Panel Discussion on Emerging Music with Beta Da Silva & more

Amano is a singer, songwriter and sean-nós artist with roots in Kerry and Kyūshū (Japan). Her live performances invite audiences into deeper attunement with story, place and season, blending Irish sean-nós with contemporary folk alongside pop and electronic influences. She approaches music through an animistic worldview where songs and stories are co-created with nature – everchanging and alive.

Amhlaoibh McSweeney is the front man of the lively 5 piece, Leevy. Grown from the boggy outcrop of the Muskerry Gaeltacht, Leevy are finding beauty and madness in the harshest corners of the Irish psyche. Through relentless gigging and word of mouth, they have built a reputation for live shows where laughter, introspection, dancing and crying all go hand in hand. From Gothic revenge tales and sacrificial burnings at wakes, to forlorn songs of loss and the death of the natural world, Leevy ’ s songs dance around the threshold of this world and the next.

Louise Barker is a Partner at Kearney Melia Barker communications. With 15+ years marketing experience, digital marketing, and experience in a range of roles in the arts industry from stage management to artist liaison, graphic design to artist management, Louise brings to clients expertise from diverse industry and professional backgrounds. Her experience in the music industry extends internationally to working in various roles for PEOPLE festival in Berlin (2018,) Eaux Claires festival, Wisconsin, USA (2018), Sounds from a Safe Harbour, Cork, and End of the Road festival, UK, (2022, 2023). Louise is also co-director of Islander Music Mgmt.