Chris Cresham, Johnluke, Jamie McIntyre and Sinead Murphy have been chosen as local finalists in the A New Local Hero national talent search - a key part of Irish Music Month which is set to kick off on 21 stations across Ireland on September 1st.

As one of the central features of Irish Music Month, A New Local Hero is a major call to arms for Irish musicians and bands – with all 21 participating radio stations having reached out for submissions in recent months. The excitement is rising, with a slew of announcements arriving over the next few days. Each of the acts selected by the stations will perform and be interviewed on their local station, with one act from each station going forward onto the long-list of contenders for the national A New Local Hero award.

Launched in 2021, Irish Music Month is an initiative of Hot Press and the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland, and is funded by Coimisiún na Meán.

What Irish Music Month means, across participating independent stations, is:

– More Irish music song plays

– More Irish music artist mentions

– More Irish music features

– More Irish artist gig pushes

– More Irish artist interviews

And – what's more – we'll be putting over €100,000 into the hands of music makers and their crews across the country too.

Without further ado, let's meet Galway Bay FM's shortlisted artists...

Jamie McIntyre:

An iTunes chart-topper very much in the James Arthur/Lewis Capaldi mould, this twenty two-year-old songsmith boasts an impressive 100,000-plus monthly listeners on Spotify alone, with his April collaboration with German-based Blrrdpcts, 'Moving Faster', garnering over half a million streams on the platform. McIntyre has clearly caught the ear of many, including one of his heroes Gavin James, whom the young singer opened for in Paris during James' European ‘Acoustic residency’ tour. Having provided lat year's overall winner, it looks like Galway Bay FM have churned out some serious talent yet again.

Jamie McIntyre.

Johnluke:

Hailing from Portumna, Johnluke made waves this past March with his folky debut single 'Already Been Told.' Quickly building a dedicated following, he kept up with growing demand in impressive fashion, delivering 'Change Me' and 'Royalty' in June and July respectively. Add a dynamic debut festival performance at River Fest into the mix, and it's hard argue with the youngster's status as another fine product from Galway's fertile singer-songwriting scene.

Johnluke. Photo: Facebook.

Sinead Murphy:

This Athenry singer-songwriter has been destined for great things ever since she picked up a guitar aged 13. Before releasing her sonorous, three-track debut EP The Golden Book in April 2018, Murphy attended the prestigious Cork School of Music, where she was given the Colin Vearncombe Bursary Award for achieving the highest mark in her course's songwriting module. A testament to her natural and enviable tunesmithing abilities.

Sinead Murphy. Photo: Facebook

Chris Cresham:

Straight outta Castlebar - this pop-folkster started 2024 the right way when he sold out a headline gig at Garbo's in his hometown. Further afield, the rising star finds inspiration from his travels, including a stint in Cyprus where he honed his skills as a songwriter and performer. He's opened for prominent artists like Chasing Abbey and Hudson Taylor, and Hot Press  reckon it's not long until he's in the same league of Irish talent as the likes Cian Ducrot, Moncrieff, and Dermot Kennedy.

Photo: Chris Cresham

Irish Music Month is also supported by IMRO, RAAP, Live Nation, Rubyworks and Camden Recording Studios.

See the full list of participating radio stations below:

Clare FM
Classic Hits
Cork's 96FM
East Coast FM
FM104
Galway Bay Fm
Highland Radio
KCLR
KFM
Limerick Live 95FM
LMFM
Midlands 103
MidWest Radio
Northern Sound
Ocean FM
Radio Kerry
Radio Nova
Shannonside
South-East Radio
Tipp FM
WLR FM

• Irish Music Month - Irish Radio Supporting Artists - in association with IBI, Hot Press & Coimisiún na Meán's Sound & Vision Scheme, funded by the Television License Fee.

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