Tball season is officially upon us.
Fear not; we have not reached the reviled stage of Trinity’s answer to the Eras tour, our personal “Ticketmaster hell”. We still have a few weeks before the anxiety sets in. For now, Trinity Ents has given us a job that involves a much more pleasant task than trying to secure tickets during your 9 am lecture. On their Instagram page last Friday, they announced the Trinity acts shortlisted to play at this year’s TBall.
Which Trinity act will emerge victorious? The question remains hanging over the abyss, and you can decide who has access to the singular rope. No pressure or anything.
“Voting closes February 15, so make sure to cast your vote to ensure your favourite artist climbs to the top”
That’s why we’ve provided a breakdown of each act to make the decision a little easier. Trinity News has talked to each act to see how they would describe their music and what they’ll bring to the Tball stage. Voting closes February 15, so make sure to cast your vote to ensure your favourite artist climbs to the top.
BLAZER:
Noting influence from artists such as Florence and the Machine, Kate Bush and The Talking Heads, the band have promised “a sick night of upbeat covers and originals you can dance to, plus a moment for an onstage guest from the audience! Not only will you be able to say you went to Tball, you’ll be able to say you played there, too.”
And who wouldn’t want to say they shared the same stage that the likes of Two Door Cinema Club and Tine Tempah have? Or even better, maybe this will finally be the year that Jedward makes an appearance…
https://www.youtube.com/@weareBLAZER
Burglar:
This band described their music as “Alt-Rock” and cited artists such as “Sleater-Kinney, Deerhoof, Pixies, and King Krule” as crucial inspirations. However, they also mentioned that “people come up to us after gigs to say we sound like Fugazi or Bloc Party. And honestly, we’ll take both.”
Regarding the TBall stage, Burglar said, “We’ll come with our full band set up for T-ball, not just as a duo. And we’ll play all the catchy original tracks our friends like to sing along to. We have a lot of 60s-inspired harmonic work. But we also like to get loud and distorted. We promise it’ll be a good time!”
https://www.youtube.com/@burglar_
Child of Prague:
Child of Prague spans two continents, “Hailing from San Francisco, Tipperary, London, Boston and Dublin.” The indie rock band is influenced “by a multitude of genres – falling somewhere between Irish Trad, Midwest Emo and Folk Pop.”
The new and upcoming band released their debut single, “Watershed”, last December and have said, “We are now in full swing recording our debut EP, excited to explore what we think is an exciting new direction in the Dublin band scene.” And what better place to explore this than on the TBall stage?
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1IcvTflmKzSDZDWWNFvDma?si=FUfyldRzS7SAibFL7PCM1A
Evie:
Evie is a fourth-year student and studies politics. She noted, “I still haven’t made it to TBall between pandemics and Erasmus. I got close once in [my] second year but somewhat died off on Dawson Street and was taken home before reaching Front Gate.” So what better time than now than to give this final year student your vote to attend TBall and play on stage too!
When it comes to her music, Evie says, “My music sounds like what would be the soundtrack to Barbenheimer.” She has been named “One to Watch 2024” by Whelan’s and “Hot for 2024” by Hot Press Magazine. Reflecting on this, she notes, “The real stars are my band, who are also fellow Trinity pals.”
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1kOS484jvPsfcdWNpKEGG9?si=WyCBIjeJSKqbo-JK94MUCQ
Moontalk:
The members of Moontalk don’t confine themselves to one specific style of music. “We do not hold to any genre or style and instead enjoy the fluidity of our creative process.”
When it comes to performing? “The feeling in the room when we gig is unmistakable… we love to connect with our audience, and we want people to dance, sing, and scream. There’s no better feeling than playing with the audience singing and vibing along with you. If chosen, we will make sure to provide everyone coming to Trinity Ball with a performance they won’t forget.”
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2olKds5VGArAK0KFPduS88?si=gNLMFgDqTLKPD-2o8zGzVQ
Raw Cuts:
Returning from a hiatus, Raw Cuts is “ready and eager to showcase their new sound.” They are not strangers to the stage, having performed at the DU Music x HotPress event, Whelans and making their festival debut at the Fuinneamh Festival.
The band says their music “calls from sounds, lyrics and energy similar of [to] bands like Gang of Four, Wolf Alice, Thumper, The Stone Roses and Viagra Boys.” They have also garnered attention from “personalised covers of Kylie Monogue, Britney Spears and Horse Girl” along with their original music.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5cSwBJs0mPkMmdIYPeCHi9?si=pnd3sgdrRS2ppz4z6WpBwA
The Conmen:
“A killer rock group with an excellent horn section that gives us the soul that has gone down so well every time we’ve played on campus.” This is how Conmen describe their sound. They showed their delight in being shortlisted, reflecting, “From our humble beginnings as buskers on the streets of Dublin to this moment of honour from Trinity Ents, every step has been an adventure.
They’re encouraging Trinity students to give them their vote, and how you might ask? “We’ve made a big promise recently. If we’re voted to play – we’ll make a big human pyramid right there on stage. Because why not?”
Creating a human pyramid on the Tball stage would certainly be marked in the Tball Book of Records….
https://www.instagram.com/theconmenband/
Trad Soc:
A breath of fresh air”, that’s how Trad Soc describes a vote for them to play on the Tball stage. While noting that “all of these great bands are fantastic ambassadors of our generation’s Irish music, but we at TradSoc want to take Trinity back to our roots. We represent a group hailing from all corners of the country, showcasing our culture to the visiting students and reminding the others of their heritage.”
“As well as the jigs and the reels, we will be mixing in classic Irish pub songs and playing modern singalong hits with our own trad twist. The people may be coming for the headline acts and the DJ sets, but they will stay for the TradSoc band. And you can believe that.”
https://www.instagram.com/tcdtradsoc/?hl=en
Trinity Belles:
The all-female a capella group, Trinity Belles, have just celebrated ten years together, and they have promised that a Trinity Belles set at TBall is “a 100% guarantee that the night will be full of energy, high spirits and some iconic hits! Our repertoire is full of some feel-good tunes featuring Gloria Gaynor, Cristina Aguilera and Corinne Bailey Rae. TBall is a night full of music, dancing (and maybe even some next morning Fear material ), so what better way to enjoy your night than sip on some cheap booze and sing along with The Trinity Belles!”
https://www.tiktok.com/@trinitybelles?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Click the link below to vote for your top three acts:
:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2_cUn_hVyazuW35ShS5tZpAHi380lr0U_hbeT1l23R1PQFg/viewform
Get your votes in as voting closes on 15 February at midnight. All you need is a TCD email address, so even if you have graduated, you can still have your say.
Perhaps making a vote will manifest in you securing a ticket during your 9 am lecture in a few weeks….
