We're heading to the northwest next in our search for A New Local Hero – as Ocean FM 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 Ocean FM's shortlisted artists...

Rowlette:

The West of Ireland folk-pop act hosted a packed out headliner in London with Faraway Martin, supported CMAT, Junior Brother and Rofi James.

Paddy Keyes:

The Sligo musician released his debut single ‘Tomorrow’ last April, mixed and produced by Dan de Burca with a Sam Fender sound.

Weird Ear:

The two-piece collaboration between Jo Holmwood and Brian Sweeney, based in north Leitrim, have just shared their new release ‘Chimera’.

Memory:

The Sligo-formed rockers are self-proclaimed music obsessives who "want to bring rock back to the charts where it belongs". Their passion is palpable, so keep a close watch.

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.