"Nobel prize-winning poets and writers, world-conquering rock bands, and artists who seemingly invented genres of music, and all that was just in the last 100 years or so. Even though we’re just a small island floating out there in the Atlantic, we have always been a nation consistently punching above our weight."
Rooted in a vibrant traditional scene, Irish music has continued to evolve in fine health over the past decade, a thriving modern alternative music scene which reaches new generations and global audiences.
Rough Trade East’s very own Irishman Adam McCabe, who also performs as Cabin, reflects on some of the figures leading the charge of the Irish cultural moment.
"The very lifeblood of Irish culture has always been music. It has been deeply intertwined with our history and our collective expression of self. One of the primary vehicles in which we as a people have told our stories, shown our grief, our anger, our joy and our love. As our diaspora spread around the world, so too did our songs and our musical traditions, and they found their way into the cultures of those who began to accept us. Even though we’re just a small island floating out there in the Atlantic, we have always been a nation consistently punching above our weight. Nobel Prize-winning poets and writers, world-conquering rock bands, and artists who seemingly invented genres of music, and all that was just in the last 100 years or so. Now, despite this, it hasn’t been all roses those last 100 years. A key facet that has always defined the output of Irish music has been its fight against oppression, its bolstering of the marginalised, and its joy in the bleakest of times. The great poets and Sean-nós singers did it during the War of Independence, Irish icons of Rock and Pop did it during The Troubles, and now, as we find ourselves in a new age of uncertainty and fear.
As history tends to rhyme, once again, we see a fight against oppression, the need for support of the marginalised, and the bitter coldness of an unstable economy and austerity, so then the voices of a new generation of Irish independent musicians come into focus to find the joy, the charm, and the humour amidst it all. While all are distinct in their own influence and sound, this new wave of Irish music speaks to the core of a tradition and cultural centrepiece that spans back further than many realise. While we have had many bands and artists over the years reach incredible heights, never has there been such a collective raising of Irish independent music on the world's stage as there has been now. I have always understood the Irish independent scene to be one defined by its ability to experiment, crafting a multitude of musical genres into its own unique expression, and a deep fascination with sound and noise, in all its forms."
From country-pop and hip-hop, post-punk and folk, the last decade has been a groundswell of creativity that has led to Ireland having one of the greatest contemporary music scenes in the world. Here are some of the figures Adam finds leading the charge of this cultural moment.
Fontaines D.C.
I have spent most of my music listening life discovering bands and artists once they have gotten to a certain point of popularity which put them on my radar. Sometimes I think about what it might have been like to catch them in an earlier iteration of their life, and see how they were, and how they got here. Fontaines D.C were one of the first bands where I got to witness the arc - from the humble beginnings of support slots in the Workman’s Club, to a 50,000-person headlining spot at Finsbury Park. They are a band that have always worn their identity on their sleeve. To listen to them, is to know exactly who they are and where they come from. It was true in the small rooms, and it’s true in the arenas and stadiums today.
I reminisce fondly on the late 2010’s Irish music scene, not least because it was the time I started participating and indulging in it, but to my mind, a crucial time that led us to this moment now, where the industry, both in Ireland and beyond, finally caught up with the work of its artists. For Fontaines, what I have always admired has been their unyielding work ethic. From the jump, they were out in the world, making their art, performing it, and engaging with the scene that brought them up. The precedent has been set for acts in their wake to know that to be heard meant you had to go out and be heard.
READ: Fontaines D.C.'s Greatest Albums
"The bard for an Ireland waking up to the hangover of a post-Celtic tiger fever dream, community is found through the world Ciara has crafted. In this new era of Irish independent music, CMAT is a leading figure in the case that great mainstream success and artistic integrity are not mutually exclusive."
CMAT
CMAT is a unifying force in Ireland. Not too long ago, there was a time when much of our media diet, especially music, whether on radio or major online outlets, was predominantly imported from the UK or the US. Beyond what you might consider “The Classics” of Irish popular music, any emerging Irish talent in the media was often relegated to a small number of DJs with dedicated Irish Music hours, or independent music bloggers fighting the good fight. It felt then that the independent music scenes of the country lay at odds with the wider tastes of the country it was moulded by. This is what I consider one of the most compelling things for CMAT. She represents to me the reconciliation of the artist with the nation. She is a pop star in the truest sense, formed in the truest way. Just captivating songs, sung by a captivating person, telling stories for everyone to relate to, sing to, for all to cry to and for all to laugh with. The bard for an Ireland waking up to the hangover of a post-Celtic tiger fever dream, community is found through the world Ciara has crafted. In this new era of Irish independent music, CMAT is a leading figure in the case that great mainstream success and artistic integrity are not mutually exclusive.
KNEECAP
Much ink has been spilt over the last year about the Irish hip-hop trio. One probably would have had to be living under a rock not to at least hear the name KNEECAP pop up in a news article. Their politically potent messaging is self-evident, not least based out of the cultural and geographical background in which they were formed. But beyond controversies and headlines, KNEECAP have been a pillar for the emergence of the Irish hip-hop community and the momentum of the Irish language to the wider world. Bridging the old world of Irish music’s rebel spirit to the new age of hip-hop demonstrates that what is quintessentially Irish can translate across multiple genres and connect with a new generation of listeners.
SPRINTS
We are a people of warmth, welcome and acceptance, and have made a name for ourselves on the world stage as being such, but when we need to be, when those things are affronted, we are fighters. Whether it was the fight for marriage equality, the fight for women’s bodily autonomy, or the fight for the victims of genocide, we rally in droves. Pretty much every artist and group on this list has 'that consciousness in them, but no other current Irish group embodies that spirit quite like SPRINTS. Their energy reverberates outwards to the world. It’s a spirit that puts you in the pit, picks you up when you fall, dusts you off, makes sure you're alright, then throws you right back in. SPRINTS have an understanding that communities make artists, and as such, it is the responsibility of the artist to fight for those communities.
Lankum
Tradition is an important facet of culture, but tradition can become flexible and adaptable. Over the last decade, there has been a revival in Irish folks that harkens to an Ireland in a new age. A post-crash country that, in the eyes of many flew too close to the sun and lost an image of itself along the way. It is in the work of Lankum and their contemporaries, that they reach for this lost identity and reform it to a new world. The potent soundscapes and haunting re-workings of the canon of Irish folk reflect both the cold bitterness and the radiating beauty you can still find in this new Ireland.
NewDad
Throughout Ireland's history in popular music, there has always been this special ability to craft wholly distinct and original pop and rock music, unlike anyone else. A certain melodic charm that captivates, but does not fit easily into the mainstream system. Perhaps it’s the ingrained mysticism of our folklore that has led to people like Sinead O Connor, The Cranberries, and Enya to resonate the world over with an ethereal edge to their music. Galway natives, NewDad, are the new markers in this lineage, delivering a colourful sound that is both evocative of their influences and wholly fresh, distinct, and captivating.
"Over the last decade, the country and the wider world has got wise to the exceptional creative output from Black and PoC Irish artists."
SPIDER
Especially since the Celtic Tiger, Ireland has become an increasingly diverse nation, and the concept of “Irishness” is rightfully expanding. The children of first-generation immigrants that I grew up alongside are as Irish as I am, sharing in the same cultural touchstones as I do. Over the last decade, the country and the wider world has got wise to the exceptional creative output from Black and PoC Irish artists. In the case of SPIDER, a collection of infectious hooks, gritty production, and a commanding attitude, plants her flag as a tour de force artist, especially in the predominantly white and male-dominated genre of rock.
Just Mustard
Irish music has always had an obsession with noise, whether it’s the sharp timbre of the uilleann pipes in traditional folk or the crushing fuzz of a shoegaze dreamscape. Across the many genres Irish artists have made headways in, you are certain to find explorations in sound and noise. Just Mustard embodies the new spirit of sonic exploration, achieving a perfect balance of obliterating industrial cacophony with delicate melodic harmony.
For Those I Love
For Those I Love is Ireland’s modern wordsmith. Like the lineage of the great Irish poets before, Balfe’s words on grief, power, class, love, and friendship are as emotionally heart-wrenching as they are triumphantly joyful. Backed by a sound palette that is as rich and diverse as the music that has influenced him places his music on a more transcendent plane. Self-producing both his music and visuals, For Those I Love is the platonic ideal of a DIY artist
Junior Brother
Your favourite Irish artist’s favourite Irish artist. Co. Kerry’s own son is idiosyncratic and often esoteric in his approach to Ireland's modern folk scene, yet he holds a core of beautiful melodicism and rich lyricism and enchanting compositions. With a spanning depth of influences, Ronan Kealy’s music carries the weight of all the stories and sounds he’s collected in his time. Much like the Faeries of Irish myth, the work of Junior Brother can be mischievous and nurturing.
"I don’t believe half of the acts on this list would exist the way they do, if it weren’t for Gilla Band"
Gilla Band
I don’t believe half of the acts on this list would exist the way they do, if it weren’t for Gilla Band (originally Girl Band). The Dublin four-piece's emergence on to the Irish music scene was like hearing something you’ve never heard before, but somehow realising there was an entirely new way to do it. A new way to be bold, stark and completely unapologetic in your sound and what you express through your music.
Further Listening
Rising Galway artist Dove Ellis has been turning heads with his debut release, a captivating introduction to his emotive ballads, arriving at the tail-end of 2025 just after a US support tour with NY indie-rockers Geese.
Cork Indie rockers Cardinals bridge the world of Irish romanticism with future classic song craftsmanship. Look out for their debut incoming in 2026.
In the quaint coastal town of Bray in County Wicklow, Ireland, there’s a stretch of pavement called Florence Road, the namesake of school-friends turned rock band Florence Road. Shaped within the vibrant Dublin scene, the band have already supported Olivia Rodrigo and Wolf Alice, and are named on the BBC Sound of 2026 long list. Ones to watch this year ahead.
Post-punk outfit Gurriers rattle the malaise of modern Ireland with a forceful sound
Grunge-Pop artist EFÉ crafts a colourful collage of work that defines her unique identity.
Rage and love collide in the consistently potent work of the Dublin post-punk heroes The Murder Capital.
Dublin rapper and co-founder of Soft Boy records Kojaque speaks truth to the joys and ills of the homeland with fluidity.