Harmless Noise
A music blog from Ireland.
A music blog from Ireland.
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Last night the line-up for Hard Working Class Heroes was unveiled and predictions that 2011 may prove the best year yet look correct. Along with a really solid line-up of 100 bands, the six venues (Button Factory, Grand Social, Mercantile, Shebeen Chic, Twisted Pepper and the Workman’s Club) are all very comfortable spaces to check out some new music.
I don’t see HWCH as an industry showcase event but rather as a celebration of the year in Irish music. What’s really working for me this time around is the fact that some of the nightly line-ups are so complimentary. I think Thursday will be the night I dash around to check out the artists I haven’t heard live, starting off with Nanobot in the Button Factory before legging it down to Youth Mass. Then I think I’ll stick at the Workman’s to see Red Queen Contest and Go Panda Go before rocking over to hear how Funeral Suits have come on in the (long) time since I last saw them, before heading on to hear the Water Cycle and Elaine Mai finish up the night at Shebeen Chic.
On Friday there’s too much fun to be had in different places all at once and I predict a high likelihood of people choosing and sticking to a venue with the selection of bands they like best. For folk and indie fans, the Grand Social looks like a lovely laid-back line-up with Miracle Bell, Goatboy, Pearse McGloughlin and Autumn Owls all on the same bill. Over in the Button Factory Owensie, Tenaka, BATS, Toby Kaar, Squarehead and Enemies is a mighty line-up but there’s stiff competition at the Workman’s Club with Morning Claws, Yeh Deadlies, No Monster Club, Grand Pocket Orchestra , We Are Losers and Le Galaxie.
Saturday night is a mixed bag: one thing for sure is that the Workman’s will be rammed for the On The Record vs Nialler9 curation which I highly recommend checking out if you’re not already familiar with these artists: The Depravations, The Danger Is, Cloud Castle Lake, Last Days of 1984 and Tieranniesaur. They each picked three bands to provide what will likely be a stellar run of sets to close the weekend. Elsewhere the action’s heavy on talent too with the Mercantile rocking a very strong variety, as with the Twisted Pepper and Button Factory. I’ll be doing some more posts in the run-up to the festival with some cool stuff but in the meantime, here’s a deadly video of Toby Kaar at the HWCH launch at the Grand Social a short while back.
Along with the music, there are also extras for those who seek more. The photography exhibition at Shebeen Chic provides a visual guide to some of Ireland’s best photographers while musicians looking for advice from the people behind the scenes in music can head along to the conventions. And for those who wonder about the potential exposure and further opportunities, there’s a list of people from the Irish and internatonal music industry who will be attending, and maybe, find themselves a little bit enarmoured of one band or a dozen, or maybe the big ole Irish music scene in general. We sure have got an awful lot to offer. It’s definitely fair to say that this year’s ticket price of €45 is on the nose for such a mighty array of talent.
Here at entertainment.ie, we’re the exclusive ticket sellers for the event so head over, get yours and ready up for what will be a brilliant weekend of Ireland’s brightest and best.
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