Winter warmers from Dingle

OTHER Voices is currently streaming on the RTE website which is certainly music to my ears. In a year where the arts have been inexorably affected by Covid-19, it’s great to see some warmth coming back into the music scene for the winter.

Some of Ireland’s best-loved musicians are at St James Church in Dingle, alongside our newest talent and a smattering of international names, offering up breathtaking performances in Bringing It All Back Home.

Of course you can’t get a golden ticket to step into St James Church or the chance to traverse the music trail and hop from venue to venue tasting everything on offer.

But there are plenty of reasons to tune in and at least this time we can all watch online together. Tonight it’s the turn of Aoife Nessa Francis, Mark

Lanegan, Rhiannon Giddens and Gerry O’Beirne with Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh to take to the stage from 7pm.

Tomorrow it’s For Those I Love, Pillow Queens, Séamus agus Caoimhe Uí Fhlatharta and Sun Collective and on Sunday it’s the turn of Brigid Mae Power, Conchúr White, Fox Jaw, Luz and Peter Broderick.

As something that is a live stream now, it’s all free to watch but Other Voices has joined the campaign to help restore the hallowed walls of St James Church so viewers can make a contribution if they like what they see.

And of course, there’s more in store where that came from as the first ever Other Voices Christmas concert t akes place at t he Guinness Storehouse on December 16.

Again, it’s a live stream presented by the fabulous singer and songwriter Loah (pictured left) who herself has a voice that melts hearts and will be performing some of her own songs on the night as well. Limerick hip-hop collective Murli, Godknows and Denise Chaila, Choice Music Prize nominee Sorcha Richardson, Ivor Novello award-winning Villagers, trailblazing hip-hop duo Mango X Mathman, singer- songwriter and pianist Jack O’Rourke, Louth-based folk trio the Mary Wallopers, ‘New Music’ collective Crash E n s e mbl e , renowned trad musicians Seán Potts & Doireann Glackin and a specially commissioned contribution f rom the award-winning Irish writer Joseph O’Connor will all be in the mix on the night. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas after all. See othervoices.ie for more details on the events.