- Belfast "tradtronica" collective Huartan has signed with Primary Talent International (PTI) for live music and touring representation.
- The band will be represented by PTI Partner Sally Dunstone for Europe and the UK.
- Huartan dropped their self-titled debut album in November 2025 and are currently touring it through 2026, with festival slots at Skye Live and Kelburn Garden Party already locked in.
- The group won BBC Introducing NI Artist of the Year 2025 and NI Music Prize Live Act of the Year 2024.
West Belfast collective Huartan, winners of the BBC Introducing NI Artist of the Year (2025) and the NI Music Prize Live Act of the Year (2024), have signed with Primary Talent International (PTI) for live music and touring representation across Europe and the UK. The deal is with PTI Partner Sally Dunstone.
The trio (Catriona Ní Ghribín, Múlú, and producer Stiofán Ó Luachráin) fuse traditional Gaeilge song with urgent, pulsating electronica, and have built one of the most distinctive live shows on the Irish and UK circuit, complete with masked dancers embodying pagan mythology.
Their self-titled debut album dropped in November 2025, and the band has wasted no time taking it on the road. Huartan appeared on the lineup for Skye Live 2026 in Portree, United Kingdom, and were announced as high-profile featured acts for Kelburn Garden Party 2026, where their work as BBC Introducing NI Artists of the Year was highlighted as a key selling point.
PTI has been on a sharp signing streak in 2026. In similar moves that signal the agency’s focus on rising independent acts, the agency recently welcomed Conrad Taylor and Dead Pioneers for Europe and UK representation, as well as The Kairos.
Sally Dunstone joined PTI in March 2021, bringing a diverse roster that spans club to arena level. She has built artist careers from the ground up and is a strong champion of female artists and LGBTQI+ representation. Her current PTI roster includes Kelly Lee Owens, Kojaque, Rina Sawayama, and serpentwithfeet, among others.
This signing positions Huartan for a significant step up in the European festival circuit, backed by one of the UK’s most respected independent agencies.
Takeaways
This is a significant moment for Huartan, not just a business deal, but a signal of where Irish traditional music is heading. Signing with PTI’s Sally Dunstone, who has a track record of scaling artists from intimate club shows to festival headliners, suggests Huartan’s European ambitions are serious.
Their immersive, pagan-inflected live show, complete with dancers and masked performers, is exactly the kind of spectacle that stands out on a crowded festival lineup.
This signing could open doors to major continental European bookings that would have been harder to secure independently.
Could Huartan’s tradtronica sound open up a new lane for Irish-language music on European festival stages? Could this signing accelerate interest in other Gaeltacht-connected artists looking to cross over to wider European audiences?
