Mayo musician in the running for national Local Hero award

2024 has been a breakthrough year for Castlebar artist Chris Cresham, solidifying his position in the Irish music scene with several major accomplishments.

Most recently, Cresham was crowned A New Local Hero by Galway Bay FM, as part of the Irish Music Month competition, in association with Hot Press Magazine.

This advances Cresham to the national stage, where he follows in the footsteps of last year's winner, Brad Heidi, also representing Galway Bay FM, who went on to win the overall national award.

The stakes are high in the competition, with the winner securing €5,000 worth of studio time at Camden Recording Studios, and a single release through Rubyworks, the label behind acclaimed acts like Hozier.

This could be a defining moment in Cresham's career.

Earlier this year, Chris headlined a sold-out show at Garbo’s in Castlebar, earning praise from prominent artists like JC Stewart and Brad Heidi himself.

He also collaborated with Kingfishr, one of Ireland’s biggest bands, who featured on the acoustic version of his latest release, 'Catching Fire'. The track, which dropped on September 13, quickly went viral on TikTok, featuring local talents Aisling Mullarkey, a Ballina-based singer-songwriter, and Sean Loughran on mandolin.

Cresham continues to work with key figures in the Irish music industry, including Late Late Toy Show star Michael Moloney and Kingfishr’s producer Patrick O'Donnell.

His next highly anticipated release, called 'Bleed', a collaboration with Michael Moloney, is set to drop in early 2025.

Support for local talent like Cresham is invaluable, and he looks forward to representing Galway in the upcoming stages of the Irish Music Month competition.