I just thought I’d take a few minutes out from celebrating the end of a landmark year to thank you all for reading the site throughout the year.
We have had a mega year, we tried to cover every major event with reviewers and photographers and we hope you have enjoyed the coverage we have provided. I got the honour of being one of the ten judges for the Choice Music Prize 2011 which awarded Two Door Cinema Club with the best Irish album of 2010 award.
I got to be one of the founders of the Digital Socket Awards which was started to tip the hat to the amazing Irish bands out there. We do regrettably say that should it return in 2012 we will not be participating on personal reasons. We enjoyed giving our thoughts to other publications including The Journal, Culch, RTE’s Red Radar (now TwoTube), Expedia and more. We got to pick the songs on Christmas FM for an hour, we have run our 2XM show The Fourcast all year which was on 2FM aswell. Some of our writers have been asked to appear on other prominent Dublin station reviewing albums.
We covered almost every single festival in Ireland and not just the big ones which was a first for us, we had a man down at the Cork Jazz festival for something a little different and even had someone covering the Red Bull Music Academy over in Madrid.
Of course the crown in the jewel this year was Goldenplec taking home the award for Best Music Website 2011 at the Irish Web Awards. We are still in disbelief that we did it considering the company we were in for the last six but we are of course delighted to be this years choice. Hopefully next year we can produce the same level of content for the music loving people of Ireland and perhaps if we work as hard we can retain that title. Nothing would make us more proud.
We truly have had an unbelievable 2011, if 2012 brings half the joys that this year has then we are in for another amazing year. There are already some very tasty gigs lined up for 2012 despite the loss of Oxegen from the festival lineup. Here are some gigs we reckon could be highlights of the coming year.
In January you have Snow Patrol in The O2, James Morrison in The Olympia and Bonnie Prince Billy in Vicar Street. February see’s the legend that is Van Morrison return to play The O2 and Odyssey, for old school punkers we have New Found Glory and Sum 41, tUnE-YaRdS will play The Button Factory, Noel Gallagher plays The Odyssey and The O2, Nicole Scherzinger plays The Olympia and Waterfront. Ham Sandwich play The Academy, Delorentos play The Button Factory, Kurt Vile is in Whelans, Rodrigo Y Gabriella hit The Olympia, Olly Murs plays The Odyssey and O2 and John Oates plays Whelans.
So February is a busy one, March will see Randy Newman in Vicar Street, Florence and the Machine in The O2, The Answer in Whelans, Simple Minds will be in The Olympia, X Factor runner up Rebecca Ferguson will be in Grand Canal Theatre, Scroobious Pip is back to play The Button Factory, The Presidents of the USA at Vicar Street, Chris Rea at The Grand Canal Theatre, Wu Lyf at Whelans.
April shows us Korn at Mandela Hall and Olympia Theatre, Steps reform and play The O2, Odd Future return to Irish shores, Il Divo and JLS play The O2 in separate gigs, Big Country will be in The Olympia, Riptide Movement play The Academy 2, Charlotte Church warbles her way to Grand Canal Theatre, Dry The River have a mini Irish tour, Ane Brun returns to Vicar Street.
May will see Billy Ocean in the Royal Theatre, Elvis Costello brings the wheel to The O2, Dappy from N-Dubz plays The Academy. June will see Westlife begin their series of goodbyes in Belfast, Deadmau5 plays The RDS, Live at the Marquee will have the likes of Imelda May, Tom Petty, Justice, Christy Moore, Jedward and The Specials. Blink 182 play The O2 and Red Hot Chili Peppers play a huge Croke Park show.
July will have The Stone Roses in Phoenix park, Bruce Springsteen in The RDS, September has Joan Armatrading in Vicar Street, Don McClean will play The Olympia in November and The Overtones will play Grand Canal that month too. Finally Katherine Jenkins will play The O2 and The Odyssey in December 2012.
So that’s the major announcements for the coming year summarised, plenty of which I’m sure both yourself and our writers and photographers will be in the thick of. It certainly looks like being an epic year for music.
So with that Goldenplec would like to wish all our readers, writers and friends, especially the PR, promoters and management whom have looked after us in 2011 a very happy new year and hopefully we will continue to enjoy each others company in 2012.