Featuring an eclectic mix of musicians of all calibres, Northern Ireland is home to classical pianists, country rockers, multi-award winning blues stars and even famous TikTokers.
In a country featuring a little something for everyone, check out these 13 up and coming Northern Irish music artists to watch out for:
9. Dom Martin
Hailed by many as the greatest Irish export since Rory Gallagher, Don Martin has been quick to rise up through the ranks in the world of blues music. With countless awards under his belt Dom’s album ‘A Savage Life’ picked up rave reviews in the blues press, featuring and pictured on the front covers of Blues Matters, Blues in Britain and French magazine Blues & Co. May 2022 saw Dom’s nomination in five categories The UK Blues Awards, including Blues Vocalist of The Year, Best Album of The Year, Best Blues Band of The Year, Blues Instrumentalist of The Year and Acoustic Blues Artist of The Year and lifted the last two as well as playing at the awards ceremony in London.
For more information, go to www.dommart.in Photo: Dom Martin via Facebook
10. Rebekah Fitch
Now based in London, songwriter and musician Rebekah Fitch has years of experience performing to audiences ranging from intimate living room shows to theatres of hundreds. Her soulful vocals, keyboard skills and live looping have impressed the likes of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as well as Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol.
Already with two EPs and 14 singles under her belt, her single, ‘Game Over’, was released alongside its very own video game, which has been praised by fans and the press. The follow-up single, ‘Loose Ends’, incorporated stunning dance sequences from the Dutch National Ballet in the accompanying video.
Rebekah has already amassed over 330,000 Spotify streams, performed in the SSE Arena, and was one of five nominees for Best Emerging Act in the Northern Irish Music Prize. Her latest single ‘No Pressure’ has picked up extensive radio airplay.
For more information, go to www.rebekahfitch.com Photo: Rebekah Fitch via Facebook
11. Winnie Ama
Winnie Ama is an emerging Northern-Irish/Ghanaian singer-songwriter. She reached number seven in the UK Urban Club Charts with her first release where she featured as an artist on Francis Groove’s hit song ‘I Swear’.
After co-writing ‘Can’t Wait’ with Francis Groove Nd Friends, the single quickly rose to #1 in MusicWeek’s Urban Club Charts and #15 in the Pop Commercial Club Charts; as a writer for Francis Groove’s ‘Dance’ and ‘Born To Win’, the singles have gone on to reside in the Top 10 UK Urban Chart.
Winnie Ama is also this year’ Artist In Residence at the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival and has supported Altered Images, Sarah McQuaid, Michael Janisch and Dani Larkin. She has received major support from BBC Introducing and BBC Radio Ulster referencing her fresh writing style and distinctive voice. Winnie Ama’s writing style is inspired by Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and Amy Winehouse. For more information, go to winnieama.com Photo: winnieama.com
12. John Garrity
Aptly dubbed ‘The Belfast Busker’, John Garrity began his career in music by busking along the streets of Belfast city centre. After a passerby recorded and uploaded John covering Kodaline’s ‘All I Want’, the video quickly went viral and even received high praise from frontman Steve Garrigan.
Despite harbouring a love and passion for music from a young age, it’s only in recent years that John has been able to establish himself as one of the top buskers throughout Belfast. October 2020 saw the release of his first solo album, with November 2022 marking the release of his fourth album, both of which feature hit cover songs.
With an audience in the thousands, people from all over the world make sure to tune in to his live videos and pre-recorded content
For more information, go to www.facebook.com/johngarritymusic Photo: John Garrity Music via Facebook