The Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) have just announced their online National Event for young creatives and musicians on Saturday, September 18th. This will feature masterclasses and performances by Chasing Abbey, Soda Blonde, Gemma Dunleavy, and lots more.

The IYMAs works with youth projects and young people (aged 12-19) from across the island of Ireland, providing personal development and hands-on music-based education as well as providing access to the creative and music industries.

This year’s online event will feature leading creative industry professionals including award-winning dance-pop trio Chasing Abbey who will give advice on how to use social media effectively as an artist and Nialler9 will speak with Soda Blonde about their critically acclaimed debut album.

RTE Choice Prize Song Of The Year nominee Gemma Dunleavy will chat to RTÉ 2FM DJ Tara Kumar, providing advice for up and coming musicians and hit podcasters Laura Fox and Emma Power from RTÉ 2FM’s chart-topping show My First Ride will teach participants how to start a podcast.

BIMM Institute Dublin will host a songwriting workshop plus more to be announced and the event will also feature a showcase of up and coming young creatives and musicians from across the IYMA hubs with the premiere of exclusive music and performance videos produced by them.

In a press release, IYMAs Director Barry Lennon spoke about the importance of the event for young creatives, especially for underrepresented talent in the industry:

“We are delighted to be announcing the line-up for our all ages online IYMAs National event for 2021. It’s vital that we support young people learn, collaborate and to realise their own potential and confidence as they are the future creative entrepreneurs of this island. This year we saw a larger engagement by young females across our hubs as well having over two thirds of participants in the programme from CSO/ POBAL deprivation scoring areas showing the impact and importance of this work.”

Director of Music RTÉ 2FM, Adam Fogarty added the station’s support and excitement for the event:

“We are very excited to be supporting the IYMAs programme again this year – It’s great to see the continued growth and evolution of the IYMAs on a yearly basis. This partnership is extremely important for 2FM so we can provide young people access to the music industry and support them in developing their careers.”

Tickets for the Irish Youth Music Awards National Online event (September 18) are available from Eventbrite priced €10 per person, excluding the booking fee, here.

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