On the Record

JIM CARROLLon music

What next for the bands of Ireland’s new golden era?

As readers know all too well, last year was a spectacular one for Irish music. More than 200 albums were released in 2010, and the quality of these albums was remarkably high. It was, as we’ve said before, something of a golden age.

The question, though, is what comes next?

An answer of sorts was provided last week at the Great Escape festival and convention in Brighton, where a bunch of Irish bands were playing and showcasing. There were queues around the block for Villagers, huge interest in James Vincent McMorrow (legendary talent scout Seymour Stein checked out the show) and growing interest in bands like Funeral Suits.

Events such as the Great Escape provide the next step for acts who are ready to take advantage of interest from abroad. In the case of McMorrow, for example, his debut album, Early In the Morning, will be doing a lot of musical networking for him for some time to come. That album and those songs has ensured an appearance next week on BBC's Later . . . with Jools HollandTV show and more European and US dates.

The name of the game for Irish music is to keep producing acts who can go on to do business abroad. A working band is unlikely to be able to make do through Irish activities alone. But getting to the level where you can tour and release abroad takes talent, time, perseverance and no little luck.

Last year’s bumper crop was the result of years of hard graft by the musicians on stage and those behind the scenes. The next step is to make sure that those acts who can make the most of shop windows such as the Great Escape and next January’s Eurosonic – where Ireland will be the featured country – get to do so.

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