Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) are proud to report that one of its Music Students Gavin Gribben recently won two awards at the 3rd Annual Northern Ireland Country Music Awards which took place in The Tullyglass Hotel, Ballymena, Tuesday 7th February 2023.

The 21-year-old Country Music singer and guitarist from Mayobridge, Co Down, picked up two awards on the night, for the Best Country Single – Pub Crawl and he also picked up the prestigious Brian Coll Male Newcomer Award. Gavin is no stranger to these awards as last year he won the best video for ‘Find the Right Girl’.

These awards which are a celebration of Northern Irelands Finest Talent were a star-studded event and included special performances by Country Queen Philomena Begley & 1st Lady Susan McCann. There were also performances from country superstar Derek Ryan & Ireland's Authentic Nashville star Robert Mizzell along with 30 other renowned Country artists.

Gribben is currently in third year of the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Music in the Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music in DkIT. Gavin is a professional artist in the genres of Irish country and folk music, and in recent years has performed across Ireland in venues such as the INEC Arena, Killarney and in festivals such as the Carlingford Oyster Festival. Gavin has featured on many radio stations including Q-Radio and BBC Radio Ulster and has also been a favourite on TV channels such as Spotlight TV, Hot Country TV and TG4. In 2018, he released his debut album, ‘Living the Dream’ aged only 16 years old which was hugely successful for the young singer.

Further information about Gavin’s recordings and performances can be found on his website: www.gavingribbenmusic.