Irish music to be showcased at The Great Escape

The sixth year of The Great Escape is set to have a large Irish contingent when it kicks off on the (hopefully) sunny southern coast of England this weekend. First Music Contact, Culture Ireland and IMRO have come together to create Music From Ireland, a project that will take ten of the country's finest acts over to play event in Brighton.

And a phenomenally talented bunch it is:

Villagers
And So I Watch You From Afar
Halves
Cap Pas Cap
Fight Like Apes
Fionn Regan
Funeral Suits
James Vincent McMorrow
Rhob Cunningham
and Sacred Animals

will all be in attendance, are all worth a look if you happen to be there, and are probably worth a ferry and bus trip over, to be honest.

The Great Escape (which runs from May 12 to May 14) features 300 artists in total, spread over three days and 30 venues around the coastal city.

TGE's Director, John McIldowie, says of the strong Irish presence at this year's event, “The Great Escape is delighted to have Ireland as their lead country partner for the 2011 event. Previous lead country partners have included: Canada (2006), France (2007), Norway (2008), New Zealand (2009) and Australia (2010) - all of whom have seen notable success for their bands and business since being part of The Great Escape. Ireland has been chosen due to its continually excellent live music and recording scene and with a host of new talent emerging from Ireland this is the right time for the Irish artists and music businesses to be in the foreground at The Great Escape”.

Eugene Downes, CEO of Culture Ireland, commented: "More than ever before, Irish artists are defining Ireland's global reputation as a leader in imagination and innovation. Irish musicians and bands are great ambassadors for Creative Ireland at important international showcase events such as The Great Escape”.

The official Music From Ireland showcase will take place on Saturday May 14 and will include performances from And So I Watch You From Afar, Fionn Regan, Sacred Animals, and Funeral Suits.

For information on shows go to [link]www.musicfromireland.org[/link]