Every year, Hard Working Class Heroes gathers some of Ireland's finest musicians and crams them into five or six venues on both sides of the Liffey in what is one of the best weekends of the year for Irish music fans.
With 103 bands to choose from, it can't be easy for music fans to pick out those that are absolute must-sees. Worry not, we've picked out what we think are the 20 best acts playing over the weekend. Sure, aren't we a sound bunch altogether?
Sisters
When: Thursday 7.30-8 @ Hangar
What To Expect: A three-piece from Limerick now based in London, Sisters have gained plenty of attention both at home and abroad with BBC Radio 1's Jen Long naming them her favourite band and Vice labelling them as ones to watch. Sonically? Imagine yourself in a room with Wolf Alice playing at one end and Ash the other with The Vaccines popping their heads in occasionally. Yeah, that.
Highlight: February
Saint Sister
When: Thursday 9.20-9.50 @ The Workman's Club
What To Expect: Two of the most soulful, serene voices you're likely to hear layered over an instrument that doesn't feature anywhere near enough in modern Irish music, the harp. The Dublin duo have gone from strength to strength (and name to name) since they supported Arcade Fire's Will Butler(as Oh Sister) back in April.
Highlight: Versions Of Hell
Hot Cops
When: Thursday, 9:30-10:00 @ Hangar
What to Expect: The Belfast trio have a couple of EP’s and singles under their belt at this stage, indie rock with a dark and tumultuous edge. The apparent could-give-a-fuck nonchalance of the vocals masks a depth in the themes, and the crunch of this noise-triptych is the only way to go at this time on a Thursday night.
Highlight: The sound of the self-styled “indie darlings/punk bitches” reverberating within the concrete walls of Hangar.
The Altered Hours
When: Thursday, 8.50-9:20 @ Hangar
What To Expect: Expectations are for the ill-informed…what we know is that The Altered Hours are one of the best live acts operating around the place these days. The Cork-based psych terrorists have honed their live set with relentless touring over the last couple of years, with their debut album pencilled for release in early 2016. If a cultivated kind of sensory assault is your thing, you have no business being anywhere else.
Highlight: New track Way Of Sorrow getting a live outing
Colour//Sound
When: Thursday, 10.00-10.30 @ The Mercantile
What to Expect: Intricate playing, lush four-part harmonies and some new material perhaps? The four-piece have been playing only select shows but recently traveled to Berlin as part of a BIMM showcase. This is certainly some of Dublin's finest dark folk-pop so it will be interesting to see what they have to offer since the last time we saw them.
Highlight: To The Countryside
Atlas Moon
When: Friday, 8:40-9:10 @ The Workman’s Club
What To Expect: The Dublin three-piece specialise in a kind of ambient, lush widescreen sound with a pulsating electronic undercurrent. Joy Divison and New Order are the sonic touchpads. Need we say more?
Highlight: The band on a head-snapping Crusade
Bagels
When: Thursday, 10.00-10.30 @ Bad Bobs
What to Expect: Every year, the schedule sees one or two bands on the Bad Bobs stage (undoubtedly the worst stage at the festival due to poor visibility and sound) that really shouldn't be there (see All Tvvins and The Academic previously). This year it seems Bagels are that band. Sandwiching Half of Me and Acrobat, these tiny wee Bagels are due to blow the roof off the place with their heavy sound. Expect a lot of energey from one of Ireland's best young bands. Bagels - catch 'em while they're hot.
Highlight: Heads High, Feet Firm
Heroes in Hiding
When: Friday, 10.00-10.30 @ Bad Bobs
What to Expect: HiH are another great export of the Phillip McGee studio (Kodaline, Academic) and this band really sound like the real deal. Lead singer Joe Carroll's voice is very powerful and suits their considered pop sound. If you like your anthemic pop, these guys are one's to catch.
Highlight: Casanova and Can't Dance
Anderson
When: Friday 10.10 - 10.40 @ The Grand Social
What To Expect: Star of the best viral video to come out of the Irish music scene in quite some time in which he attempts to sell his debut album door to door around Dublin, Anderson is already a star in the making. What's better than his marketing skills, however, is his self-recorded, self-produced album 'Patterns'. It's a throwback to the singer-songwriters of the '70s with hints of Young, Dylan and Springsteen all evident.
Highlight: The nostalgic History
Lie-Ins
When: Friday, 8:00-8:30 @ The Mercantile
What To Expect: Bass players be damned, we thought, when Lie-ins’ debut album came across our paths in 2013. The Popical Island duo may or may not have recruited a bass player since then - we’ll see on Friday – but armed with just guitar, drums, and Michael Stevens’ snappy, exuberant and wryly observed indie earworms they’ve got nothing to worry about.
Highlight: A reflective County Mayo? A reflective We Were Born Into Corduroy? A reflective I Hide My Love In The Evening Time? Stevens’ reflections, we suppose – varying colours along the pop spectrum.
Bitch Falcon
When: Friday 9.30-10 @ Hangar
What To Expect: What more is there to be said about this band. Along with Girl Band, Bitch Falcon are quite possibly the most exciting band to come out of the woodwork in the past few years. Loud, brash, in-your-face grunge that will knock your socks off. Lizzie Fitzpatrick's stage presence is frighteningly encapsulating. Unmissable.
Highlight: Lizzie's nonchalant shredding during Syncope.
I Have a Tribe
When: Friday, 10.40-11.10 @ Workmans Club
What to Expect: Having booked I Have a Tribe to our #GoldenBeck shows in The Workmans Club last year, we know exactly what you can expect from this truly stunning performer. Patrick O'Laoghaire's set in The Workmans will most certainly be one of the hottest tickets at this years HWCH. An act that is just waiting to be snapped up. If you like your signer songwriters - then don't miss this.
Highlight: We would have said Monsoon but his latest video for Lungs is truly spectacular - check it out below.
Sinéad White
When: Saturday 8.15-8.45 @ The Academy: Main Room
What To Expect: Quirky folk-pop that has an infectiously happy effect on those who come across it, Sinéad White is a unique talent. Lyrically playful and quick-witted, her sets are consistently engaging, entertaining, funny and impressive.
Highlight: Only making an occasional appearance these days but the mouth trumpet during the aptly named Mouth Trumpet may be the most endearing thing you'll hear all weekend.
Pleasure Beach
When: Saturday, 10.15–10.45 @ The Academy: Green Room
What to Expect: Comparisons to rock superstars Arcade Fire flooded in following the release of their debut single Go earlier this year. Listen for yourself and see why.
Highlight: Go
Katie Laffan
Where: Saturday, 7:30-8:00 @ The Grand Social
What To Expect: Multi-instrumentalist Katie Laffan’s idiosyncratic take on pop music brings in elements of indie, calypso, hip-hopa– whatever you’re having yourself. It should be interesting to see how this all translates onto a stage.
Highlight: Watching a crowd sway without realising they’re being sonically manipulated by the lilt in Laffan’s compositions.
Rusangano Family
When: Saturday, 10.15–10.45 @ The Academy: Green Room
What to Expect: We've put Rusangano Family on our 'must see' lists time after time. And there's a perfectly good reason for that, they are simply one of the most engaging and impressive live entities in Ireland. If this festival really is the uber Irish showcase, then Russango Family deserve a big crowd to support what is one of the brightest hopes for Irish music this year. It's an utter travesty they have been put on the smaller Academy stage and not one of the main festival stages but rest assured, the Rusangano Fam will make the most of it!
Highlight: Run/Serious
Basciville
When: Saturday 10-10.30 @ The Workman's Club
What To Expect: Hozier-esque vocals reconciling pop music with jazz and blues, this duo from Wexford know what they're aiming for and have done it well so far. The comparisons to AHB(Hozier) may prove to be more detrimental than one would think as it's a label they could find difficult to shake, however, Basciville have enough of a unique vibe to prevent that from happening.
Highlight: Sweetheart Rodeo
Nocturnes
Where: Saturday, 8:40-9:10 @The Workman’s Club
What To Expect: We hope to be safely ensconced in the warm gloom of The Workman’s for this one. Nocturnes is the atmospheric collaboration of the restless mind of Pearse McGloughlin and producer/multi-instrumentalist Enda Roche, dreamy music to sink into as the day fades.
Highlight: The all-enveloping sonic warmth permeating your aural cavities
Pranks
When: Friday 8.10-8.40 @ Hangar
What To Expect: Michael Shiel took time from his other band We Town Criers to form two piece noiseniks Pranks. Much more than just a sideshow until We Town Criers return, Pranks have loudly announced themselves with one of 2015's best debut EP's and fully deserve your attention as part of a stellar line up in Hanger on Friday.
Highlight: Ghost
This Other Kingdom
When: Saturday 10.40-11.10 @ The Mercantile
What To Expect: This Other Kingdom are a storm of swirling psychedelics and doom laden pyrotechnics. It's been a great 2015 for them finally building on the promise of the 'Sunlight' EP with their critically acclaimed debut album 'Telescopic' and culminating in a successful tour of the UK.
Highlight: Plasticine Dream