• Jordan Adetunji Nominated for Grammy Award

    November 11, 2024 - By 

    Five years ago, we tipped Jordan Adetunji as one of our 19 for ’19 acts “destined for the bright lights,” and he’s more than lived up to that promise. Now, with his Grammy nomination for Best Melodic Rap Performance, the Belfast trailblazer’s career has reached new heights, putting him in the ranks of Beyoncé and The Weeknd. His single ‘Kehlani’ has racked up over 300 million streams, showcasing a sound that blends his trap-influenced beginnings with influences from neo-soul, afrobeat, and rock, as we noted back in 2019: “a hook-laden, ambitious vision whose grasp matches its reach.” From the moment…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – 8th November

    November 8, 2024 - By 

    We’ll level with you: it’s not been a mad busy week for new Irish music but here’s the best of it, featuring Skinner, Susie Blue, Hazey Haze x 40 Hurtz, Tadhg Williams and more Skinner – Calling in Sick EP Susie Blue – Venite Ad Me Hazey Haze x 40 Hurtz – HARDSHIT Tadhg Williams – Faith of Old Tayne – Fear (feat. Rolo Tomassi) Revolution Above Disorder – The Flowers of Destruction

  • 10 Acts to Catch at Output Belfast

    November 5, 2024 - By 

    Over the past few years, we’ve been right in the thick of Output Belfast, Ireland’s largest one-day music conference and showcase. Hosting and featuring on various panels has been fun – and often revelatory – but it’s felt especially meaningful to co-host some truly memorable evening showcases since 2015. Zig-zagging across the Cathedral Quarter, hyper-caffeinated from the afternoon conference scramble, to catch some of the island’s very best acts in rooms where you can be sure sounders abound? Year in, year out, that’s what it’s all about. But being able to host some of our favourite artists as part of…

  • Shedding Some Light: An Interview with Ciaran Lavery

    November 7, 2024 - By 

    At The Thin Air, we’ve long championed the singular journey of Ciaran Lavery, tracing his path from soul-mining songwriting to boundary-pushing projects. Now, he’s back with Light Entertainment, an immersive live theatre experience set to transform the Lyric Theatre in Belfast next Thursday, 14th November. Marking a standout moment in this year’s Belfast International Arts Festival, Light Entertainment is poised to break the mould, pulling the audience into Lavery’s psyche where music, satire and raw introspection collide. In this overdue catch-up, we reconnect with Lavery to explore the journey behind Light Entertainment – how it evolved from an album and…

  • Iggy Pop, Gilla Band and More for In The Meadows 2025

    November 7, 2024 - By 

    Five months on from the massive success of its inaugural outing, In The Meadows have announced Gilla Band, Sprints and headliner Iggy Pop as part of next year’s line-up. Returning to Royal Hospital Kilmainham on Saturday, 7th June, the one-day festival will also host sets by the likes of The Scratch, Warmduscher, Lambrini Girls, Trupa Trupa, plus more to be announced, across three stages. If it’s anything close to what this year delivered, expect another high watermark of the Irish festival calendar – offering up what we said in our review of this year’s debut outing “was a genuinely alternative…

  • Video Premiere: Caolán Austin – Walking into the Furnace (ft. Our Krypton Son)

    November 6, 2024 - By 

    Yes, the world can be an unforgiving place. And yes, we often feel outpaced by both time and grace. But if there’s one thing we’re utterly convinced of, without a shadow of a doubt, it’s that good music will forever guide the way; cat’s eyes on the strange expressway that is waking life. That thought crossed my mind back in June, when Caolán Austin released ‘Walking into the Furnace,’ the first track from his new solo project. After spending recent years getting his flowers as one of the island’s most in-demand producers at Smalltown America, the Derry artist is now…