The cream of Ireland’s new musical talent can be seen in the IMRO Showcase Tour next month. This is the 20th anniversary of the tour and to celebrate, more than 50 bands will play in 11 venues in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Belfast, Limerick, Mayo, Athlone, Derry and Kildare from September 7th-30th.

Among the acts are The Fallen Drakes, who recently supported Bon Jovi at their RDS gig, and Bipolar Empire. Other names include newcomers Jefl Hyde, Daithi Ó Dronaí and Milan Jay, while Cars Love Girls, Last Days of 1984 and Bear Bones will play one of two dates scheduled at Dublin’s Crawdaddy. A third Dublin date will coincide with Culture Night on September 23rd, and will be held at The Grand Social with The Hot Sprockets, Ghost Estates and others. A day-long Best of 2011 showcase will be held at The Workman’s Club on October 22nd, with gigs, workshops, talks and more. See imro.ie.