We're heading to the wild West of Ireland next in our search for A New Local Hero – as Midwest Radio unveil their four finalists!

As one of the central features of Irish Music Month, A New Local Hero is a major talent search for Irish musicians and bands – with all 25 participating radio stations having reached out for submissions in recent months.

So, let's meet Midwest Radio's shortlisted artists...

Rachel Walsh:

The young singer-songwriter has had a number of No.1 singles on the Irish charts, with the mesmerising video for recent single ‘Show Me’ premiered on Hotpress.com.

 

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Chris Cresham:

The 22-year-old Castlebar artist has supported Hudson Taylor, Chasing Abbey and Michael Moloney. His first single from his debut album, ‘My TV’ landed on March 10th.

 

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Conor Ward:

One of Ireland’s rising names, the West of Ireland act’s tunes are a mix of catchy folk-pop songs and melancholic acoustic ballads.

Mélia:

Led by vocalist Ciaran O'Malley, Mélia have been quietly gigging around Ireland for the last few years, drawing upon influences of pop, rock, jazz and funk.

Each of the selected artists at this stage in the campaign will get a chance to play live on their station, and all of those artists – thanks to the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, under its Sound & Vision scheme – will be paid for their performance.

From there, the four finalists representing the station will be whittled down to one ‘Local Hero’ from each  – a major honour in itself, which will serve as a huge milestone in the careers of the selected 25 artists.

All of this leads to the national stage of the journey. From the 25 artists selected locally, an industry judging panel will choose just five acts to go forward to play at a special showcase event in Dublin.

The A New Local Hero campaign will ultimately see over  €100,000 paid directly to Irish artists – and one worthy winning act selected, who will get to record a single at the prestigious Camden Recording Studios in Dublin, and release the single on the famed Irish independent record label Rubyworks.

As announced by Hot Press and the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI), Irish Music Month will run from Monday, March 12, to Friday, April 13 – and will see significantly increased radio play for Irish music across 25 independent radio stations.

Irish Music Month is supported by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, under its Sound & Vision scheme.

The event is also supported by IMRO, RAAP, MCD Productions, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, Camden Recording Studios and the Rubyworks label.

Read more about Irish Music Month here.