Dingle marks a decade of music event 'Other Voices'

THE TENTH anniversary of Other Voices, the annual showcase for established and imminently successful music acts, opens in Dingle tonight with a headline performance by The Frames in the town's 200-year-old St James's Church.

It will be the second gig from Glen Hansard's band in the space of two days, as last night they unofficially kicked off the event with a sold-out show at McCarthy's Bar. These shows see Hansard returning to the Other Voicesevent for the first time since he presented the inaugural series in 2002.

Subsequent years have seen Other Voices–­ created by Dingle- based film producer, musician and award-winning radio presenter Philip King – grow in stature from a small, effectively indigenous display of singer- songwriter talent to a much- admired international event.

It highlights not just the cream of rising Irish music but also established acts (such as Elbow, Ryan Adams, Snow Patrol, The National) and potential next big things in the music industry.

(Amy Winehouse, Temper Trap, Florence and the Machine, Noah the Whale and Anna Calvi were almost unheard of at the time of their appearances.)

At the core of the event beats a cultural heart that is healthy and vibrant, a trait borne out this year by a referential bringing-it-back- home line-up that has still managed to come up with top- notch acts. These include the aforementioned Frames, as well as Lisa Hannigan, James Vincent McMorrow, Edwyn Collins, Wild Beasts and Spiritualized.

Acts appearing this year and that will quite likely crop up on mainstream radar screens in 2012 include Canadian singer Cold Specks, Irish band Little Green Cars and UK indie pop act King Charles.

“On one level,” says King, “you have talented musicians performing in a church. On another level, in real and practical terms, what Other Voices does is to harness what I regard as a natural resource, and to treat that resource with respect.

“In tandem with the event is a small Irish town that is working – we have a crew of 60 people, each doing a fine job of work.

“The town’s hotels are full and the restaurants and bars are busy. So the corollary of what we, and what our sponsors do, is to act as employers, with the net beneficiary being Dingle and the area around it.”

Other Voices continues until Sunday and, while there are no tickets left for church shows, one of the event sponsors, Intune Networks, will be live-streaming the shows to four bars – Geaneys, McCarthys, An Droichead, Foxy Johns – as well as to the lounge in Benners Hotel.

The Christmas Festival of Light is also taking place in Dingle over the weekend. It will feature Other Voicesmusic trails, farmers markets, guided walks, treasure hunts, book readings, theatre, street music, a craft market and a children's lantern parade.