Villagers

Villagers

+ special guests:
Sea Power

Saturday 29th June 2024
Trinity Summer Series, Dublin 

Tickets €49.90 including booking fee via Ticketmaster.
Gates 7pm | Strictly Over 18’s
Subject to licence

Dublin has a long and legendary tradition of writers, and since Conor O’Brien adopted the name Villagers, the singer-songwriter-instrumentalist-dramatist has joined the club with a rich, deep and diverse body of work. The new Villagers album, That Golden Time, underlines O’Brien’s unwavering commitment to a uniquely nuanced, literate and melodic fusion of folk, pop and rock that has won awards and accolades from peers such as Paul Weller, Elvis Costello, Damon Albarn, Guy Garvey and The National.

O’Brien launched Villagers on stage in 2008 and on record in 2009, but it was not until his 2010 debut Becoming A Jackal that he truly made a mark. From a whisper to a literal howl, Becoming A Jackal startled and soothed in equal measure and topped Ireland’s Album chart, received nominations for the Mercury Music Prize and Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year whilst the title track won the Ivor Novello award for Best Song.

2013’s more band-orientated album {Awayland} paid off by going two better, a #1 Irish album and winning the Choice Music Prize, alongside a second Mercury nod. 2015’s Darling Arithmetic was a sparser, acoustic-leaning step forward that revealed even more of O’Brien’s songwriting nous and intimate thoughts, suitably rewarded with an Ivor Novello award for Best Album and another nomination for the Choice Music Prize (all O’Brien’s records have received that honour.)

After 2016’s interim release Where Have You Been All My Life?, a live collection of re-recordings, 2018’s The Art Of Pretending To Swim knitted Villagers’ multi-faceted approach with added soulfulness and rhythmic swing, a sound and vision that 2021’s wilder, kaleidoscopic Fever Dreams expanded further. That Golden Time showcases O’Brien’s more minimalist side, adding subtle enhancements on woodwind, strings and electronics, and sociopolitical comment that nevertheless reads as exquisite poetry.

A fearless reinventor of his songs on stage as well as on record, Villagers remains a thriving live band and 2024 will include headline shows at Dublin’s prestigious Trinity College and London’s Royal Festival Hall. O’Brien is a prolific collaborator too, writing for Charlotte Gainsbourg, Nico Muhly and Paul Weller, as well as duetting with John Grant and Lisa Hannigan, performing with André de Ridder and Stargaze, recording Nick Drake and Carly Simon covers, and remixing Weller and Saint Etienne. But it’s his own songs, and his own dulcet voice, that has forged O’Brien’s reputation as Ireland’s premier melody-maker.

 

Upcoming live dates

Monday 27th May - Ancienne Belgique, Belgium
Tuesday 28th May – Paradiso, Amsterdam
Wednesday 29th May - LantarenVenster, Rotterdam
Thursday 30th May – Pop Seasons – Christianskirche, Hamburg
Saturday 1st June – Passionskirche, Berlin
Sunday 2nd June – Luxor, Cologne
Monday 3rd June - La Maroquinerie, Paris
Wednesday 5th June – Wylam Brewery, Newcastle
Thursday 6th June – Irish Centre, Leeds
Saturday 8th June – Royal Festival Hall, London
Saturday 29th June – Trinity College, Dublin

Tickets

 

Villagers Online:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram