Cara Elizabeth Dillon is an Irish folk singer. In 1995, she joined the folk supergroup Equation and signed a record deal with Warners Music Group. After leaving the group, she collaborated with Sam Lakeman under the name Polar Star. In 2001, she released her first solo album, Cara Dillon, which featured traditional songs and two original Dillon/Lakeman compositions. The album was an unexpected hit in the folk world, with Dillon receiving four nominations at the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
The Thrills are an Irish pop band, formed in 2001 in Dublin, Ireland. The band was founded by lead vocalist Conor Deasy and guitarist Daniel Ryan, guitarist and bass player Padraic McMahon, pianist Kevin Horan and drummer Ben Carrigan. Their break came with their debut album, So Much for the City, which became an Irish number one and charted at number 3 on the UK. The band's sound has been described as "inspired by classic American pop of the late '60s and early '70s" by Rovi and "an ocean-soaked, harmony-heavy homage to California's dreamy dreams, shaking ground, and unrelenting sunshine" by Pitchfork Media.
Republic of Loose were an Irish funk rock band from Dublin. Formed in 2001, the band formerly consisted of lead vocalist Mick Pyro, bass guitarist and vocalist Benjamin Loose, keyboardist Deco, guitarists and vocalists Dave Pyro and Brez and drummer and percussionist Coz Noelen.
Damien Dempsey is an Irish singer and songwriter who mixes traditional Irish folk with contemporary lyrics to deliver social commentary. He sings in English, and to a lesser extent in Irish.
Bell X1 are an Irish rock band from County Kildare. The group consists of Paul Noonan, David Geraghty and Dominic Phillips.
Sharon Shannon is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, Sharon Shannon, was the best-selling album of traditional Irish music ever released in Ireland. Beginning with Irish folk music, her work demonstrates a wide-ranging number of musical influences. She won the lifetime achievement award at the 2009 Meteor Awards.
Skylarkin' is Mic Christopher's first and only solo album, which was released posthumously following his death in November 2001. The album was finalised by Karl Odlum and David Odlum. Many fellow musicians from the Irish music scene contributed to the album including Glen Hansard and Colm Mac Con Iomaire of The Frames, Rónán Ó Snodaigh of Kíla, Lisa Hannigan and Gemma Hayes.
Lisa Margaret Hannigan is an Irish musician, singer, composer, and voice actress. She began her musical career as a member of Damien Rice's band. Since beginning her solo career in 2007 she has released three albums: Sea Sew (2008), Passenger (2011), and At Swim (2016). Hannigan's music has received award nominations both in Ireland and the United States. Hannigan also received attention in North America for her role as Blue Diamond in Steven Universe, an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar.
Royseven are a six-piece alternative rock band from Dublin, Ireland. They are known for songs such as "Dance" and "We Should Be Lovers", and have released two albums to date: The Art of Insincerity (2006) and You Say, We Say (2011).
The Cake Sale are a collective of mostly Irish musical artists including Swedish singer/songwriter Nina Persson of The Cardigans and Australian musician Nick Seymour of Crowded House.
The Choice Music Prize, known for sponsorship reasons as the RTÉ Choice Music Prize is an annual music prize awarded to the best album from a band or solo musician who is born in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland or holds an Irish passport. For bands, the majority of members must have been born in the island of Ireland or hold an Irish passport.
This is a summary of the year 2006 in the Irish music industry.
Delorentos are a Dublin-based Irish alternative rock band, formed in 2005. They consist of Rónan Yourell, Kieran McGuinness, Níal Conlan and Ross McCormick. The band's debut album In Love with Detail was critically acclaimed in Ireland, being nominated for the Choice Music Prize and in the Best Irish Album category at the 2007 Meteor Awards, at which Delorentos were also nominated for Best New Irish Band. Two extended plays have also been released; their debut release, titled Leave It On, in October 2005, and the follow-up EP, titled Do You Realise, came out in November 2007. The Delorentos discography consists of a selection of singles which impacted on the Irish Singles Chart, such as "The Rules" in May 2006 and "Stop" in July 2007.
David Geraghty is an Irish multi-instrumentalist, composer and songwriter. He is a founding member of Bell X1, and since 2014 has been performing under the moniker Join Me in the Pines.
"Reconnect" was the debut single of Irish art rock quartet, Director. It was released on 24 April 2006, eventually dominating the Irish airwaves throughout the summer and receiving much radio play from Irish radio stations such as RTÉ 2fm and Today FM. The single charted in Ireland at number ten, spending a total of twelve weeks in the Irish Singles Chart.
Fight Like Apes were an Irish alternative rock band formed in Dublin in 2006.
Tales of Silversleeve is the second album released by Irish-born singer Cathy Davey. It was released on 12 October 2007 as the follow-up release to Davey's 2004 debut Something Ilk. The album contains eleven tracks, including the singles "Reuben", "Sing for Your Supper" and "Moving".
The 2008 Meteor Music Awards ceremony was held in the RDS, Dublin, on Friday, 15 February 2008. Nineteen awards were presented. It was the eighth edition of the Republic of Ireland's national music awards. The event was later broadcast on RTÉ Two on Saturday, 16 February at 21:00. The comedian Dara Ó Briain hosted the awards for the first time since 2004 Duke Special and Cathy Davey won the Best Irish Male and Best Irish Female Awards respectively, whilst veteran rockers Aslan won the Best Irish Band Award and Paddy Casey's Addicted to Company won Best Irish Album. For the eighth consecutive year Westlife won the Best Irish Pop Act accolade. Ham Sandwich were presented with the Hope for 2008 Meteor Award by RTÉ 2fm DJ Rick O'Shea. The Blizzards won Best Irish Live Performance for their Main Stage appearance at Oxegen 2007, whilst Muse picked up the award for Best International Live Performance, which also occurred at Oxegen the previous year. The award for the Most Downloaded Song was given to Mundy and Sharon Shannon's chart hit "Galway Girl". The Saw Doctors were presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award and were also amongst the performers at the event.
The 2004 Meteor Music Awards were held on Monday 1 March 2004, hosted by comedian Dara Ó Briain. It was the fourth edition of Ireland's national music awards. At the ceremony Damien Dempsey was presented with two awards, Best Folk/ Traditional Act and Best Irish Country/Roots Artist. Samantha Mumba made an appearance in a revealing see-through dress, Colin Farrell was pictured with both Bono and Chris Pontius whilst Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith posed with Sharon Corr after both collected awards. Performers included Lionel Richie, Katie Melua, Counting Crows, The Corrs, Sugababes, Westlife, Hothouse Flowers, The Frames, The Dubliners, Snow Patrol, Paddy Casey and Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club. Award presenters included Dominic West, Bic Runga and Alex Zane, actors George McMahon and Patrick Bergin, No Frontiers presenter Kathryn Thomas alongside Kerry McFadden, Miss World Rosanna Davison, Keith Duffy, Niall Quinn, Deirdre O'Kane, Denis Hickie, Joe Elliott and Hector Ó hEochagáin. The event was broadcast on RTÉ Two on Wednesday 3 March at 21:00.
