Dea Matrona

The Irish rock duo Dea Matrona met in a competitive setting. In their early teens, singers and multi-instrumentalists Mollie McGinn and Orláith Forsythe laid the foundations of their friendship while both were taking part in an Irish-language singing competition, before joining forces to play together on the streets of Belfast. That marked the start of a near ten-year journey as musical partners. Dea Matrona's rise rests on a fierce DIY ethic: over the years on stage, the duo honed their sound, built a loyal fanbase and self-funded their own releases. Their debut album, For Your Sins, released in 2024, topped the Independent Breakers chart, was played on BBC Radio 1, took them to Glastonbury and also earned them the support slot on tour with Canadian rockers The Beaches. This summer, the duo will join the icon Sting on the road, taking their hybrid sound to even bigger stages.

As they prepare to release their long-awaited second album, Hate That I Care (due 5 June 2026 via AWAL), Dea Matrona is stepping things up by addressing the personal and political issues that have shaped them as a band. The new record explores themes of female empowerment and identity through an Irish lens, as well as the feeling of being an outsider, both musically and on a deeply personal level. McGinn sums it up well: ‘We're eager to release this album. We feel it's more like us, more aware of the world around us and of how we fit into it, and that it says more clearly what we want to say.