A festival linking the Irish independent music scene with its Canadian counterpart takes place in Dublin and Belfast next month. Indie Week, which was started in Canada in 2004, has seen so many impressive Irish bands participate in its Toronto showcase in recent times that it has hosted showcases in Ireland since 2009. (Vesta Varro and Walter Mitty and The Realists were voted top act at the festival on successive years.)

This year’s free launch gig is at Sweeney’s Mongrel in Dublin on Wednesday, May 11th. A selection of Irish bands, including Preacher’s Son, The Beat Poets, Windings and The Riptide Movement, play at Auntie Annie’s in Belfast on Thursday 12th, and The Grand Social, Dublin, on Friday 13th.

The winner of each nightly showcase will battle it out in Dublin on Saturday to win a place at Indie Week in Canada, where over 160 acts play in front of industry figures each October.

Having bagged the top slot at last year’s finals, Toronto buzz band These Electric Lives (below) also play their first Irish gigs at each showcase. “As an unsigned band we hoped Indie Week would help get us more exposure, and it delivered that in spades,” they said. indieweek.com