On Saturday April 16th, the Aviva Stadium will be filled with roars of a more melodic kind than normally emanates from its terraces.
The ninth annual Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) will be in residence for the day. The culmination of months of activity in youth clubs around Ireland, the awards will see 15 teams of young people, aged 12 to 19, perform songs, participate in the running of the event and attend workshops with music-industry professionals.
The event, organised by Youth Work Ireland (with partners Youth Action NI) is teaching young people how music works through experience and performance at local and national music events facilitated by 340 youth clubs in the country.
The IYMAs are about nurturing talent and giving experience and access to those roles in the music industry that are less obvious to young people more commonly presented with The X-Factor version of fame, including guitar tech, lighting, sound engineering, PR, and fundraising.
Start local
It starts locally with a "live selection event", where participants perform at least one original song, their peers vote and they pick a performer and songwriter for their region to represent them at the national event. In addition, the young people fill 23 roles to support the music on stage.
“It’s really just to get an understanding of what these roles are and how they work,” says Barry Lennon, director of IYMAs.
Lennon – who has created music TV programming for The Parlour TV and Dublin Community Television (DCTV) and worked for the independent record label Richter Collective – was attracted to the position two years ago by the combination of music and education.
“When I was younger, I put on gigs at age 17 in the Temple pub on Dorset Street and all-ages shows in the old City Arts Centre. It showed me I we could actually do this, which is what the IYMAs programme does.
“It’s empowering to learn your own voice, your own skill, whether the young people transfer it into working in music or the creative industry or bring those beliefs forward elsewhere. When you’re young and not as confident, you need those safe spaces to explore and develop, to play around with ideas.”
In addition to experience, youth participation in the IYMAs can now go towards validation for Gaisce, the President’s Award which also encourages young people to explore their potential.
The national awards
Fifteen regional teams with 35 performers drawn from Dublin, Cork, Galway, Belfast, Portlaoise and more will be represented at the the national final on April 16th.
The scores of industry judges on the day are combined with the score of the overall team activity in the lead-up to the event. The winning team (including performers from the first local event as well as the national performer) then gets the opportunity to record in Sun Studios in Dublin. The album is given a full physical release as well as on iTunes and Spotify.
“We try to impress that the music industry is collaborative, and that they should push together, come together and create a team because there is opportunity.”
Last year’s winners from Louth, performer Jake McArdle and songwriter Laura Duff, went on to perform for President Michael D Higgins at an event also featuring Little Green Cars.
McArdle, who performed a song called Pull Through, about being bullied in school, has been outspoken about the confidence he gained from participation in the Irish Youth Music Awards.
“He’s now helping out with another project that Youth Work Ireland are working on around mental well-being,” says Lennon, “so he’s become a sort of spokesperson for supporting young people around using music as a tool for empowerment.”
Workshops and panels
The other strand of the national programme is centred around workshops and panels in songwriting, musical instruments and management, where experienced industry professionals can give direct advice.
Last year’s panelists included lecturers from BIMM college, John McCallion of Warner Music, Ken Allen of Faction Records, Brian Coney of The Thin Air and Aaron Casey of Music Matters.
“They can get answers to questions like: ‘how do I get my music on Spotify?’,” Lennon says. “‘How do I promote it? How do I wrote a press release? Should I get 1,000 CDs done up?’”
Lennon and the Youth Work Ireland team hope that the national event gives further encouragement for activity throughout the year.
“The skills can help young people build their own scene and informal networks after the event. Last year, there were bands doing gig exchanges on the day. Young people are running regular drugs/alcohol-free gig nights in the youth clubs. Some of them might start doing front-of-house, lights, jumping up on stage or MCing the night. Some are coming back as youth leaders and supporting the next generation of young people, which is lovely to see.
“Hopefully, the IYMAs are the spine of progression that keeps people coming back and moving forward in what they’re interested in.”
- The Irish Youth Music Awards takes place on Saturday April 16th at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Tickets are available here.
