It feels like just yesterday when we were serenaded at the Neon Lights music festival by this folky balladeer – lovers on the field cuddling in awe, fangirls getting teary-eyed, cynics-turned-converts. Yet, just three months after his romance-rousing gig at Fort Canning Park, it has been announced that Damien Rice is swinging back down here for a concert on 4 June at The Star Theatre. Organised by Secret Sounds Asia – the savvy promoters who’ve brought down Bon Iver, Clean Bandit, and soon, Tame Impala – this intimate shindig promises more earnest antics courtesy of one of the industry’s most eloquent singer-songwriters. No one’s gonna judge you if you cry at this show.
This Irish songsmith burst onto the scene in the early 2000s, having crafted compositions that’ve become both pop and indie household names like “The Blower’s Daughter” and “Cannonball”. While some artistes like to blow the lid off their live performances with gargantuan ensembles and extravagant theatrics, Rice is best appreciated when he at his most vulnerable – just a smoky-piped vocalist with a tender acoustic guitar. Since his debut, Rice has patiently churned out three albums, with his third, My Favourite Faded Fantasy, scoring raving reviews in late 2014. But thankfully for you, we promise this ain’t no fantasy.
His debut appearance in Singapore saw him invite a lucky couple onto stage for a glass of wine, as he humbly crooned to them like a busker on some cobbled-street avenue in Europe. Now, for his debut headline show, who knows what surprises Rice will have up his sleeve?
Damien Rice – Live in Singapore, 4 June, 8pm, The Star Theatre, 1 Vista Exchange Green, Singapore 138617, p. 6636 0055. Tickets priced at $148, $128, $108, $88, $68. Available via SISTIC from 4 March.
