Wicklow is a musical wildcard on the table of the Irish music scene, and very consistently produces some of the most genre-bending and sonically unique artists in the country.
Whether you’re a fan of rock, pop, electronic, ambient, death metal, and anything in-between – Co. Wicklow is quietly (or loudly) making a name for itself as the home of some of Ireland’s most unique recording artists and live acts.
Here are a few artists that should be on your playlist.
Deja Vu
Deja Vu offer up irresitible pop rock in the vein of artists like Coldplay and the 1975, but they’re far more than an answer to those chart-topping stalwarts. Deja Vu’s latest single ‘Late to the Party’ sat pretty at the top of the iTunes charts upon its release, and you’ll understand why when you’ve heard it for yourself.
Gypsy Moth Control
The brainchild of local musician Michael Newell, Gypsy Moth Control is the black onion on the spice rack of Wicklow’s music scene. A rare oddity that drags rock n’ roll into more danceable territory while retaining a fundamental ‘otherness’ that sets him apart from other artists. His latest single and video for ‘In My Fold’ will have you questioning just what it is you have seen and heard.
Listen to Gypsy Month Control here.
Anna Mieke
While Anna Mieke may have spread her wings and travelled all over the world sharing her music, we can still claim her as our own. You can’t stop us. An award nominee for RTÉ’s Best Emerging Act in 2019 and nominee for RTÉ’s Choice Music Prize, you may also have heard her music in the globally beloved television programme Normal People.
Caoi de Barra
Having made waves on the Irish music scene with her band Wyvern Lingo, Caoi de Barra is now carving out a path of her own with her folk-tinged and soulful music. Currently based in Berlin, her latest single ‘Treehouse’ is described as “a disillusioned-summer-bop, where the Irish housing crisis leaves de Barra feeling trapped in a perpetual state of adolescence.”
Naked Lungs
Ireland’s noise rock scene is perhaps its best kept secret, but bands like Naked Lungs are dragging it into the sunlight piece by piece. Their debut album ‘Doomscroll’ was released last August and is a ferocious, meandering slab of noise punk with just a tinge of industrial to create something that’s almost danceable – if you try very hard.
