Hot: 1. Peter Devlin & Lorraine Keane; 2. Katy Gannon & Helen O’Dwyer; 3. Tony Fenton & Jane Chmara. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)
The movers and shakers of the music industry filled the Chocolate Bar & Crawdaddy for the 2011 Hotpress Yearbook launch party, in association with Jameson. Stars and celebrities from the music and entertainment industries gathered to celebrate what is the biggest ever Yearbook– at a whopping 332 pages! – and to check out some of the hottest talent in Ireland today.
Long-time Hot Press favourites and recent EMI signings Pugwash provided the entertainment, supported by Irish acts The Riptide Movement and Sounds Of System Breakdown. Guest were treated to food from Diep Le Shaker, refreshing Jameson mixed drinks along with magicians, fire breathers and a poi performer!
Rocking out for the night were Philomena Lynott with Hot Press founder Niall Stokes, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Danny O’Reilly and Graham Knox from The Corona’s, Sarah Jane Wai from Dirty Epics, Today FM’s Tony Fenton, Michelle Doherty and Peter Devlin with wife Lorraine Keane.
Hot Press Editor Niall Stokes talks of the ever-changing music industry: "Everyone in music is wondering what the new paradigm is going to be, how musicians can make a living from their art, and how the business that owes its living to them will reshape itself. Well, there are some things that still hold true. Those artists who set about their task knowing that the road is a hard one, who make the commitment to giving it their all, and who work together as a unit - with their fellow musicians, management and mentors - are that much more likely to survive and thrive."
The Hot Press Yearbook has been described as 'the bible' by a plethora of the industry's most influential figures, including Louis Walsh, Dave Fanning, Tom Dunne, Eleanor McEvoy, RTE producer Ian Wilson – and many more.
