Songsmith on-the-rise Oscar Blue (24) comes from a rural Irish village boasting two churches, one pub and a GAA pitch.
The County Clare native who has already seen great success on home soil as well as far away lands is preparing to release his long-awaited debut EP ‘Backyard Mafia’ on October 28th, working in partnership alongside renowned producer Philip Magee (The Script, Kodaline, Gavin James).
A folk-pop artist that’s been hotly tipped by many to be the next big voice coming out of Ireland, already racking up huge Spotify streaming figures with previous releases (62k monthly listeners and over 6 millions streams), and no stranger to the likes of editorial playlists Folk Pop, Mellow Morning, as well as being likened to Dermot Kennedy in the past and being a part of his official ‘This Is Dermot Kennedy’ playlist.
He recently opened for Irish favourites Kodaline and with new management on his side he’s a young artist with much to show for at an early stage – selling out gigs in Dublin’s Whelan’s and The Sound House, as well as appearing on the Main Stage of leading Irish festival Indiependence.
Influenced at a formative age by the integrity and spirit of Irish folk artists such as Damien Dempsey and the pop-rock musings of acts like Snow Patrol, the young musician began his journey 10 years ago aged 13.
With songs written at the foot of his bed, Blue first found his feet on the open mic stages of local pubs, before migrating by bus to the busy busking streets of Dublin and Galway.
Invoking an unsuspectingly familiar sense of belonging and nostalgia in his storytelling, Oscar Blue transports his listeners to some other place or feeling, meditating on his experience of life in an instinctively honest and uninhibited style.
Prior to the pandemic, his debut string of singles, recorded in a small home recording studio, have remarkably gone on to be supported by national and international media as well as the world’s largest folk gathering Folk Alliance in America in 2021 showing off his distinct folk-pop sound – this artist is certainly on track for blowing up.
