Twice Grammy nominated iconic Irish singer Iarla Ó Lionáird makes his Kings Place debut for this special, one-off Voices Unwrapped performance, with guest and Artist-in-Focus, Julie Fowlis.

Iarla Ó Lionáird has carved a long and unique career in music both internationally and in Ireland. From his iconic early recording of the vision song ‘Aisling Gheal’ as a young boy, to his ground breaking recordings with Dublin’s Crash Ensemble and New York’s Alarm Will Sound, he has shown a breadth of artistic ambition both as songwriter and performer that sets him apart in the Irish Music fraternity.

Preferring not be categorized, his performances and recorded output follows an ambitious arc that challenges musical identity, from Sean Nós song to Worldbeat (Afro Celt Sound System), from Alt Folk (The Gloaming) to Opera (The Hunger-Nonesuch).  His previous collaborations include Nick Cave, Peter Gabriel, Sinead O’Connor, Robert Plant, Nico Muhly and Kate Moore. His voice has also graced the silver screen, with film credits extending from The Gangs of New York to Hotel Rwanda and most recently as featured vocalist in the film Calvary starring Brendan Gleeson. He is the vocalist with the critically acclaimed Irish/American band The Gloaming.

Kings Place’s Voices Unwrapped Artist-in-Focus Julie Fowlis is a multi-award-winning singer who is deeply influenced by her early upbringing in North Uist, Outer Hebrides. A multiple winner at the Radio 2 Folk Awards, Julie has graced stages around the world, from village halls in the Highlands to Carnegie Hall, New York, The Philharmonie de Paris, the Royal Albert Hall and Shakespeare’s Globe in London.  Touring regularly throughout Europe and the US, her festival performances have included World Festival of Sacred Music in Fez, Morocco.

She sang at the closing ceremony of the Ryder Cup in Chicago in 2012 to a TV audience of 500 million and at the opening ceremony of the Glasgow XX Commonwealth Games in 2014, to a TV audience of over 1 billion people.  Forever to be remembered as the singing voice behind the hit songs in Disney Pixar’s Brave, she was also involved behind the scenes working with Eric Whitacre’s singers in the Dreamworks Animation How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World in 2018, and collaborated with Norwegian composer Einar Selvik on songs for Assassins Creed Valhalla: Return of the Druids.

‘Magnificently expressive’
New York Times 

‘One of the most dramatic voices in contemporary music’
The Guardian 

‘O’Lionáird’s real triumph is his voice: as soft as a feather bed and as searingly sharp as a blade when the mood calls’
The Irish Times 
  
‘His voice will astound you. It soars-and it’s as profound, simple and beautiful as wild horses…Genius is the operative word here.’
Time Out New York