Softdrink Millionaire

Emerging from the seaside town of Bray, County Wicklow, Softdrink Millionaire are used to being on the outskirts of something bigger. Beginning as an informal collective of friends and collaborators around the writings of poet and songwriter Josh Fortune, the line-up would eventually solidify with guitarist Joe Dillon, fellow TERD co-founder Thomas Earls taking up bass guitar, and the Mountain Runner singer-songwriter Jack Lawlor on drums. The outfit would soon find their place in a burgeoning DIY scene amongst the likes of Binmen, Burglar, Hotgirl, and Madra Salach centred around shows in venues like Dublin’s Anseo, Bray’s Harbour Bar, and the monthly outsider poetry and arts night Top End Romantics Division also known as TERD.

A seemingly endless collection of influences makes it hard to pin Softdrink Millionaire down as any one thing. There’s a certain twee-ness to the intimate and colloquially written softer moments, evoking a sloppier Belle & Sebastian, or a less grounded Richard Dawson. However there’s also a heavier edge, their songs threatening to burst at any moment into emotive, instrumental post-rock that draws closer comparisons to Slint or even Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

The band quietly built a following through 2024 on the strength of their live show, an unpredictable affair that chaotically blends vulnerable intimacy and psychedelic improvisation. This reputation earned them a spot at Whelan’s Ones To Watch 2025, and notices from The Goo, Nialler9, and Hot Press.

‘Softdrink Millionaire offer a laconic soundstorm and have cool and grit in equal amounts, I loved them’ - John Brereton, The Goo

‘Irreverent, delicate and of its own kind in Ireland at the moment, ‘Words / what’ indicates that this Bray DIY outfit are ones to keep your ears cupped for.’ - Hot Press