Music from the Heart

They say dream big. Dreams can come true. Who could have known when David Linehan of Dublin punk band Hooligan met Christy Dignam of Aslan 25 years ago that these two would record a song together and share a stage years later. Nothing is impossible if you believe in your dreams.

Have you ever loved something so much and people were saying you can't do it? Then this artist will inspire you to follow your dreams and keep believing in them. Stewart recorded his album to show the non-believers he can do it.

There are albums that are simply timeless. Albums we go back to for many years, that mean something to us. Originally recorded in 1999, Made in Dublin by legendary Aslan has become one of those. The band from North Dublin has been together for 35 years and one might think they should be internationally known as well as their fellow countrymen U2. Unfortunately for many, this is not the case. The band members take it as a sort of compliment that they managed to stay together for all those years and make a living out of music.

Stuart Neville is Scottish singer/songwriter based in Vienna who studied art and sound engineering at university. Moved to Vienna in 2005 and there he formed a band called Judo Push which split up in 2015. At the same time Shane Ó Fearghail, Mark Peters and Stuart Neville started a group for musicians called the Vienna Songwriting circle. It’s a network, workshops and a support group for songwriters based in Austria. These artists also founded their own festival called Schottenfest which shows the connections between Ireland, Scotland and Austria. Bright-Eyed Young Things is Neville's debut solo EP.

Horizons is a new single by a mystery Dublin singer/songwriter known as Nousom Knots. Trained in both classical music and jazz, he established a solid groundwork in solo live performance by gigging throughout Ireland and in Paris, France over the last couple of years.

This is a debut EP from Dublin singer/songwriter Iann Brennan who has been writing songs and performing from a young age. Playing in many bands through the years, he has built up an experience that shows itself when you see him live. Iann has gone from being nominated for Best Irish New-Comer Award by Pure M Magazine to supporting legends such as Aslan, Mary Coughlan, Dick Valentine, Kíla and Declan O’Rourke.

We all know Ireland is a well containing diverse talents. There are some we are familiar with, others are less known although they deserve wider audience. This is the case of Jamie McDonald, a singer/songwriter from Carlow who has lived in Spain, Bulgaria and now he's back on the home soil. Jamie sings with such a contagious passion and energy that would even awake the dead, as they say.

Davie Furey has already been nominated as best singer/songwriter by the Acoustic Yard Radio Show for 2016 and Best Newcomer 2016 by Pure M Magazine and nominated again for Best Male Artist 2017. His knack for telling a story through song and his ability to engage a crowd have won him support slots with the likes of Damien Dempsey, Josh Ritter, John Spillane and Luka Bloom.

Aaron J. Burke is aspiring songwriter from Kildare who started playing music at a young age. He draws influences from various musicians, and harbours a love for rock music, having grown up on a diet of Pink Floyd, U2, Simple Minds, then in his teens heavy metal. In his early twenties, Burke moved into playing more stripped back and acoustic music.