Other Voices 2013 Dingle - Day One: Bringing it all back home

Every year now, for the last twelve, the Other Voices production returns to Dingle to capture some sort of magic in a small church on the main street in this Kerry town.

It’s a small place but it requires big asks. The big production pre-game is just getting people here. Dingle is four hours from Dublin, two and a half hours from Shannon Airport and Kerry Regional Airport is still an hour away.

But arriving here yesterday, as always, there’s sense that the journey is worth the undertaking. There’s something special about being in Dingle that is shared in the hugs and “how are yous?” of returning friends.

The first night at in St. James’ Church for Other Voices featured a lot of returns. David Gray is a man who is most well-known for having the biggest selling album in Irish history with White Ladder. That album made him a household name (there was a CD in every household).

15 years and four albums later, Gray has moved on. As emphasised by his stage setup featuring six other musicians and singers and no drumkit placed in an offensive football formation, this was something else removed from the old.

The songs, in general, are gentle piano and harmony ballads with orchestral flourishes. New song ‘Gulls’ is majestic and considered. The Irish connection is reinforced with a pair of songs David describes as brother and sister - ‘Dun Laoghaire’ and ‘Skellig’. Though the songs reference Irish placenames they are universal in outlook.

Most impressive is Gray’s voice which is robust and steadfast. Supported by voices like Lisa O’Neill, Mossy Nolan and David Kitt, there is considerable strength in it, something you can’t tell from only being familiar from hearing on one of those White Ladder CDs.

O’Neill sings two duets with him including two song from 2009’s Draw The Line album 'Kathleen' and 'Nemesis', the latter featuring references to Diana Ross’ ‘Baby Love’ and The Browns’ ‘Looking Back To See’ (also heard in Massive Attack’s 'Safe From Harm'). His set ends in a rousing chorus of soulful gospel ummms with Gray losing the restraint in his body, standing up and shaking it all, taken by his music and the space.

It’s a new voice that features on the stage after and it’s a young Wicklow voice with luscious soulful tonality. Andrew Hozier Byrne’s rise to prominence has been swift. If anything it shows the power of a voice. Hozier’s short set flanked by two backing singers and four musicians is a fine demonstration of his instrument and recalls classic singers. It’s easy to see why he’s just signed a big label deal.

While 'Take Me To Church' is the big hit at this point, it was other songs, ‘Angel Of Small Death & The Codeine Scene’ from the debut EP and unreleased track 'Sedated' which left the biggest impression. This tall boy will go far.

Lisa O’Neill returned to the stage for her own set with her band after joining Gray earlier. It was her second time at Other Voices, with the first a couple of years ago in the IMRO Other Room. Her set, taken largely from her excellent new album Same Cloth Or Not, makes plain the journey she’s been on in the last few years since Gray took her along with him on an American tour.

That experience informs one particular set highlight, written for her uncle Neillie. Fireflies and mighty mountains are conjured up in a poignant paean to her now passed-away relative.

O’Neill’s journey has been musical and personal. She’s Cavan cuteness personified and she's really found her true self in her songs. On stage, she’s funny, commanding and has the wit of a good Irish storyteller. The voice again, is key, and O’Neill’s is her own unique one.

The night ended with a singer-songwriter returning to the hometown of her ancestors. Patty Griffin is an American through and through but her grandmother grew up just down the road from the church on John Street. Having visited Dingle last year, Griffin was also one of the returning.

Alone on stage with just her suite of guitars, Griffin played with an the American heart. There was a bit of Hank Williams, a song about both George Dubya and her cowboy ex-boyfriend, and another moving paean ‘Wherever You Want To Go’ written for her recently deceased father Laurence. The Maine country-folk singer has had a long career and has played with many a well-known musician from Robert Plant to Mavis Staples to Emmylou Harris but was honoured to be in Dingle and humbled by her Other Voices experience, as many have before her.

Pics by Rich Gilligan.