Damien Rice

The Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice does not record many albums, gives rarely interviews and only performed sporadically during the past year. His last appearance in Belgium dates from 2007, but he nevertheless stands his ground in the troops of singer-songwriters.

Damien Rice started his musical career with the rock band Juniper. At the end of the 90s he left the band and moved to Tuscany after which he toured through Europe with songs that would form the basis of his first album. The song ‘The Blower’s Daughter’ was the first single he released and could be found on his first album ‘O’, which came out in 2002, as well as others songs such as ‘Volcano’ and ‘Cannonball’. It lasted until 2006 before a second album came out; ‘9’ contains the single ‘9 crimes’, which probably signed for being Rice’s most famous song. Lisa Hannigan, who took charge of a leading role on both albums, follows her own way in the meantime and has built up her own career.

While performing live, Damien Rice tends to transform his vulnerable songs into extensive jams and may sound sometimes more fiercely than on the album. If we can expect another album soon after ‘9’, which was released already 6 years ago? The answer is unknown. One thing is for sure, we are all impatiently looking forward to the solo performance of this Irish singer-songwriter at Gent Jazz Festival this summer.