THIS EVENING, the best of Irish musical talent from the last year will descend upon Vicar Street in Dublin for the annual RTE Choice Music Prize.
The awards ceremony celebrates the best Irish music of the preceding year, with previous winners including Two Door Cinema Club, Villagers and Derry singer-songwriter SOAK.
This year's album nominees exhibit the wonderful variety that currently exists within Irish music, with an eclectic mix of styles from new wave trad/funk to electronic music.
Here are the nominations for Album of the Year.
Marlene Enright - Placemats and Second Cuts
Marlene Enright, formerly co-vocalist of Cork folk/Americana peddlers The Hard Ground, has come into her own on her solo debut. The Corkonian is nominated for the first time.
Come On Live Long - In The Still
The Dublin group have been dubbed "best live act in Ireland" by well-known music blogger Nialler9. Come On Live Long released their sophomore album, 'In The Still', in May 2017.
Lankum - Between The Earth and Sky
Formerly known as Lynched, Lankum are a four-piece traditional folk group from Dublin, Ireland, who combine distinctive four-part vocal harmonies with arrangements of uilleann pipes, concertina, Russian accordion, fiddle and guitar. Formed by brothers Ian and Daragh Lynch, their repertoire spans humorous Dublin music-hall ditties and street-songs and classic ballads from the Traveller tradition.
James Vincent McMorrow - True Care
McMorrow gained international recognition with his second album Post Tropical in 2014. Last years' release True Care, including mainstream hits Rising Water and Get Low, cemented the Dub's distinctive soulful sound as a unique feature of the Irish music industry.
Fangclub - Fangclub
Fangclub were formed in 2013 and released their debut album in 2017 reaching number 5 in the Irish albums chart. The rock outfit have had plenty of radio play since, with songs Follow and Loner being the most popular.
New Jackson - From Night to Night
Dublin singer-songwriter David Kitt is the man behind the handle New Jackson. Kitt has been on the scene nearly twenty years. Since From Night to Night, Kitt has gone back to releasing music under his own name, with a solo album Yous due to be released tomorrow.
Otherkin - OK
With the release of the clattering single ‘Bad Advice’, Irish garage punks Otherkin became a force to be reckoned with in 2017.
Fionn Regan - The Meetings of the Waters
Fionn Regan is arguably the most underrated Irish singer-songwriter in recent years. The Bray native's debut album The End of History, released in 2006, included songs Be Good or Be Gone and Abacus. The former was used in hit tv series Grey's Anatomy. The album earned him two Mercury Prize nominations, and since then he has released four albums. Last year's The Meeting of the Waters included an appearance from actor Cillian Murphy in the video for the title track.
Ships - Procession
Ships are Simon Cullen and Sorca McGrath. They've been writing and performing together in Ireland since 2012. Recording, mixing and producing from their home in Dublin and playing festivals, gigs and interesting spaces around the island as they go.
Talos - Wild Alee
Cork electronica group Talos became the talk of the Irish music industry with the release of their stunning debut album Wild Alee last year. The man behind the music Eoin French was set to take off to America to pursue a career in architecture when inspiration hit and the beautiful dreamscape sounds emerged.
RTE 2FM will be broadcasting live from Vicar Street at 7pm this evening.
