Damien Dempsey

Vicar Street, Monday 16th December – Monday 23rd December

Often compared to the likes of Christy Moore, Luke Kelly, and Shane MacGowan, the music of Damien Dempsey is formed from his experience growing up in Dublin in the mid-70s. Breaking through in the 90s, Dempsey combined his love for traditional Irish music with other influences including hip-hop and electronic sounds to create his own style of folk music.

In 1995, Dempsey released his first EP Contender, and two years later, his first commercial single ‘Dublin Town’ which garnered him mainstream attention. It would be another three years before Dempsey would release his first album, ‘They Don’t Teach This Shit In School’. The album earned the praise of other Irish musicians like Sinead O’Connor who went on to collaborate with Dempsey on the title track from the Negative Vibes EP in 2002.

Damien has returned to writing after 7 years with his new double album ‘Hold Your Joy’ comprised of 16 intricate tracks beautifully crafted honest, vulnerable and essential listening. Produced by long time collaborator John Reynolds, ‘Hold Your Joy’ is undoubtably the most complete body of work Demspey has committed to tape in his entire career.