Other Voices – famous musical event that has been taking place in West Kerry annually for the last 21 years. Every year, people from across the Emerald Isle come to County Kerry to enjoy the music of their favourite artists and discover new musical trends.

This year festival celebrated its 21st anniversary and, as always, brought together thousands of high-quality music lovers. 

What makes this year’s festival unique?

Other Voices in 2022 is very special. The scale of this season’s festival is really astounding. Musical performers gave concerts at 16 venues across Dingle. Over the three days of the festival, the musicians played more than 80 concerts. 

Not all locations could be visited, simply by purchasing a ticket in advance. For example, St James’ Church was only accessible with tickets that were raffled off on Other Voices’ social media pages.

The auditorium seats up to 100 people and the performances were recorded for broadcast on RTE later this year. Performances of special guests were broadcast online on Other Voices’ social media pages.

Who gave performances to the guests?

The festival started with a “Small Talks” event. Community leaders, businessmen and artists gathered at the great coastal hotel to discuss issues important to Ireland’s future. This year’s two-day conference was called “The Good Life”, which aptly describes the speeches of all the guests.

Ella McSweeney, Edwina Guckian, John Kampfner, Séamas O’Reilly and other interesting personalities from various fields discussed Ireland’s future prospects with guests.

This year’s headliners at the festival include Sorcha Richardson, Paulo Nutini, Pauline Scanlon and others.

How many tickets were sold this year?

Tickets were sold out long before the festival started, which only further proves its popularity. There were 3,000 tickets sold for the Dingle Gin Music trail, but more than 7,000 people came to town to enjoy the great music. 

The mix of music, creativity, poetry and space for networking is a great opportunity to get closer to creative people. The Other Voices festival has long been a place of concentration of positive emotions, and that is where its popularity lies. 

The role of local businesses

Almost all local businesses were involved in the festival. On the days of Other Voices, almost every pub in town played host to musical acts, and Dingle venues were absolutely full. So, the festival is good for local businesses too.

B&B`s, hotels, restaurants and public venues all take part in the large-scale festival without exception. 

What do festival-goers say about Other Voices?

“I’m excited about the festival! I was looking forward to it and it definitely didn’t disappoint me. Other Voices is one of the best events of the year, bringing together the best musicians and the most interesting creative people. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing famous musicians and rising stars.” – says one of the audience members of Other Voices.

How do volunteers feel about the event?

The festival’s organizers have been working on it for months, so that viewers can see the perfectly honed work of all those involved in the event.

Such a huge event involves about a hundred volunteers and a huge number of managers who control the process.

“It was a great pleasure for us to feel part of such a huge team. I really enjoyed working with the people, all the guests and participants of the festival are very kind and open. I hope to be lucky enough to volunteer for Other Voices again next year.” – Karina – volunteer.

Every year the festival becomes more large-scale and more memorable. That’s the impression Other Voices’ audiences are left with. This festival is truly an iconic event, not only for West Kerry residents, but also for many visitors from other countries.

If you want to find out more about music festivals in Ireland, welcome to Babylon Radio.