My Irish Radio Music and Culture News

My Irish Radio
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Step into the sound of Ireland with My Irish Radio Music and Culture News — the official podcast of My Irish Radio, your 24/7 home for the best in Irish and Celtic music. Each episode brings you the latest news from Ireland’s vibrant music scene and cultural community — from new artist releases and upcoming festivals to stories celebrating Irish heritage across the globe. Whether you love traditional reels and jigs, rebel ballads, pub favorites, or Irish rock and pop, you’ll find it all here — along with updates on what’s happening in Irish culture today. 🎧 Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com for nonstop Irish and Celtic music — new and old, from Ireland and beyond. And here’s your chance to take part: 💚 Host your own show! Choose your playlist, share your passion, and make My Irish Radio — Your Irish Radio. Email myirishradio@gmail.com to get started. Keep the spirit of Ireland alive — in every song, every story, every show.

  1. Iowa Irish Fest At 20

    May 26

    Iowa Irish Fest At 20

    Iowa Irish Fest has been running for 20 years, and the wild part is how it started: a small gathering behind an Irish bar in Waterloo that added a band, moved to a park, and then kept growing until it spilled into downtown streets. I’m joined by Greg Tagtow, one of the people helping guide that growth, and he tells the story with the kind of pride you only get from building something the hard way. Greg also shares a detail a lot of listeners will relate to: he didn’t “inherit” Irish music, he discovered it. A long stretch of computer-based work led to Irish playlists, and that sound turned into a mission. We get into what makes a modern Irish festival work for everyone, from die-hard trad fans to people who only know a chorus or two. Expect specifics on the Iowa Irish Fest setup, including six stages, around 32 entertainment acts, and a mix that stretches from traditional sets to Celtic rock and beyond. We also run through what you can do when you’re not parked at a stage: rugby, a 5K, bike ride, workshops, dance, vendors, whiskey tasting, and a family fun area where kids 15 and under get in free. Greg and Jolene are also launching a new show on My Irish Radio to spotlight festival artists, share interviews, and keep Irish culture going year-round through projects like their winter concert series. If you like discovering bands before the crowd does and you want a festival weekend that feels big but still walkable, this one’s for you. Subscribe so you don’t miss the new show, share this with a friend who needs a summer trip, and leave a review to help more listeners find us. Ready to go to the festival, and who are you most excited to see? Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    12 min

  2. May 26

    The Hidden Machinery Of Irish Culture

    A government budget code and a beer-stained club floor feel like they belong to different universes, but we argue they’re parts of the same engine. When Irish music blows up globally, it isn’t only talent and luck. It’s a cultural ecosystem designed to keep risk alive at the grassroots, then scale what works into something the world can’t ignore. We start with the idea of venues as creative R and D: why small rooms struggle to book unproven artists, how public support helps keep those stages open, and what that means for the pipeline from basement gigs to major Dublin dates. Then we jump into festival season as Ireland hits a historic May heat wave, unpacking the unglamorous logistics and the surprising psychology of shared discomfort, novelty, and collective memory that can make a live event feel legendary. From there, we go global with Culture Ireland grants and the strategy of catalytic funding, the kind of targeted support that turns an overseas invitation into a real tour. We connect that to soft power, showing how Irish arts and culture act like diplomacy through attraction. Finally, we look backward to the Great Famine, the Galway workhouse commemoration, and the diaspora that helped build an international audience ready to buy tickets, read the books, and stream the songs. If you enjoy Irish music news, Irish culture, arts funding, and the stories behind how a small country becomes a cultural heavyweight, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    23 min
  3. Ally the Piper - Rock Bagpipes, Real Life

    May 26

    Ally the Piper - Rock Bagpipes, Real Life

    https://piperally.com/ A teenage bagpiper walks into high school wearing a full kilt uniform, disappears midday into a police car for a D.A.R.E. graduation gig, then goes back to class like nothing happened. Years later, the same musician racks up millions of views during COVID, films mini-movie music videos, and finds herself platformed at midfield for an Indianapolis Colts halftime show. That is the real-world arc behind Piper Alley, and we get into the details that most “viral artist” stories skip. We start with the foundation: a childhood where music feels like a first language, a relentless curiosity for instruments, and a life-altering decision to choose music over sports after injuries that later connect to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. From there, Scottish heritage becomes more than an aesthetic. It is a door into competitive bagpiping, community, and a craft that rewards discipline the way sports do, without the same physical risk. Then we go behind the scenes of modern Celtic rock and rock bagpipes: how she records bagpipes so they sound clean on social media, why she keeps processing minimal for authenticity, and what her transcription workflow looks like when she turns iconic rock solos into something that fits a bagpiping scale. We also cover the business side, including cover licensing for longer releases, what touring actually feels like when travel is mostly work, and the best ways fans can support an independent touring artist. If you love bagpipe music, Celtic rock, and honest creator talk, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who thinks bagpipes “cannot do that,” and leave a review with the rock song you want to hear on pipes next. https://piperally.com/ https://motorcityirishfest.com/ Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    49 min

  4. May 19

    How Irish Trad Hits Stadiums While Musicians Get Priced Out

    Irish trad is playing sold-out stadiums in Australia and New Zealand, backed by major tours and real momentum, but a different story is unfolding back in Dublin. We dig into the whiplash of modern Irish music and culture: an all-female folk band like BIIRD sharing the stage with Ed Sheeran, while independent artists warn that the capital’s cost of living is squeezing the life out of the very scene that feeds Ireland’s global reputation. We follow the money and the incentives, from Culture Ireland’s international grants and the idea of soft power to the hard mechanics of a huge festival economy. A weekend like Forbidden Fruit can sell out on the grounds of a major museum and still operate in a financial world that barely touches pub gigs, small venues, or the local songwriter trying to pay rent. That gap matters, because exporting culture is only sustainable if the home base still has space to create it. Then we zoom out even further to see how Ireland’s oldest institutions are adapting too: a historic UK state visit, the Catholic Church committing to renewable energy and dedicating 30% of church grounds to biodiversity, and a cross-Atlantic conversation between Irish trad and American bluegrass. We end by coming back to the “factory floor” of culture: the books, songs, and stories made away from the spotlight that keep the whole pipeline alive. Subscribe for weekly Irish music and culture news, share this with a friend who loves Ireland, and leave a review with your answer to the big question: how do you protect grassroots creativity while the global spotlight gets brighter? Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    20 min

  5. May 15

    How Irish Artists Are Building Their Own Streaming Future

    Ireland can turn a sitcom rerun into a global statement, and that’s where we start. When the Eurovision spotlight hits, the story isn’t only the contest. It’s what Ireland chooses to broadcast instead, and what that choice reveals about power, identity, and cultural confidence. We connect that headline moment to the on-the-ground reality in Dublin, where the rent crisis and rising cost of living threaten the physical ecosystem that makes a music scene possible. It’s not just about recording songs; it’s the venues, pub sessions, and collisions between artists that only happen when people can afford to stay. From there, we dig into Subvert Alternative, an artist-owned co-op designed to bypass traditional streaming platforms and their “digital landlord” economics, with a focus on sustainability, direct patronage, and owning the relationship with listeners. Then we widen the lens to Irish music releases, gigs, and festivals that span traditional tunes and fearless experimentation, and we ask why the old and the new can coexist without tearing the scene apart. We also map Ireland’s outsized cultural exchange, from bringing global stars into intimate rural settings to exporting artists through deliberate soft power and cultural diplomacy. Finally, we tie it to heritage and diaspora, including renewed interest in the 1926 Irish census and famine commemoration abroad, showing how memory stays active in the present. If you like Irish music news, culture analysis, and real talk about how artists survive, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us. Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    20 min
  6. John Doyle On Solo Irish Guitar

    May 12

    John Doyle On Solo Irish Guitar

    A great solo show is a risky thing. No band to lean on, no wall of sound, no safety net, just a voice, a guitar, and the nerve to make a room go quiet. That’s why we were thrilled to have Irish guitarist and singer John Doyle on My Irish Radio as he heads to Metro Detroit for a special night at the Gaelic League of Detroit.  https://www.johndoylemusic.com/home https://www.gaelicleagueofdetroit.org/ We rewind through John’s story from Dublin childhood summers in County Sligo, where family accordion tunes and singing traditions helped shape his musical instincts. From there, he takes us into the New York Irish music world, the early Solas days, and what it really means to build arrangements that respect tradition while still sounding fresh. John also shares what it was like serving as musical director for Joan Baez, including learning a massive catalog and choosing songs to rework for the stage.  Then we get into what he’s chasing right now: the intimacy of purely acoustic performance and a new research-driven project exploring Irish connections to American Revolution songs as the 250-year milestone approaches. We talk instruments, unusual tunings, touring life, and where listeners can grab music, including gig-only albums you can’t get anywhere else. If you love Irish folk music, Celtic guitar, traditional song, and live performance that feels human, you’ll want this one in your queue.  Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves Irish music, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show. Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    28 min

  7. May 5

    From Trad Festivals To Irish-Language Punk Rap

    A Roman pot shows up in the mud of Dublin and suddenly the story of Ireland’s past does not sit still. At the very same time, a Belfast punk rap group tops charts with an Irish-language album that refuses to ask permission. That collision, ancient artifact and aggressively modern music, becomes our jumping-off point for reading the real pulse of Ireland in May 2026 through Irish music, arts policy, festivals, and the public arguments that reveal what a society values.  We trace how traditional Irish music keeps evolving like open-source culture: the architecture stays familiar, but each generation ships new updates. From Belfast Tradfest bringing Solas back to the same ecosystem that can hold Kneecap’s bold Irish-language sound, we look at how artists use trad foundations to speak to housing, economy, identity, and modern city life. We also dig into the industry itself, including what changes when women move from being highly visible performers to holding real power in the commercial structures that decide who gets booked, funded, and heard.  Then we zoom out to Ireland’s global strategy. With Culture Ireland funding 192 international projects, the arts become soft power: a way to build goodwill, tourism, investment, and influence far beyond the island. But the curated global image runs into deeper questions at home, from how the 1916 Rising is remembered to what happens when Bloody Sunday archival footage is repurposed online and context collapses. We end by asking what artifacts from 2026, songs, books, policies, viral clips, will survive and speak for us. Subscribe, share this with a friend who cares about culture, and leave a review with your answer: what should the future remember most about Ireland right now? Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    22 min

  8. Apr 28

    Ireland Exports A Global Sound While Local Artists Fight To Survive

    Culture doesn’t survive because it’s “important.” It survives because people keep making it, paying for it, arguing about it, and protecting it from being paved over. We’re looking at Ireland in late April 2026 through music and culture reporting that shows a country exporting a globally popular identity while local creators fight for oxygen at home. We talk traditional Irish music that still hits with force, spotlight new releases, and then jump to the modern edge: provocative tour branding, indie club nights, electronic acts, and festivals that put uilleann pipes on the same bill as genre-bending contemporary performers. The through-line is simple: tradition stays real when it keeps moving. Then we follow the economics behind the art. Ireland can fund cultural projects across dozens of countries, but streaming platforms still pay out through models that favor global scale, not local scenes. With Spotify prices rising, we break down why IMRO is calling for a content levy and what it could mean for Irish songwriters, independent musicians, and the broader Irish music industry. We also dig into the frustration around artist support schemes that get stuck in bureaucracy and end up measuring creativity with corporate metrics. Finally, we shift to preservation in the most literal sense: commemorations, documentaries, diaspora history, the discovery of immigrant graves, and a grassroots push to save Dublin’s disappearing street signs. By the end, one question hangs in the air: if culture needs real sustenance, would you pay a direct culture tax to keep it alive? If you like deep dives on Irish music, Irish culture, and the future of heritage, follow the show, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us. Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    23 min
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About

Step into the sound of Ireland with My Irish Radio Music and Culture News — the official podcast of My Irish Radio, your 24/7 home for the best in Irish and Celtic music. Each episode brings you the latest news from Ireland’s vibrant music scene and cultural community — from new artist releases and upcoming festivals to stories celebrating Irish heritage across the globe. Whether you love traditional reels and jigs, rebel ballads, pub favorites, or Irish rock and pop, you’ll find it all here — along with updates on what’s happening in Irish culture today. 🎧 Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com for nonstop Irish and Celtic music — new and old, from Ireland and beyond. And here’s your chance to take part: 💚 Host your own show! Choose your playlist, share your passion, and make My Irish Radio — Your Irish Radio. Email myirishradio@gmail.com to get started. Keep the spirit of Ireland alive — in every song, every story, every show.

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