Ok what bands are big in your country or locale but not so much further afield?
I’ll start with a few in Ireland. Some of these artist are known abroad but are huge here. Some are Irish, some not.
Jape - jape | Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos
Dublin laid-back electro-rock, most famous for the song Floating as covered by The Raconteurs. Main guy Richie is the hardest working man in Dublin music also being a part of post-rock group, The Redneck Manifesto.
Damien Dempsey - http://www.myspace.com/damiendempsey
At various times a rapper, a Celtic reggae proponent and a folk balladeer, Dempsey combines traditional elements of Irish music with contemporary pop. He’s a huge live draw here. Songs to check out include Patience, Badtime Garda, Party On, Colony and his latest album of folk standards.
**Josh Ritter ** - Josh Ritter | Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos
A native son of Moscow, Idaho, Ritter is the latest in a long line of foreign singer-songwriters adopted by Irish audiences as their own (cf. David Gray). Although he’s attracting attention nowadays in his native land and other countries he has been hugely successful here as a live act for a number of years. He has so many good songs, I recommended him already in the One Hit Wonders thread.
The Frames - http://www.myspace.com/theframesofficial
Glen Hansard of Once fame’s ‘proper’ band. Doing the circuit since 1992 they’ve built up a huge following and had several well respected albums. Their styles have changed over the years from Irish-inflected grunge to Alt-Americana to stadium rock. Songs to check out include: Star, Star, Red Chord, Pavement Tune, God Bless Mom, Fake, Lay Me Down and Revelate.