Damien Rice (IE)

About

Also known as: Damien George Rice, Rice

Damien Rice made a striking entrance into the Irish music scene after quitting his band Juniper in 1998, spending time farming in Tuscany, and busking across Europe before settling back in Ireland. That winding path fed directly into his debut album O, released in 2002, which hit No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart, stayed on the chart for 97 weeks, sold 650,000 copies in the US, and won the Shortlist Music Prize. Singles like "Cannonball" and "Volcano" broke the UK top 30, and his fragile, intimate folk sound quickly found a devoted audience well beyond Ireland. His second album, 9, followed in 2006, with the track "9 Crimes" becoming a notable hit. After eight years of collaborations and charitable work, including contributions to Songs for Tibet and a performance at the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Rice returned with his third album My Favourite Faded Fantasy in 2014, to widespread critical praise. He has consistently used his platform for causes he cares about, something that feels inseparable from who he is as an artist.