EMERGING IRISH MUSIC acts should take note of today: it’s the closing date for applying to get into this year’s Hard Working Class Heroes showcase.

The HWCH event in October has become an annual milestone in the Irish music calendar, giving musical talent a chance to showcase their music, get noticed and get advice from experts in the industry.

The brainchild of the career-fostering organisation First Music Choice, HWCH exposes musical artists to the press, managers, music supervisors, agents and other industry representatives. It is also attended by bookers of major international music showcases such as South by Southwest (SXSW), Canadian Music Week, The Great Escape, Eursonic and CMJ, who are all looking for emerging talent to attend and perform at their highly-networked events.

Applicants should go immediately to hwch.net and click on the ‘BANDS APPLY HERE’ button. The closing date is today for applications. You can also apply through the Breaking Tunes site.

An interesting new addition to the HWCH event is the inaugural HWCH Digital which will see digital and tech start-ups work with bands over the weekend. The idea is for the two sectors to learn from each other and how they can work together on content and delivery of that content to create exciting new online opportunities for both. If you are either an artists or a tech/digital start-up who would like to work on this, today is also the closing date for applications for HWCH Digital at the same site.

In pics: 10 years of Hard Working Class Heroes>