VOTE for Laois singer to help her win big prize
A Laois singer needs your help to be in with a chance to win a prize worth €2,500.
Portlaoise's Brinda Irani was one of 25 regional finalists in the A New Local Hero 2023 run by Hot Press and the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI). While she did not make it to the national final, Brinda can still win the Wild Card Award voted by the public. The Wild Card winner will be awarded a €2,500 bursary.
Brinda first rose to prominence as a popular busker in Dublin. The 16-year-old singer-songwriter cemented her status as a star-in-the-making with her stunning debut original single, ‘A Shadow’, released during the summer.
A natural performer since the age of four, and a self-taught guitarist, her recent career highlights include a performance at Electric Picnic ‘22.
Her performance at the EP last year came about as a result of her participation in an Electric Picnic and Youthwork Ireland Laois competition. The winners and runners-up performed on the Hazelwood Stage.
Brinda's cover of The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’, meanwhile, has clocked up over 6 million views on YouTube. HOW TO VOTE FOR BRINDA BELOW VIDEO
Music fans from Laois can cast their vote for Brindi at www.irishmusicmonth.ie
All 25 A New Local Hero finalists will also be invited to take part in a special series of mentoring sessions and photoshoots on the day of the finale.
She was one of four Midlands performers selected by Midlands 103 for the competition. Among them was Portlaoise singer James O'Connor.
Out of the hugely talented 25 regional finalists, Brad Heidi (Galway Bay FM), Darian June (Red FM), Negro Impacto (LMFM), Temi (FM104), Paddy Keyes (Ocean FM) and Eva Campbell (SPIN 1038) have been chosen to perform at the live national finale showcase event at The Academy, in Dublin, on April 25
“It has been really exciting, hearing the cream of the new artists who are coming through all over Ireland,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said. “I know that the judges were faced with some enormously difficult calls. But there was also a very strong unanimity in relation to the six that have now been shortlisted, that these are very special acts, with the potential to really flourish in the long run. There can be only one artist selected as A New Local Hero 2023, but it is very clear, from the music that we have been hearing, that we are on the right track here in Ireland at the moment, producing artists of real calibre across all genres. Long may it continue."
The A New Local Hero campaign will ultimately see over €100,000 paid directly to Irish artists – and one worthy overall winner selected, who will get to record a single at the prestigious Camden Recording Studios in Dublin, and release the single on the famed Irish independent record label Rubyworks.
Irish Music Month is a partnership between Hot Press and the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland. It is supported by the newly established Coimisiún na Mean, which has incorporated the role of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, under the Sound & Vision scheme, and by MCD Productions, IMRO, RAAP, Rubyworks and Camden Recording Studios.