Ten years of BIMM Music Institute Dublin

11 April, 2022

We’re proud to say that our college in Dublin opened its doors ten years ago, and what a decade it’s been.

Since its establishment, we’ve had 1,979 students make their way through the doors of our Dublin campus. We’ve hosted over 120 masterclasses there and coordinated almost 50 end of term and Live & Lyrical gigs for our students to perform at. Between them, our students have generated millions of monthly listeners, hundreds of millions of streams, dozens of award nominations and even a Grammy nomination.

Our first site on Francis Street opened its doors way back in 2011 and features six large teaching studios, tutorial suites, a resource centre, a recording studio, a common room and an epic live performance room. Our second site, The Coombe, opened just two years later, which includes a recording studio, state-of-the-art teaching spaces, computer rooms and tutorial suites.

Dublin is a city that has always had music at its very core. And since BIMM Music Institute opened, it has cemented itself as an important part of the scene there. We’re proud of our students who make use of the city’s many live events spaces and who are furthering their careers by putting themselves out there.

Bands such as U2, Thin Lizzy and Bell X1 have hailed from Ireland’s capital city. And today, Dublin’s music scene is more eclectic than ever, with the likes of Fontaines D.C., Æ MAK, The Murder Capital, Maria Kelly, and so many other amazing artists charging the way to make music history of their own.

Some of our favourite artists

Fontaines D.C.

Fontaines D.C.’s debut LP Dogrel was released to critical acclaim in April 2019, reaching no.4 in the Irish album chart and no.9 in the UK. After being nominated for NME’s Best New Act in the World, they released their second studio album, A Hero’s Death, via Partisan Records. It entered the UK and Irish album charts at no.2. Pitchfork described the album as ‘heady, funny and fearless’ and scored it a very respectful 8.1/10. It has since been nominated for Best Rock Album and a Grammy, perhaps one of the biggest accolade a band could ever receive.

Æ Mak

Aoife McCann (Æ MAK) has supported Django Django and Warpaint and performed at sold-out Irish headliners. She has played festivals across Ireland and the UK, including The Great Escape, Latitude, Liverpool Sound City, Electric Picnic and Body & Soul. With a range of artistic influences, Æ MAK experiments on the borderlines of pop, continuing to build and carve her career in the industry.

The Murder Capital

Five-piece post-punk titans The Murder Capital met whilst studying at BIMM Music Institute Dublin and have already toured with IDLES, Slaves, and fellow Dubliners, Fontaines D.C. When I Have Fears, their debut studio album, was released in 2019 and peaked at no.2 in the Irish charts and no.18 in the UK charts. In autumn 2019, the band performed a sold-out tour across the UK and Europe to promote the album. The band uses their music to tackle complex subjects surrounding homelessness, suicide, and mental health issues in their native Ireland, a place that is currently in the midst of a housing crisis.

Maria Kelly

Maria Kelly’s alt-folk sound has garnered millions of streams worldwide. She has also played shows across all of Europe, alongside some of the biggest names in folk. Maria began working with producer Matt Harris in 2015, leading to several critically acclaimed releases such as ‘Stitches’ and ‘Torn Into Two’. She’s performed at shows across Europe supporting James Vincent McMorrow, KT Tunstall, and Paul Noonan (Bell X1). Maria’s work has continued to gain momentum internationally, rallying support from Mahogany, Consequence of Sound, and The Line Of Best Fit along the way.