BRIARS

Ireland

BRIARS are an alternative/indie-folk act who sound like nobody else in the Irish scene. Their sound ranges from fragile subtlety to raucous energy, visiting every stop along the way, always underlined with a signature twist.

The two main writers (Mick Grace & Paul O’Shea) became school friends at just four years old, and as they grew up together, developed a great interest in music. They would go on to play together in a wide range of projects, eventually moving to Cork City, which became their musical home.

This is where they began collaborating with some of Ireland’s finest musicians from contrasting backgrounds and styles, resulting in an energetic 6/7-piece live show, a unique blend of the band’s traditional folk and alternative contemporary influences, all with a familiar thread running through it. Words like "original" and "authentic" are often used to describe BRIARS' material. A great representation of modern Irish music.

Their first live show in 2023 was in the legendary folk venue, Coughlans (Cork City), which attracted attention from all across the Irish industry, and the band would go on to perform at festivals like Electric Picnic, When Next We Meet, Galway Folk Festival, Whelans Trad and Folk Festival, Cork Roots Fest, Liverpool Irish Festival, Guinness Cork Jazz Fest and more, sharing the stage with such high profile names as The Scratch, Tadhg Williams, Leevy and many more to come.

As well as quickly becoming a “must see” act in the live sphere, BRIARS have also had a lot of success with their commercial releases, and many of their songs have been played on national radio in Ireland and the UK (RTE Radio 1, RTE 2FM, BBC Radio and more). The band continue to write, record and play live, building their ever growing fanbase as they go.