; Dublin country-pop hero CMAT; Wicklow folk singer Anna-Mieke; Belfast shoegazers Beauty Sleep; and Cork alt-rock prospects Beyond the Wash.

"For the fans and gig-goers, it is a chance to spot new acts before they get bigger", says Dorgan, "but also to discover new music and 'go' to a gig as close to how you would have experienced it in previous years, jump around from virtual room to virtual room, and pick your favourites in the line-up."

IMW head Angela Dorgan. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/Rollingnews.ie

The event is a wide collaboration between industry partners and sponsors, with Dorgan's First Music Contact, Culture Ireland, IMRO, RTÉ 2FM, A&R platform Andrson and Guinness co-presenting the online event. 

“Culture Ireland is delighted to support IMW 2020, and applaud how the team were able to pivot to offer the event online and thereby achieve an ever greater global reach," says Culture Ireland's Christine Sisk. 

"We welcome all attending this year and wish all the fantastic artists every success as we join with them remotely to experience some of Ireland’s finest talents.”

Get a preview of live-streaming gigs, filmed at venues around Dublin, below.

More information and full line-up are available here.

Tickets are priced at €50 for a full pass, €25 for either workshops or performances, or €10 for a daily/nightly pass, and are available via Eventbrite.