Musical youth ready to rock

Think your moshing days are behind you? Youd probably be right, so move aside: the new generation of Irish musical whizzkids …

Think your moshing days are behind you? Youd probably be right, so move aside: the new generation of Irish musical whizzkids launch a new album today, thanks to the Irish Youth Music Awards initiative.

Eleven of the 19 participating bands, the members of which are all between the ages of 12 and 18, will simultaneously play various record stores around Ireland tomorrow to draw attention to P esky Kids – The IMYAs: Volume 2.

Music shops in Dublin, Kilkenny, Limerick, Wexford and Tralee will all host performances at 2pm.

Dermot Lambert, IYMA director and former member of 1990s band Blink, said that the initiative had grown faster that anyone had expected over the past two years, although sponsorship and funding remain problems.

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“Heading into year three, we pretty much have everybody wanting to take part – so in the sense of what we’re trying to do, it’s massively successful,” he said. “Is working with children really as hard as the saying goes? No it’s actually as fulfilling, as the other saying goes.”

Daniel Donnelly of Monaghan’s MGRB, who triumphed in the live finals earlier this year, claimed that participating in the IYMA competition had been a huge learning experience. “I’d advise any young bands to push themselves to take part in it, because its given us the foothold we really needed in music,” he said.

Lauren Murphy

Lauren Murphy

Lauren Murphy is a freelance journalist and broadcaster. She writes about music and the arts for The Irish Times