The Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year 2009

The 5th Annual Choice Music Prize takes place in Vicar Street, Dublin next Wednesday 3 March. Doors will open at 7.00pm and the show will start at 7.30pm (sharp!).

The nail biting has begun and the betting odds are hotting up (betting on Paddy Power: http://www.paddypower.com/bet/novelty-betting/music/Choice-Music-Prize ends at 10pm this Sunday!).

The live extravaganza in Vicar Street will feature eight of the ten shortlisted acts performing on the night.

The acts playing live at the event are:

And So I Watch You From Afar
Codes
Adrian Crowley
Dark Room Notes
The Duckworth Lewis Method
Julie Feeney
Valerie Francis
The Swell Season (full band)

[Due to prior live commitments in the United States, Bell X1 and Laura Izibor will be unable to attend]

The event will be broadcast live on Paul McLoone's show on Today FM from 7pm - 11pm.

Remaining tickets for the event are now on sale from Ticketmaster and usual outlets at €27 each, including booking fee (this is the same price which was charged in 2007, 2008 and 2009).

The shortlist has been selected by a panel of 12 Irish music media professionals representing print, radio, online and TV. A full list of the judges can be found on the Choice Music Prize website: http://www.choicemusicprize.com/

While the judging panel are locked away in a sound-proofed and sealed room in the Vicar Street complex making their decision about who wins the Choice Music Prize, the audience will enjoy live performances along with special video footage (courtesy of Old Hat Productions) of the shortlisted acts.

The climax of the evening will come with the announcement of the winner around about 10.40pm (provided the judges do their job and don't start fighting).

The winning act will receive a cheque for €10,000 (courtesy of IMRO and IRMA) and a special commemorative Trophy (courtesy of RAAP).

ACTS & ALBUMS:

You can find out more about the acts and hear music from their albums at the following websites:

And So I Watch You From Afar
http://www.myspace.com/andsoiwatchyoufromafar

Bell X1
http://www.bellx1.com/

Codes
http://www.myspace.com/codesofficial

Adrian Crowley
http://www.myspace.com/adriancrowley

Dark Room Notes
http://www.darkroomnotes/

The Duckworth Lewis Method
http://www.dlmethod.com/

Julie Feeney
http://www.juliefeeney.com/

Valerie Francis
http://www.myspace.com/valeriefrancis

Laura Izibor
http://www.lauraizibor.com/

The Swell Season
http://www.theswellseason.com/

ABOUT THE CHOICE MUSIC PRIZE:
The Choice Music Prize - Irish Album of the Year - was established to celebrate and acknowledge the work of Irish musicians.

Every single year, hundreds of albums are released by Irish artists in every genre under the sun.

The Choice Music Prize aims to simply highlight those albums which deserve some extra time in the spotlight and, ultimately, to select the album which best represents Irish musical releases from the previous year.

Instead of using sales or airplay as criteria, the Choice Music Prize will focus, simply and solely, on the music.

This is the Choice Music Prize's fifth year in operation. Previous winners were Julie Feeney ("13 Songs" - Irish Album of the Year 2005), Divine Comedy ("Victory for the Comic Muse" - Irish Album of the Year 2006), Super Extra Bonus Party ("Super Extra Bonus Party" - Irish Album of the Year 2007) and Jape ("Ritual" - Irish Album of the Year 2008).

The Choice Music Prize is co-ordinated by Dave Reid and Jim Carroll. Jim Carroll will be the judging panel's non-voting chairman.