Lisa Hannigan hit the limelight eight years ago but 2009 was her biggest yet. She talks to the Meath Post about her growing confidence as a musician, dubious wikipedia entries, her hugely successful Sea Sew tour and what Stephen Colbert was really looking for when he saw her YouTube video

by Paul Neilan

MEATH-born singer Lisa Hannigan was doing her Christmas shopping in Dublin when the Meath Post talked to her last Friday.
On the back of a successful tour in a year when she was nominated for the Mercury prize and appeared on US television superstar Stephen Colbert’s The Colbert Report, coming back to Ireland must seem a world away but the Kilcloon-born singer is as down-to-earth as you will meet.
Hannigan played a sold-out Vicar Street the night before and is enjoying the home-coming.
“That was one of my favourite gigs for a long time. It was a great, fun gig with an audience who were, well, quiet during songs but were great and very welcoming – it’s great to be back,” she said.
She still comes to Meath as often as she can and has fond memories of growing up in Kilcloon.
“My parents still live in Kilcloon and I get back whenever I can, once a week, if possible. I loved it there. I grew up in a rural area, it was full-on countryside getting outside and playing and getting the sleeves mucky – a typical kid.”
Her steady rise to stardom has seen here confidence grow as a musician and a performer.
“I’ve been doing it for eight years now and, certainly, I wouldn’t have described myself as confident when I started. Doing backing vocals was a great way to start, or to collaborate with someone because there’s no pressure, no-one is looking at you, you’re not at centre stage. I absolutely feel I’ve grown as a musician.”
With the success of her Sea Sew album, there came the inevitable tour, a long-term commitment and life-changing experience that kept her on the road in the US and the UK since February but, there’s no place like home.
“I really enjoy coming home. I know it’s a cliche but there really is no place like home. I like being able to cook for myself and see my friends. Touring is fun more than anything else. Travelling around with the guys, the hanging around before the gig, the build up is usually spent hanging around or reading – I’m not so good at sleeping. Everyone gets their own corner on tour where they can do their own thing so it works well on the road.”
Lisa’s US exposure and the Mercury nomination have exploded a talent that was already lavishly praised in the Irish Press.
“I do get songs sent to me, maybe someone will ask me to do backing vocals, things like that. I love singing but I’m busy enough doing my own thing at the moment. I did a collaboration with Herbie Hancock recently which will be out next year.”
Then came the television appearances on Jay Leno and surprisingly on the maverick political comedy talkshow, The Colbert Report, which rarely invites musicians to appear but it was not an exactly an orthodox booking.
“Stephen Colbert saw me on YouTube when we were videoed a few songs in Dingle, but it was purely by accident, whatever way YouTube searched for Sean Hannity [the right-wing Fox pundit and regular butt of Colbert's jokes], we came up. He asked me to come on and it was a straight “yes, please!”
The Mercury nomination, which would ultimately be claimed by British rapper Speech Debelle, still rates as an unforgettable moment in a hugely important year for Hannigan.
“I wouldn’t say there was definitely a ‘the best moment’ out of all of the gigs because they are all so much fun. There was a moment in Brighton, though, when the nomination came through. We were told that it was nominated before the gig but that was also a week before it was to be announced so we couldn’t tell anyone, not our parents, no-one. So we had that to contend with when we went on stage in Brighton and I remember we were all smiling even though we couldn’t tell anyone but it was a brilliant moment, so maybe Brighton stands out.”
Next year Lisa retires to peaceful surroundings to concentrate on a writing a new album.
“I’m touring right up the 20th of December and then I’ll go down to the country and write, it’s totally unpredictable how long a song or an album takes but I’ll take time to go to my parents house, to go on some lovely walks and just write.”
In there interim, however, it’s more touring and balancing regular life with a hectic schedule that takes her right up to Christmas.
Interviews and blog entries are off the mark, describing Hannigan as quiet or bookish: “I like reading but I wouldn’t say I’m bookish. I read (but) I don’t know where that comes from.”
There are also entries on her wikipedia page that are wide of the mark.
One entry under ‘other pursuits’ reads “Hannigan has also spoken of her intention to run the Dublin Marathon one day.”
Her growing profile will undoubtedly attract a lot more inaccurate comments for a singer who comes across as a mixture of level-headed dedication, wit and genuine warmth for whom the future should hold no fears.
“The Dublin marathon? That’s news to me,” she says before returning to some Christmas shopping and her preparations for the Cork gigs the next day.
It’s not a sprint or a marathon for the talented, affable singer anymore, her future looks secured but her fans will have an impatient time of it until her next year.