Other Voices came and went in the blink of an eye like many great weekends do. A music lover’s dream, the festival combined a mixture of acts and venues with that local feeling you can’t help falling for.
Acts both big and small packed out pubs and churches throughout Dingle, giving visitors the opportunity to see some fantastic up-and-coming acts as well as sneaky shows by the heavy-hitters.
You may have been there too or you might be thinking of going next year, either way, let’s take a very belated (sorry!) look back at Other Voices 2019 together.
Friday
Having travelled half the length of the country, I was a little late getting back to Other Voices for Friday night. However, I still did manage to see Cherym play in front of a nice crowd in The Marina Inn. They ran through all the favourites, including their new single “Abigail”. Their set finished with their bassist smashing their bass on the footpath outside the pub, because why not!
Saturday
Saturday was a big one in Dingle, with several surprise shows being announced and plenty to see and do (drink) otherwise.
Firstly, Saint Sister announced a surprise show in An Diseart for 1pm, meaning every Other Voices visitor in Dingle wanted to go. Luckily we made it in and got front row seats (featured pic) to an incredible show, one set against the backdrop of a church altar and its stained glass windows. The set lasted about 35 minutes and included an appearance from Rachel Lavelle.
We barely had a foot out the door before having to run down to Nelliefred’s to queue for The Murder Capital who had also announced a surprise show for 3:30pm. If you’ve read any of my blogs over the last 18 months, you’ll know how big a fan I am of these guys, so I wasn’t missing this one. Once again Lady Luck was waiting at the door, sending us in ahead of the crowd at 2:30pm to catch the end of the Shrug Life set. Having seen The Murder Capital play the likes of ATN and Whelans among other venues, the close-knit design of Nelliefred’s was perfect for their kind of energetic show.
Having sipped away on a few creamy pints, we ventured down to O’Sullivan’s Courthouse for Anna Mieke at 6pm. Unsurprisingly, the place was packed out the door for her, but we still managed to squeeze our ears in for a rewarding listen. From there the sesh called us once more until we found our way to Paul Geaney’s Yard for a series of great acts.
First to the stage at 11:30pm were Tebi Rex who had the crowd going wild, followed by Bitch Falcon at 12:30 am and Thumper at 1:30am. The latter show ended with a crowd (including myself) on stage rocking out-great fun it must be said!
That brought a hugely successful Saturday to a close, with a jam-packed Sunday still ahead of us.
Sunday
Water. Coffee. Water. Water. Pints. With a big Sunday to look forward to, we firstly had to get our liquids right.
Our gigs began with a fantastic performance by Elkae in Nelliefred’s at 2pm, followed by a packed-out Junior Brother show at 3:30pm. Having been blown away the previous night, we hung around for the Bitch Falcon show that followed.
We then legged it over to John Benny’s for the wonderful Jackie Beverly at 6pm who didn’t disappoint. Certainly one of our rising stars to keep an eye on, she was exactly what the crowd needed on a Sunday evening. The last show of the night that we threw our ears at was Bicurious, who played Paul Geaney’s Bar at 11:30pm. I hadn’t heard anything by them before but these lads certainly know how to jam. In a tight space they had everyone squashed in a mosh; great craic if that’s your thing.
There were still acts to see after that but with tired legs and eyes, we decided it was best to recap on the weekend over a few pints.
Come Monday evening I was in a reflective mood. Other Voices had been a wonderful three nights, with every waking second made use of. A great excuse to gather a bunch of friends from every corner of the country and a great way to experience some of the amazing talent Ireland has to offer.
Other Voices 2019 was a blast, 2020 should be even better.
G.M
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