MacD on Music: 2024 Remembered

We’re now well into January, with only another six months left until the end of the month. While we continue this endless crawl to the finish line, I’m going to be taking a look back at some of the musical highlights of last year:

CHERYM

February of 2024 saw the release of one of the best Irish albums of the year, when CHERYM released their debut ‘Take It Or Leave It’ (available now in Cool Discs). The album showcased what makes them one of the most exciting bands to come out of this city in recent years and was launched in the Nerve Centre with support from Reevah and Problem Patterns.

‘Take It Or Leave It’ wasn’t the only CHERYM release last year. On International Women’s Day they released a cover of Doja Cat’s ‘Boss Bitch’, with a portion of proceeds going to Women For Women International, a charity helping women that have been affected by the ongoing genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza.

The Rise of The Suite

Last year saw the arrival of some great new bands on the Derry music scene. One in particular that seems to stand out is the Suite, who, since March last year, have done four singles (‘Keep In Mind’, ‘It Wasn’t To Be’, ‘Wanna-Be’ and ‘Can You Feel It’) that show a band that is continuing to improve and evolve all the time. As well as this, they’ve managed to snag opening slots for Red Eye Pariah and Touts and opened the Gig For Gaza in August.

November then saw them play their first headline gig in the Nerve Centre (with support from Cora Harkin and Sombre) and this year they plan on releasing their debut EP (more on that closer to the time)

TRAMP

If you’ve been a regular reader of this column over the past three years, you’ll definitely be familiar with TRAMP, a group that have been going from strength to strength since that first interview we had upstairs in Sandino’s when they opened for General Fiasco (along with another band who’ve been a regular feature in these fine pages, Parker).

Last year saw one of the most anticipated releases of recent times finally arrive, when TRAMP released their debut EP ‘Bimbofication’ in October. The EP, featuring the singles ‘The Birds (Lowered Suspension)’ and ‘Skeletons Surfacing’, manages to capture what makes the group something special and promises exciting things ahead for this “happy four piece”.

Cora Harkin

Next up is someone who’s managed to be a part of the Derry music scene for over half a decade by the age of sixteen. Cora Harkin has been a regular presence on the local gig circuit for a while now, and the past couple of years have seen her release five self-penned singles that show why she’s one of the best young talents in this town.

In 2024, Cora released a trio singles (‘Back Of My Mind’, ‘Your Sweet Veronica’ and ‘Fever Dream’) that showcases her range as an artist, from tender piano ballads to pop-punk to straight-up pop and in November she was one of the opening acts for The Suite in their first headline gig in the Nerve Centre.

Parker

Now turning to another group with a trio of singles in 2024, Parker. Following up from the release of their debut album ‘Never Let This Go’ (available now in Cool Discs) in 2023, Parker released the first of their three singles, ‘Generic Indie Bands’, in May last year. This was followed by arguably their best song to date, ‘Eleanor’, in August and their most recent release, ‘Holy Communion’, in November.

READ MORE: MacD on Music

The group have also been keeping busy on the gig circuit, making their return to the Stendhal stage and scoring opening slots for Brand New Friend and headline gigs in Bennigan’s, closing the year with Rock Against Cancer (also in Bennigan’s), with a line-up that included Roe, Moya Sweeney, The Vandees and more.

NuMuze

Now for something different. 2024 saw NuMuze branch out from it’s usual promotions and interviews into the world of live music, beginning with the brilliant Lord Jane in October. The gig took place in Nacional De Cuba and featured support from The Vandees, Ciarzo and The Capris and was followed in December with the single launch for Nine Foot Lizards in Letterkenny.

As well as this, the Instagram page has continued to feature interviews and articles on some of the best local and not-so-local talent currently on the scene and this year promises to keep this up, with the recent launch of their website www.numuze.co.uk.

Now, time for the socials. CHERYM can be found on Instagram @cherymofficial, The Suite @thesuite.band, Cora Harkin @coraharkinmusic, Parker @bandcalledparker, NuMuze @_numuze_ and TRAMP are, of course, @thisistramp.