This website is a companion piece to Beat 102-103's Irish Beats radio show
presented by About
Irish Beats is a twice weekly show on Beat 102-103 that focuses on the vibrant domestic music scene. Comprised of a mix of music, interviews, live sessions and music news, the show shines the spotlight on established and emerging Irish musical acts. In the past year, the show has not only broadcast interviews with well-known acts such as The Pale, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Delorentos, Cathy Davey, Simple Kid and Givemanakick, but has featured new acts such as Dark Room Notes, Fight Like Apes, Saviours of Space, Gorbachov, Eoin Coughlan and ODi. It also serves as a first experience of radio interviews for emerging bands, such as Murphy's Live 2007 winners Ilya K. Presenter Rob O'Connor, an advocate of the contemporary Irish music scene was described by Hotpress magazine as:
"bringing in-depth knowledge and genuine enthusiasm to the show."
Rob has been presenting the Irish Beats show since September 2006 and in that time has really made it his own. As a self-confessed 'music nerd' and sometimes print journalist, he can often be found lurking in the shadows at the back of gig venues throughout the country, checking out the latest acts. No stranger to the stage, Rob was formerly the front man of the critically acclaimed (and commercially ignored) group 'The Bearded Ladies' but now can be seen fronting Waterford-based Acrojunk, a band who've been recording their first album for quite some time now. When will they be finished? Who knows - we'll probably hear 'Chinese Democracy' sooner.
Born, bred and buttered in Waterford, Rob attended secondary school at the local De La Salle college and subsequently went onto study computer science at Waterford Institute of Technology. After stints in Cambridge (UK) and Australia, Rob returned to Ireland and was sucked back into education, going back to college for some postgraduate study. It was around this time that he undertook a course in radio broadcasting that was run by Beat 102-103, WLR and WIT. Immediately afterwards he began working as a stand-in DJ on WLR and then shortly moved to Beat 102-103, taking over the Irish Beats show.
Not only a musician but an avid music fan, Rob gets a real kick from discovering new music and playing it on the radio. Demos and debut EPs can often be found next to the latest offerings from world-beaters U2 or Sinead O'Connor on his show. In fact, Rob is one of the DJs who plays "Pick of the Fortnight" from Jackie Hayden's First Cuts column in Hotpress magazine, who reviews demos and first-offerings produced by up-and-coming Irish acts. Always impressed by the quality of music produced in Ireland, Rob has said time and time again on-air:
"as a nation, culturally we punch way above our weight and at the moment, music seems to be where it's at."
Irish Beats airs from 6-8pm each and every Saturday and Sunday.
Average Listership: 12,000 (JNLR, May 2008)