Festival · July
SubSounds Youth Music Festival
A free day of family fun and a celebration of young musicians - youth led, youth centred, and growing every year.
The festival brings around 150 young musicians aged 12-18 from counties across Leinster to Rua Red and Parthalán Place in Tallaght (beside The Civic Theatre). Over the course of the day, on four stages, audiences hear an eclectic mix of contemporary popular music alongside traditional, classical and jazz ensembles - performed by participants of SubSounds, Music Generation, Behind The Scenes Productions and NOISE Music.
It is a partnership between SubSounds and the Music Generation local Music Education Partnerships of South Dublin County, Kildare, Fingal, Meath, Dublin City and Wicklow, featuring performers from projects in all six counties. Each year a former SubSounds participant who has gone on to a professional career returns to headline.
The 2026 festival took place on Saturday 11 July, 1-7.30pm. Admission is always free - tickets are released on Eventbrite in the weeks before.
The festival is funded by Music Generation, the Arts Council and South Dublin County Council Arts Office, and co-funded by U2, The Ireland Funds, The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and the Department of Education.
Who did you hear
Every year the festival is headlined by artists who came up through SubSounds and its partner programmes.
Sarah Crean
Singer-songwriter with over 8 million streams, signed to AWAL and seen on RTÉ's Other Voices. Now a Dublin-based songwriting mentor - teaching at the Des Carty Music School and mentoring in SubSounds.
2025Good Look
A band that grew out of SubSounds 2024/25 - Thomas Holohan, Emmet Lucas, Ben Carroll, Luke Kavanagh and Danielle O'Toole, whose debut single ‘Rabbit’ was released last year.
Sadhbh Keane
A 16-year-old Dublin singer-songwriter named one of The Irish Times' top 20 artists to watch in 2024. Her EP Passion + Paper and singles have drawn support from RTÉ 2FM, Radio 1 and FM104, with sold-out headline shows and a Ruby Sessions appearance.
Daire Heffernan
Former SubSounds participant whose indie-rock and dream-pop singles ‘Wasters’ and ‘Harry’ were both named Track of the Week on RTÉ 2FM; described by BBC's Gemma Bradley as a “future headliner”. Listen ↗
Also in 2023: Cohorts (alt-rock, formed at SubSounds), Florence Rd. (alt-rock from Bray, supported The Academic at the Olympia) and singer-songwriter Joseph Ryder.