Photo credit: Darragh Black
“The new queen of alt” – Nels Hylton, BBC Radio 1
“One of Ireland’s most exciting new rock performers” – The Sunday World
AILSHA is an alt-metal (more specifically, ‘sparklecore’) artist from Co. Wicklow, Ireland. With a background in video game composition, the pink-haired singer knows how to make explosive tracks with attitude, personality and of course, sparkle. A blend of heavy guitar riffs, double kicks and twinkling Y2K- inspired synths create her signature sound as well as her ability to switch between sugary-sweet vocals and harsh, chilling screams.
Runner up in Ireland’s Eurosong National Final in January for Eurovision 2024 with her previous hit single ‘Go Tobann’ (which achieved ‘Future Flavour’ with Nels Hylton at BBC Radio 1, inclusion in Spotify editorial playlists Viral 50 Ireland, Misfits 2.0 and The Pit, reached #1 in the Irish iTunes Rock Charts and topped Eurovision reader polls globally during Eurosong), AILSHA is back with her heaviest track to date.
‘Haunted’ is a journey through the emotions of realizing someone you deeply trusted was actually sucking the life out of you. It’s like waking up in this twisted vampire movie where they’ve been sucking your energy all along, and they took your empathy to bury in their never-ending cemetery of lies. The song is about breaking free and reclaiming your worth. I also listened to fans who wanted me to include the Irish language in some songs going forward so in the heavy breakdowns in this track I scream ‘díbrim thú’, which means ‘I banish you’, symbolising breaking away from the hold this person had over you. ‘Haunted’ is basically my anthem for anyone who’s been through that soul-sucking realization- and for anyone who needs it.’ – AILSHA
After supporting WARGASM (UK) on their Irish tour dates and performing her debut UK show in April at Nels Hylton’s Upgrade in The Old Blue Last in London, AILSHA has more upcoming shows this year in Galway, Glasgow, Brighton, Donegal and Dublin, with more to be announced.
2023 saw AILSHA release five explosive singles ‘Sucker‘, ‘Red Flags’, ‘Sleep’, ‘Enemy’ and ‘Nightmare’ achieving inclusion in Spotify editorial playlists (Viral 50 Ireland, Misfits 2.0, Shockwave, Fresh Finds Rock, The Pit, The Locker), as well as gracing the cover of Alt Scene on Amazon Music. AILSHA has received countless national radio plays on RTÉ2FM, RTÉ2XM, TodayFM, Spin1038, SpinSouthWest and international radio plays on BBC Radio 1 from Jess Izatt, picked as Alyx Holcombe’s Track of the Week with release ‘Nightmare’ and picked as Nels Hylton’s Future Flavour on Future Alternative with previous release ‘Go Tobann’, plays from BBC Across The Line and Total Rock.
Through her music success in the alternative scene she has become a radio presenter at RTÉ2XM where she hosts her show ‘AMPLIFY’ which spotlights Irish and international alternative artists pushing boundaries in heavier music genres.
Live dates announced in 2024:
May 24th, Absent, Galway, IE
June 8th, Saint Luke’s Church, Glasgow, UK
June 21st, Dust Venue, Brighton, UK
August 3rd, Letterkenny Pride, Donegal, IE
September 27th, McHugh’s Venue, Drogheda, IE
October 4th, Kavanagh’s Venue, Portlaoise, IE
October, MCD Headline, Dublin TBC, IE
+ More TBA
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