It's the end of the year, time to work my way through all the live gigs I've been to in the last 12 months, pick my best gigs, festivals, songs and so on... Seven, SEVEN, gigs I got to this year. Yes yes, I know there are others that didn't even get to one, but when 2019 had in excess of 50 gigs, well, you can see why I'm frustrated. Enough complaining though, time to get to the 2020 MJs! First up is Best Irish Single . There were a lot of contenders this year, but for me, Cold Blue Light by Kynsy edged them all out. Next up is Best Irish Album . Again there were many contenders, but for me, All The Leaves Are Falling by Nealo was the best. Irish hip-hop is coming of age! Best Irish Gig is next. This gig would win any year! It was Denise Chaila in Dolans , Limerick. Amazing night. I've listed to the Irish Music Industry Podcast since it launched and find it both entertaining and informative. This year though, they produced two specials this year that deep
The Beatles in the Adelphi Cinema in Dublin... U2 in the Dandelion Market... Nirvana in the Top Hat, Dun Laoghaire... You'll here people say 'Oh yeah, I was there, it was incredible!'. Now, if everyone who says they were there actually were, these venues would hold thousands, not hundreds! Why am I saying that? Well, Friday night last, I was in Dolans in Limerick to see the incredible Denise Chaila launch her mixtape, Go Bravely . It was one of those gigs that will be talked about for years to come. It was a small crowd, 50, maybe 60 people, but that's only because of the current COVID Restrictions. Tickets sold out in 1 minute online, that should give you some idea of how popular this gig was! In fact, she even put on an earlier gig at 7:30 due to demand! Supported onstage by God Knows and MuRli Bo (bloody great performers in their own right!) and DJ Replay on the decks, it was a non stop party. Obviously, the biggest response on the night was to C H A I L