Deis Roc
Deis Roc is a showcase of new talent from the young modern music scene in Ireland. We were aware that there are many young and fabulous rock bands the length and breadth of the country, and although only a fraction of them perform in the medium of Irish, all of them embraced the challenge to come with an Irish Language version of one of their songs in addition to performing their own material in English.
During the first series 120 bands entered the competition and a shortlist of twelve were selected for the televised stages which were recorded at The King’s Head in Belfast. Six of those bands made it to the final which was transmitted live from the same venue.
The winning band ‘Exit the Street’ from Cork were the outright winners and they headed off for an all expenses trip to Memphis, Tennessee where they visited Sun Studios, Elvis’ Shrine and performed live to an American audience. Series 2 of Deis Roc ran from January-March 2008, showcasing 16 rock bands going head to head on TG4 in a bid to become Ireland’s latest rock stars. The unsigned bands popular among university students and teenagers alike battled it out over 11 shows before ‘The Dirty 9s’ of Dublin earned the right to claim the Deis Roc title and €10,000.
The series was recorded in the Students’ Union at Queen’s University Belfast, and is a co-production between Tobar Productions and Green Inc Film and Television. Deis Roc is the only television series in Ireland which provides a platform for new bands week after week, and is proving very popular with young viewers, who select the ultimate winners by text voting.