Episode Details

How I Became A Wave is the solo project of Pat Carey. Formerly of Cork band The Hard Ground, the release of the debut album from How I Became A Wave in 2026 will mark the first substantial release from Carey in 10 years and is a collaboration between Carey and a number of Ireland's finest musicians and artists. An exploration of soundscapes, exploring links between the intimate and the infinite, the album has an eye and an ear as much on grains of sand as it does on the waves that create them. Two full band headline shows, at Coughlan’s, Cork (12 April) and The Unitarian Church, Dublin (17 April) are on sale now, in addition to upcoming supports with acclaimed US singer-songwriter Joan Shelly. To accompany the announcement, new single, ‘Sea Swell’, has just been released – a song that grows with a quiet intensity, opening into a powerful full-band crescendo that has already become a standout moment in live shows. Live support slots with Joan Shelley, Lisa Hannigan, Villagers, Gemma Hayes, Niamh Regan, Ailbhe Reddy, John Spillane and more further cement the quality of this project, demonstrating the backing it has received from some of the genre’s most respected artists. Festival appearances at Your Roots Are Showing, Quiet Lights and Sounds From A Safe Harbour have continued to build momentum, introducing the work to new audiences. How I Became A Wave was recently named in the Irish Independent’s Ones to Watch for 2026. They wrote: “Pat Carey makes music that quietly acknowledges the strength it takes to be vulnerable, and the comfort that comes from creativity and collaboration” – perfectly summing up the ethos of this project, which has been a long time in the making.