RISING Irish talent Gavin James will be among the line-up at today's BBC Music Day event at Stormont.
Dublin singer-songwriter James came to public attention last year when he was picked to support Ed Sheeran, Kodaline and Sam Smith on their tours.
His first studio album Bitter Pill then reached number five in the Irish charts, the title track being named Choice Music Prize Irish song of the year for 2015.
Speaking to The Irish News earlier this week, James recounted how he began his career playing small shows in his home town's nightlife hub.
“I was playing pub gigs around Temple Bar,” he said, “I was meeting a lot of different musicians and listening to artists like Bob Dylan and others – then I started to really get into it, and I started writing.”
Other stand-out tracks on Bitter Pill include Nervous and 22 – a track which deals with the issue of bullying.
“Nervous is probably my favourite track on the album but 22 is definitely the most personal,” he explained. “I went through a really hard time from the age of around 10 until I was around 15, because I was bullied at school.”
Despite the pressures that his new-found fame can sometimes bring, James told us he's been enjoying his success, and has been "coping well" with his busy tour schedule.
“My family love it, and my mates love it as well. My best mate comes along with me,” he laughed, “I drag him along whenever I do a tour in Europe. It’s great! It’s not as hectic as when I was playing in Temple Bar. I would have been doing three or four gigs a week, each of which would last a few hours.”
James is keen to use his own popularity as a means to promote up-and-coming Irish artists.
“Every time I go to a different country I like to talk about the bands that I really like that might only be starting out. And I always try to pop into the open mic nights in Dublin,” he said.
He's upbeat about Irish music in general in fact.
“Artists like Hozier and Kodaline have really opened the door for a lot of Irish acts. The spotlight is really on Ireland at the minute. It’s a lot easier now for younger artists to get noticed, certainly more so than it was a few years ago.”
Having started last year as a way of "bringing different communities and generations together through a festivity of sound", BBC Music Day sees hundreds of musicians perform at more than 300 events across the UK today.
Things kick off in the north with Sean Coyle broadcasting his radio show live from Mary Margaret’s pub outside Hilltown, Co Down at 10.30am; Hugo Duncan then takes up the baton with an outside broadcast from The Patrician Hall in Carrickmore, Co Tyrone, from 1.30pm.
The Stormont performances will take place in 'venues' including in the Senate Chamber, the Long Gallery and the Great Hall, with a similarly eclectic selection of acts on the order paper – the Ulster Orchestra, Nathan Carter and the Belfast Choir among them.
“I am really looking forward to performing and celebrating music with so many great artists,” James said.
“It’s my first time playing with an orchestra and it will be my first real gig in the north, which is deadly."
:: The BBC Music Day Stormont concert will be broadcast on BBC Two Northern Ireland, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Radio Foyle at 9.30pm this evening. Gavin James's album Bitter Pill is out now (gavinjamesmusic.com).
