Donegal folk duo Charles James & The Rise have shared new single ‘Greatest Prize’, on January 16th, 2025. To celebrate the release the husband-and-wife team will be performing at Ireland’s leading folk and roots music conference Your Roots Are Showing tonight.

‘Greatest Prize’ sees Charles James channelling his struggles with recurring nightmares into song. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve suffered a lot with nightmares—never the same ones, but always something. ‘Greatest Prize’ came from being strung out because I was waking so often through the night. Through the lyrics, I’ve tried to explore the idea that your demons, ghosts of the past, or whatever it happens to be, always live with you whether you realize it or not—and they’ll find a way to the surface if you don’t deal with them,” explains Charles.

‘Greatest Prize’ follows November’s ‘The Sailor & The Saint’, both of which are set to appear on their debut album – set for release later this year. The duo were recently crowned as one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s (ES) 20 Artists You Should Know for 2024, so perhaps ‘Greatest Prize’ is a good place to start.