Other Voices NYC: A Celebration of Music & Literature @ (le) poisson rouge October 27, 2011

w/ Glen Hansard (The Swell Season) , Bryce & Aaron Dessner (The National) , Doveman , Laurie Anderson , Sam Amidon , Bell X1 , Iarla Ó Lionáird , Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh , Martin Hayes , Joseph O'Connor , Colum McCann , Roddy Doyle , Benefitting FIGHTING WORDS Creative Writing Centre and Presented by Imagine Ireland & The Burgundy Stain Sessions

Other Voices, the internationally acclaimed music series from Ireland, crosses the Atlantic this fall for a special two-night celebration of music and literature at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge on October 27th and 28th.

Other Voices NYC is presented by Imagine Ireland in association with The Burgundy Stain Sessions and will feature performances by Oscar winning Irish artist Glen Hansard (The Swell Season), Bryce & Aaron Dessner (The National), Thomas Bartlett, Laurie Anderson, Sam Amidon, Bell X1, Iarla O’ Lionaird, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, Martin Hayes and many more to be announced. In addition to the musical offerings, prominent Irish literary figures including Joseph O'Connor and Colum McCann will perform intimate readings during the two-day event. All sales will benefit the Fighting Words creative writing centre.

Heading into its tenth year, the Other Voices music series is filmed each winter in Ireland, at the tiny, historic and very beautiful two-hundred year old St. James’ Church in Dingle, Co. Kerry. Celebrated Irish and international bands and musicians, along with many of Ireland’s most exciting emerging artists gather in the town, recording in-depth interviews and performing unique live sets to intimate audiences. The series has hosted a myriad of acts from across all genres of music including Glen Hansard, Damien Rice, Amy Winehouse, The National, Snowpatrol, Ray Davies, Josh Ritter, The xx, Florence and the Machine, Ryan Adams, Ellie Goulding, Steve Earle, Emiliana Torrini, James Blunt, Rufus and Martha Wainwright and many more. The series is broadcast on TV stations globally. Some say that on a clear Atlantic day, you can see New York from Dingle, a picturesque fishing village at the southwestern tip of Ireland. Visible or not, the cultural connections between this rural Irish town and the American metropolis are undeniable. "The DNA of Irish and American music is woven together, each leaving an indelible mark on the other," says Other Voices Series Editor Philip King. "The gathering of artists in Dingle each year gives voice to that truth."

Speaking of Other Voices NYC, King says “There is a continually evolving exchange taking place among a new generation of Irish and American musicians and writers. Many of the great artists contributing to this unique event visited with us in Dingle and found the experience uplifting and inspirational. It’s exciting for us to journey to New York City to continue the conversation and to support Fighting Words.”

Other Voices NYC is part of Culture Ireland's "Imagine Ireland" program, a year-long celebration of Irish arts in America, funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
www.imagineireland.ie

This is a general admission event. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first seated basis. There is a two item minimum per person at all tables. Standing room is also available. We recommend arriving early.

LPR offers a membership program that guarantees members seating for future shows. Click here for more info.
Artists
Other Voices NYC:
A Celebration of Music & Literature
Glen Hansard (The Swell Season)
Vocalist and guitarist for Irish rock group The Frames. Hansard quit school at age 13 to begin busking on local Dublin streets. He first came to public attention as guitar player ‘Outspan Foster’ in the Alan Parker film The Commitments, a role he subsequently regretted, believing it distracted from his music career. In 2003 he presented the first series of Other Voices: Songs from a Room, which showcased Irish music talent on RTÉ. He released The Swell Season, his first solo album, on April 21st 2006, in collaboration with a Czech singer and multiinstrumentalist Markéta Irglová, Marja Tuhkanen and Bertrand Galen.
-via last.fm
Bryce & Aaron Dessner (The National)
Aaron and Bryce Dessner are twin brothers and members of the rock band The National. Aaron Dessner writes the majority of the music for The National. The brothers are co-founders, alongside Alec Hanley Bemis, of Brassland,[1] a label that is home to artists including The National, the Clogs, catalog and releases by Doveman and Nico Muhly.
via wikipedia
photo credit: Keith Klenowski
Doveman
28-year old Thomas Bartlett is one of New York’s most in-demand keyboard players, collaborating & touring with artists such as Glen Hansard (Once, Swell Season), The National, Martha Wainwright, Antony, David Byrne, Bebel Gilberto & Yoko Ono. Doveman is Bartlett and his select group of collaborators.
Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson is one of America’s most renowned—and daring—creative pioneers. Her work, which encompasses music, visual art, poetry, film, and photography, has challenged and delighted audiences around the world for more than 30 years. Anderson is best known for her multimedia presentations and musical recordings. Anderson’s first album, O Superman, launched her recording career in 1980, rising to number two on the British pop charts and subsequently appearing on her landmark release Big Science. She went on to record six more albums with Warner Brothers. In 2001, Anderson recorded her first album with Nonesuch Records, the critically lauded Life on a String.
Sam Amidon
"Amidon has one of the most inviting voices around today...In bridging the very old and the very new on a handful of albums and collaborations, he has managed to meld the rural and the urban, the organic and the synthetic, the oral tradition and the written score." -Pitchfork

Sam Amidon on Myspace
Bell X1
Bell X1 were named after the first aircraft to break the sound barrier, flown in 1947 by Chuck Yeager. Jagermeister is a particularly evil spirit that has no place in any reputable establishment, unlike gin. "Gin and tonic dressing gown..." is a lyric from Bell X1's debut album, Neither Am I, released in 2000 in Ireland. Ireland used to be poor, was blingin' for a while there, and now it's in a bit of a jocker with the old big R. Releasing their second album Music in Mouth in 2003, the band toured with many recording artists of note, including Bon Jovi and Elliot Smith in the same week - inspiring them to make small music with big hair. Hair-and-shoes bands kept getting in the way there for a while, but they've learned to deal with that, and don't seem to mind so much. Much rejoicing was had when in October 2005, the third record, Flock, went to number 1 in the Irish pop charts. Charts don't really interest them, but don't all bands say that, and deep down they care. Careful to cover all ground this time, Flock was the first record to be released across continental Europe and North America, and the band spent most of 2008 playing shows there and being on the telly. Telly shows they've performed on include Conan O Brien, David Letterman and Craig Fergusen, and The OC, Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill have all featured their music to accompany scenes of heart-wrenching drama. Drama and big changes were afoot as Bell X1 left Island records in 2007 to set up their own label, BellyUp records, and released Tour de Flock, a live DVD and album recording of their triumphant homecoming show at the Point Depot, Dublin. Dublin is where the recorded 2009's album, Blue Lights on the Runway, which debuted #1 and featured the single The Great Defector. Bell X1's new album Bloodless Coup was released worldwide on April 1st 2011.
Iarla Ó Lionáird
Iarla O'Lionáird grew up and learned his craft in the musical heartland of Cúil Aodha in the West Cork Gaeltacht. From his iconic early recording of the vision song “Aisling Gheal” whilst still a boy, through many recordings O’Lionaird established himself both as a masterful exponent of Sean Nós Song and as a pioneer in its renewal and development. October sees the release of O’Lionaird’s latest solo album "Foxlight" on Real World Records.

From his early days as a sean-nos singer to new and old bands such as The Gloaming and Afro Celt Sound System tohis work with Donnacha Dennehy and Gavin Bryars as well his solo work, O'Lionáird has always ploughed his own artistic furrow. His latest release "Foxlight", produced by Leo Abrahams, is a record that shimmers with versatility. Whilst rooted in certain traditions, it is also unclassifiable and refuses to be located in one genre or another. It's one of O Lionaird's most organic, naturalistic records to date. Instrumentation and layers are embedded in each song, but ultimately it's about Iarla's exquisite, sonically unique voice.

www.Iarla.com
Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh
Born in Dublin, and now living in a home for the bewildered, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh is an international peculiarity.

He makes awesome music from fiddles and is known to be fond of keeping chickens.

Once upon a time, he studied Theoretical Physics, and now looks at the night sky in perplexity.

photo by Ale Möller
Martin Hayes
Martin Hayes was born in 1961 in Maghera, Co. Clare, into a musical family; his grandmother played concertina, his uncle Paddy Canny was national fiddle champion and his father is now celebrating a half century as fiddler and leader of the Tulla Ceili Band, probably the best known of Irish ceili bands and major stars of the dance band scene of the 50s and 60s. It was no surprise that the young Martin, who got his first half-sized fiddle at the age of 7 would follow in the family footsteps, going along to Tulla Ceili band gigs and later joining in. He played with the TCB for some 7 years and was also active in competition, winning a half-dozen all-Ireland fiddle championships (2 of them in the senior competition) and a whole slew of other awards. He learned his music from his neighbours and relations, rather than records and big-name groups, picking up the slow, lyrical Clare style.

After college and a spell setting up his own business, he moved to Chicago and took up the fiddle again after a dry spell. He spent a number of years playing on the local circuit as well as playing with the short-lived rock band, Midnight Court. His success in Chicago made him one of the best known fiddlers in America and lead to his first US album, on the Green Linnet label. He is now based in Seattle, tours extensively and continues the oral tradition by teaching, both in the US and in the Willie Clancy summer school, at home in Clare.
Joseph O'Connor
Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin. He is the author of the novels Cowboys and Indians (short-listed for the Whitbread Prize), Desperadoes, The Salesman, Inishowen, Star of the Sea and Redemption Falls, as well as a number of bestselling works of non-fiction. He has also written film scripts and stage-plays including the award-winning Red Roses and Petrol. His novel Star of the Sea was an international bestseller, selling more than a million copies and being published in 38 languages. It won France’s Prix Millepages, Italy’s Premio Acerbi, the Irish Post Award for Fiction, the Neilsen Bookscan Golden Book Award, an American Library Association Award, the Hennessy / Sunday Tribune Hall of Fame Award, and the Prix Litteraire Zepter for European Novel of the Year.

He was recently voted ‘Irish Writer of the Decade’ by the readers of Hot Press magazine. He broadcasts a popular weekly radio diary on RTE’s Drivetime With Mary Wilson and writes regularly for The Guardian Review and The Sunday Independent. In 2009 he was the Harman Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Baruch College, the City University of New York. His most recent novel Ghost Light was published in June 2010 to rave reviews internationally and spent nine weeks as a number one Irish besteller. It was chosen as Dublin’s One City One Book novel for 2011.
Colum McCann
Colum McCann is the author of two collections of short stories and five novels, including "This Side of Brightness,""Dancer" and “Zoli,” all of which were international best-sellers. His newest novel is “Let the Great World Spin.” His fiction has been published in 30 languages and has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, GQ, Paris Review, Bomb and other places. He has written for numerous publications including The Irish Times, Die Zeit, La Republicca, Paris Match, The New York Times, the Guardian and the Independent.

In 2003 Colum was named Esquire magazine's "Writer of the Year." Other awards and honors include a Pushcart Prize, the Rooney Prize, the Hennessy Award for Irish Literature, the Irish Independent Hughes and Hughes/Sunday Independent Novel of the Year 2003, and the 2002 Ireland Fund of Monaco Princess Grace Memorial Literary Award.

His short film "Everything in this Country Must," directed by Gary McKendry, was nominated for an Academy Award Oscar in 2005. Award.

In May 2009 Colum was inducted into Aosdana, the equivalent of the Irish Academy, one of Ireland’s highest literary honours. Award.

In fall 2009, Colum will be awarded a French Chevalier des arts et lettres by the French government, making him one of a exclusive number of foreign artists recognised in France for their literary contributions: other recipients have included Paul Auster, Salman Rushdie and Julian Barnes. Award.

In September 2009 Colum will be awarded the Deauville Festival of Cinema Literary Prize in Deauxville, France. Award.

Colum was born in Dublin in 1965 and began his career as a journalist in The Irish Press. In the early 1980's he took a bicycle across North America and then worked as a wilderness guide in a program for juvenile delinquents in Texas. After a year and a half in Japan, he and his wife Allison moved to New York where they currently live with their three children, Isabella, John Michael and Christian. Award.

Colum teaches in Hunter College in New York, in the Creative Writing program, with fellow novelists Peter Carey and Nathan Englander. Award.

Colum’s fifth novel, "Let the Great World Spin” is scheduled for release in the U.S on June 23rd, 2009. An extract was published in the Paris Review in fall 2008, followed by another extract in Bomb magazine. The British and Irish release will be in August, while European publishers will quickly follow up – in what amounts to an unprecedented international publication – in September 2009. Award.

The novel begins in August 1974 as a tightrope walker makes his way through the dawn light across the World Trade Center towers, stunning thousands of watchers below. Using the true story of Philippe Petit as a pull-through metaphor, McCann crafts a portrait of the city and a people. There’s Corrigan, a radical young Irish monk, who struggles with his own demons as he lives among the prostitutes in the burning Bronx. A group of mothers gather in a Park Avenue apartment to mourn the sons who died in Vietnam – they soon discover how much divides them even in their grief. Further uptown, Tillie, a 38-year-old grandmother, turns tricks alongside her teenaged daughter, determined not only to take care of her “babies” but to prove her own worth. Award.

Elegantly weaving together these and other seemingly disparate lives, McCann’s powerful allegory of 9/11 comes alive in the unforgettable voices of the city’s people, unexpectedly drawn together by hope, beauty, and the tightrope walker’s “artistic crime of the century.” McCann’s most ambitious work to date, Let the Great World Spin has already been described as a triumphant American novel. Award.

Tour dates for “Let the Great World Spin” are announced here and will be regularly updated.
Roddy Doyle
Roddy Doyle is the author of nine novels, a collection of stories, and Rory & Ita, a memoir of his parents. He has written five books for children and has contributed to a variety of publications including The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Metro Eireann and several anthologies. He won the Booker Prize in 1993, for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.

Roddy has written for the stage and his plays include Brownbread and Guess Who’s Coming For The Dinner. He co-adapted with Joe O’Byrne his novel The Woman who Walked into Doors and he co-wrote with Bisi Adigun a new version of The Playboy of the Western World.

He also wrote the screenplays for The Snapper, The Van, Family, When Brendan Met Trudy and he co-wrote the screenplay for The Commitments.

He lives and works in Dublin
Benefitting FIGHTING WORDS Creative Writing Centre
Presented by Imagine Ireland & The Burgundy Stain Sessions

Official Website: http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/2652