Kodaline is featured in the next episode of ‘Courage’ from Other Voices on Thursday, July 2.

Kodaline, the beloved modern rock band from Ireland, will be playing a live set from Swords Castle in Dublin on Thursday, July 2 and you can tune in to the show right here on IrishCentral.

The performance, part of the ‘Courage’ live stream series from Other Voices, will begin at 8 pm IST / 3 pm EST and will be streamed here on IrishCentral as well as over on our Facebook page:

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About Kodaline

Last November, a jet-lagged Kodaline were driving into Pune, India, when a motorcyclist frantically flagged at them to pull over. Baffled by his urgency, they stopped at the side of a busy road. The reason? The man was a hardcore Kodaline fan and wanted to get a selfie with frontman Steve Garrigan.“We made his day or even his year,” laughs Garrigan.  

Such scenes were replicated throughout their first tour of Asia. In India, they headlined the NH7 Weekender in front of 22,000 people. Their first show in South Korea sold-out within a minute. 

Back home in Dublin, they sold-out two 15,000 capacity shows at St. Anne’s Park before playing to another 60,000 at Electric Picnic. All of which would’ve seemed impossible during the band’s modest early days in Dublin. Garrigan used to play gigs in local pubs, while he and guitarist Mark Prendergast used to busk together on Grafton Street. 

While touring kept Kodaline in the public eye in 2019, they dedicated much of the year to making new music. Their previous album, 2018’s Politics of Living, saw them travel around to work with various producers and songwriters. This time around they took a different approach. The majority of the process revolved around the four of them in their modest recording space in Dublin. And rather than work on it continually, they kept the sessions fresh by breaking for weekends and short tours. With bassist Jason Boland leading the production side of things, this streamlined process took them back to their roots. 

“Our music is now as emotional as it can be,” says drummer Vinny May with contagious enthusiasm. “We're really confident and optimistic about this record.” 

The mission, says Garrigan, was to focus on the emotion that informs many Kodaline fan favourites  “And we all sing, so we wanted to use a lot of harmonies and play to our strengths.” 

Those strengths are immediately apparent in the album’s first single ‘Wherever You Are.’ Opening with Garrigan’s expressive topline backed by little more than swirling vocal harmonies, Kodaline build up the track towards its dramatic denouement. "‘Wherever You Are’ is about loved ones staying in your heart and mind even when they’re not with you.” That’s the power of Kodaline. They’re four regular people who explore topics that everyone experiences. That also inspires a wider community in their following, with fans becoming life-long friends with people they meet at the band’s shows.

You can learn more about Kodaline on their website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube pages.

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About ‘Courage’ from Other Voices

‘Courage’ is a new project that delivers uplifting, inspiring performances from brilliant artists to the public during the COVID-19 crisis. Courage will beam these performances directly into homes across the nation, from a number of iconic cultural locations. Its goal is to provide essential cultural output during this period. Music collapses distance in this time of isolation, it gives us courage, consolation, and brings us together.

Performances will take place on Tuesday and Thursday nights and will be made available worldwide, free of charge, thanks to the support of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, RTÉ, and IMRO. Courage series one is currently being shown on RTÉ 2 Thursdays at 23:30.

Speaking of the project Minister Madigan said: “Building on the phenomenal success of the original Courage program with a reach of over 2.7m, I am delighted to support this new initiative of live-streamed performances from some of our best-known heritage sites.  

"The outpouring of wellbeing created by the first series of performances will no doubt be carried through Courage 2 and reminds us that culture lifts us up beyond circumstance and challenges and is vital to the core of our collective humanity.” 

IMRO Chief Executive Victor Finn said: “In times of crisis we often turn to music creators and artists for their unique ability to interpret and reflect on the world in which we live. Music is a collective experience that can overcome physical distance and is the perfect antidote to the growing sense of alienation and isolation we have all felt in recent times – even more so, now we are being asked to actively practice social distancing.  

"The Other Voices’ Courage series brings some of our finest Irish music creators to the world stage from a number of unique locations around Ireland in what we hope will be inspiring and unforgettable performances.”  

Other Voices founder and director Philip King said: “We are delighted to present this second season of Other Voices Courage as part of the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is about bringing people together through music and recognizing the essential and powerful contribution that artists continue to make to our lives. We are inspired by the response here in Ireland and globally to the first season of Other Voices Courage, and our artists and crews have helped to bring beauty, solace, strength and a sense of belonging to people at this time of national and global crisis - is ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.

"The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has played a leading and imaginative role in making it possible for our artists and crews to work together to create and present Other Voices Courage.”

Courage has been curated by the team that produces Other Voices and is funded by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, RTÉ, and IMRO.  

In order to comply with the protection of public health, the Courage project has been designed to minimize travel, contact, and proximity for performers and crew. Producers are using the same protocols as film and television crews who continue to work and provide essential public service during this pandemic. This means using rigorous procedures and processes that comply fully with the Irish Government's regulations and restrictions.

Because of public health regulations, there can be no live audience in the locations where we film the artists, and the only people in the locations will be artists and strictly essential crew. 

You can learn more about Other Voices on its website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Kodaline performs live from Swords Castle on Thursday, July 2 at 8 pm IST / 3 pm EST - don't forget to tune in here!