Cara Dillon is an Irish artist born in 1975 in Dugiven (Derry), Ireland. Very active on the Irish scene, Cara Dillon delivers Irish ballads as light as they are restful. A real treat for ears that love to discover contemporary Irish music!
She was first spotted thanks to her magnificent, unique voice when she won the “All Ireland Traditional Singing trophy” aged just 14.
A year later, she joined her first band, “Oige”, which she formed with her high school friends. This group enjoyed modest success, and enabled him to collaborate with some great artists, notably De Dannan, who had spotted him during their little tours during the school vacations. Phil Coulter then asked her to sing with De Dannan and tour with him all over Europe for a short time, even though she was only 15. It wasn’t until she was 17 that she was asked to sing with him on a permanent basis.
In 1995, at the age of 19, Cara joined the folk group “Equation” and signed to the Blanco y Negro (WEA) label, replacing Kate Rusby. She spent a year touring and recording with them, then left the band with another member: Sam Lakeman (her husband), to re-sign with Blanco and pursue a career as a duo. This was followed by a long, frustrating period of writing and recording songs that clearly didn’t meet with the success they’d hoped for. After six years with their label, they broke away to do everything “their own way”, composing their own songs and covering some traditional classics.
They released Cara Dillon’s debut album, “Cara Dillon”, in 2001, to rave reviews. Sam is the producer and plays the piano (omnipresent throughout the album). This album won them several awards (2 BBC radio awards and one from Hotpress).
On their return, they put the finishing touches to their second album, “Sweet liberty”, released in 2003. Among a host of top-quality tracks, this album includes 5 previously unreleased Dillon/Lakeman songs, as well as a song dealing with the political problem in Northern Ireland: “There were roses”, one of the most moving songs on this album. The cover also earned the composer a BBC radio2 award for best original song.
Cara Dillon’s 3rd album, “After the morning”, was released in 2006.
Once again, an unqualified success, which didn’t disappoint anyone, given Cara Dillon’s faithful style. This album confirms the experience of the Dillon/Lakeman duo.
4.05/5 (19 votes)
