{"id":24028,"date":"2021-11-19T09:29:19","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T14:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=24028"},"modified":"2021-11-19T09:29:22","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T14:29:22","slug":"lisa-hannigan-the-story-of-this-celebrated-irish-musician-singer-and-composer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=24028","title":{"rendered":"Lisa Hannigan – The Story Of This Celebrated Irish\u00a0Musician, Singer And Composer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Here is someone that you might have heard of before and that is Lisa Hannigan but if not you will be hearing a lot from her in the near future. This singer from Ireland has been performing in Europe and in America for many years and has toured again with one of Ireland\u2019s greatest exports and that is the one and only Damien Rice who I will cover in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa Margaret Hannigan is an\u00a0Irish\u00a0musician, singer, composer, and voice actress. She began her musical career as a member of\u00a0Damien Rice\u2019s band. Since beginning her solo career in 2007 she has released three albums:\u00a0\u2018Sea Sew\u2019\u00a0(2008),\u00a0\u2018Passenger\u2019\u00a0(2011), and\u00a0\u2018At Swim\u2019\u00a0(2016). Hannigan\u2019s 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\u00a0\u2018Steven Universe\u2019, an American animated television series created by\u00a0Rebecca Sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hannigan was born in Dublin but grew up in\u00a0Kilcloon, County Meath, Ireland. She attended primary school at Scoil Oilibh\u00e9ir Naofa in Kilcloon and secondary school at\u00a0The King\u2019s Hospital\u00a0in\u00a0Palmerstown\u00a0and enrolled at\u00a0Trinity College, Dublin\u00a0to study French and art history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While still in college, Hannigan met Damien Rice at a concert in Dublin in early 2001. Rice enlisted Hannigan to sing on his 2002 album\u00a0\u2018O\u2019\u00a0and his later album \u20189\u2019, featured in the hit \u20189 Crimes\u2019. She toured with Rice as part of his band during that period, lending vocal support and occasionally playing guitar, bass or drums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hannigan briefly studied English and art history at\u00a0Trinity College\u00a0in Dublin. During her first week at university, she became friends with Irish singer-songwriter\u00a0Damien Rice. Hannigan eventually left university to travel with Rice across Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning to Ireland, both Hannigan and Rice began to work together recording music, including songs like \u2018Unplayed Piano\u2019 and \u2018Once I Loved\u2019. Hannigan featured on Rice\u2019s first two solo albums and a number of EPs and live recordings. Both Irish artists toured for a number of years together and were in a relationship, but in 2007 Hannigan left Damien Rice and his band the afternoon before a live show in\u00a0Munich. Rice released a statement saying that their professional relationship had \u201crun its creative course\u201d in March 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2007, Hannigan returned to Dublin and began a solo career. Some of Hannigan\u2019s live recordings were made available through trading networks radio shows. These recordings included \u2018Willy\u2019 by\u00a0Joni Mitchell, \u2018Be My Husband\u2019 by\u00a0Nina Simone\u00a0(from the 1965 album\u00a0\u2018Pastel Blues\u2019), \u2018Mercedes Benz\u2019 by\u00a0Janis Joplin\u00a0and \u2018Love Hurts\u2019 by\u00a0Boudreaux Bryant. Hannigan also performed live with her own band, called The Daisy Okell Quartet and contributed guest vocals to the recordings of\u00a0Mic Christopher,\u00a0The Frames\u00a0and\u00a0Herbie Hancock. Hannigan\u2019s debut solo album, titled\u00a0\u2018Sea Sew\u2019, was rehearsed in a barn in\u00a0Thomastown\u00a0and recorded in Dublin before being released in Ireland in September 2008. The lead single, \u2018Lille\u2019, was made available as a free Internet download and other tracks were available for preview on her Myspace page. The\u00a0sleeve\u00a0featured needle-work\u00a0by Hannigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some music critics called the recording one of the best Irish albums of the year. \u2018Sea Sew\u2019\u00a0received favorable reviews in the\u00a0Los Angeles Times\u00a0and\u00a0The New York Times. The single \u2018Lille\u2019 was released in August 2008 on Irish and American radio stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hannigan performed at\u00a0Electric Picnic 2008. She was the opening act for singer-songwriter\u00a0Jason Mraz\u00a0on his 2008 US tour. That year she appeared on the charity album\u00a0\u2018Even Better Than the Disco Thing\u2019\u00a0and performed a duet of\u00a0Mick Flannery\u2019s new song \u2018Christmas Past\u2019 with Flannery on\u00a0Tony Fenton\u2019s\u00a0Christmas Special\u00a0on\u00a0Today FM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 2008, she made her UK solo debut at St Johns Church in London. Hannigan signed with\u00a0ATO Records\u00a0in the US, where her album was released in February 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Sea Sew\u2019\u00a0was nominated for the\u00a0Choice Music Prize\u00a0and Best Irish Album at the\u00a0Meteor Music Awards\u00a0in January 2009. That year, Hannigan appeared on the American television shows\u00a0The Tonight Show with Jay Leno\u00a0and\u00a0The Colbert Report. In 2009, Hannigan also appeared on the\u00a0BBC\u2019s\u00a0Later\u2026 with Jools Holland, performing her song \u2018I Don’t Know\u2019. Sea Sew\u00a0rose in the UK charts following this appearance and she performed at\u00a0Glastonbury 2009\u00a0music festival and went on tour later in the year. She performed at the nomination ceremony and she was greeted by confused journalists wondering \u201cLisa who?\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in 2009, she toured the United States with\u00a0David Gray\u00a0and performed solo shows in New York, Los Angeles and London. She then began a tour of Ireland to finish the year. Hannigan\u2019s song \u2018An Ocean and a Rock\u2019 was used in a 2009 Irish video supporting same-sex marriage entitled \u2018Sinead\u2019s Hand\u2019. As part of an advertisement campaign for\u00a0Oxfam\u2019s\u00a0Make Trade Fair, Hannigan was drenched in melted chocolate and she participated in the Irish musical collective\u00a0The Cake Sale\u00a0with lead vocal on the track \u2018Some Surprise\u2019, which was played on the US television series\u00a0Grey\u2019s Anatomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hannigan also contributed to the 2009 charity album\u00a0\u2018Sparks n\u2019 Mind\u2019, released in aid of\u00a0Aware. In 2009, a broadcast of\u00a0\u2018Other Voices\u2019\u00a0was recorded. The songs \u2018Lille\u2019 and \u2018Braille\u2019 from this album were used in the film\u00a0Ondine\u00a0in 2009.
In 2015, Hannigan decided to move from Dublin to London to begin a new life, which involved beginning to write new material for her third studio album\u00a0\u2018At Swim\u2019. She also started pursuing a part-time degree in English literature.
In 2020, Hannigan was part of an\u00a0Irish\u00a0collective of female singers and musicians called \u2018Irish Women in Harmony\u2019, that recorded a version of the song \u2018Dreams\u2019 in aid of the charity Safe Ireland, which deals with\u00a0domestic abuse\u00a0which had reportedly risen significantly during the\u00a0Covid-19 lockdown Her music has received critical praise, airplay and award nominations both in her native Ireland and the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herbie Hancock\u00a0said of her vocals, \u201cthere\u2019s so much jazz in the notes and phrases that she picks. She was singing the ninths, the elevenths of the chords\u2026I mean some of the things sound like choices that\u00a0Miles\u00a0would have made.\u201d
Hannigan has four\u00a0Hot Press\u00a0Readers\u2019 Poll awards. She won Best Debut Album, Best Irish Album, Best Irish Track and Best Female in 2009. Now that says it all, showing again that Ireland is full of with talent though most of then have not been discovered yet\u2026 you heard that here.<\/p>\n

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