After an interrupted 2020 which still saw ROE rack up over a million streams on her EP ‘Things We Don’t Talk About’, and collaboration with Dublin Hip-Hop duo Tebi Rex, ‘Cruel’ is ROEs first release of 2021. Written and recorded in a single day with co-writer and producer Rocky O’Reilly (ASIWYFA, Wheatus, Oppenheimer), ‘Cruel’ marks the start of a new era for the young songwriter with a new look, a new sound, and a fresh approach.
“‘Cruel was written about wanting to care for someone who doesn’t deserve the loyalty. It’s about being brainwashed into only seeing the good in somebody and thinking that they’re this huge part of your personality that you’d be lost without when in reality they’re only dragging you down.”- ROE
After playing the first live set in front of an audience in almost 18 months on the island of Ireland at a pilot live performance in June, ROE is set to debut a brand new live show at the official Stendhal festival on 9/10 July, and at Wild Roots Festival in Sligo on 13/14 August.
Devastatingly sincere and relatable, ROE is a songwriter that pours her heart into every word that she writes. Her work spills truths from her own life, and from speculations on the planet on which we exist.
Hailing from Derry, NI, ROE left college before finishing to travel the world playing festivals and to focus on writing songs that felt real. Her 2020 EP ‘Things We Don’t Talk About’ saw ROE cross 1 million streams on Spotify and is the culmination of 4 years of relentless writing, releasing and touring as a completely independent artist.
At 18-years-old she received a coveted slot on the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury in 2017, which led her on to perform across Europe, North America, India and beyond; supporting local legends Snow Patrol on their 2018/19 UK Arena Tour. The winner of Best Emerging Artist – Northern Ireland Music Prize, 2018 and recipient of the PRS Foundation Momentum Fund, 2020, ROE’s music has been used as part of a TV and radio campaign for BBC Music NI, in ITV’s ‘The Only Way is Essex’, Channel 4’s ‘Made in Chelsea’ and Netflix’s ‘Terrace House’.
With her previous releases, she has gained extensive support and plays from BBC Radio 1 and Radio 6 Music, regular playlisting across Irish radio on RTE2FM and Today FM, and her monthly listeners on Spotify continue to grow.
With plans to debut a new sound and live show, the coming months and years look set to be the most exciting and significant yet for ROE.
