Cara Dillon

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Cara Elizabeth Dillon (born 21 July 1975, Dungiven, Northern Ireland) is an Irish folk musician.

She joined Equation, a youth group, in 1995 and signed a record deal with Warners Music Group.

After leaving the company, she collaborated with Sam Lakeman under the name Polar Star.

Cara Dillon, her first solo album, was released in 2001, which featured traditional songs as well as two original Dillon-Lakeman compositions.

With Dillon receiving four nominations at the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, the album was an unexpected hit in the folk world. Sweet Liberty, Dillon's second album, debuted on the Irish album charts and UK Indie album charts.

Dillon was named Best Irish Female in 2004 by the Meteor Irish Music Award for Best Irish Female.

After the Morning was her third album, After the Morning, was released in 2006.

The album's opening track, "Never in a Million Years," received Radio 2 Airplay, while other tracks featured the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Paul Brady.

Dillon performed at the opening of the Ryder Cup in Ireland in 2006. In 2009, Dillon released Hill of Thieves, her fourth album.

The collection represented a return to Dillon's roots with a purer production and arrangement style.

BBC listeners selected "Hill of Thieves," a Dillon-Lakeman creation, as one of the "Top ten" original songs to have come out of Northern Ireland.

Dillon appeared with the Ulster Orchestra twice in 2012. In 2014, Dillon's fifth solo album, A Thousand Hearts, was released.

Dillon's music had a devoted fanbase in China, where her first album was included in English curriculums prior to the album's release.

She has since embarked on several famous Chinese tours.

Dillon plays regularly and collaborates with her partner, Sam Lakeman, who supports her on piano and guitar.

Wanderer, the album, is her most recent release. Dillon's sister Mary Dillon, formerly of Déanta, is the niece of fellow folk singer Mary Dillon.

The early years (1991–1995)

Dillon hails from an area steeped in Irish traditional music. Since she was a schoolgirl, she has sung and performed. She learned local folk songs from teachers and workshops held in the area. She can also play the fiddle and whistles. She won the All Ireland Singing Trophy at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann at the age of 14.

Murrough and Ruadhrai O'Kane, a 1991 schoolgirl, formed a band called 'Youth', bringing her take on Irish traditional music to Ireland, Scotland, and further afield. She appeared with big names like De Dannan and Phil Coulter during her tenure. Dillon produced two albums, one studio and another live album. Inspiration was born in 1992 and has sold at concerts in Europe. Live at a Glasgow concert on August 15, 1993, the song was simply called Live. A cassette tape version of Live in Glasgow is also available. After being asked to replace Kate Rusby in a so-called folk supergroup Equation, Dillon left the country in 1995, she appeared on their second studio album, Bang On, playing fiddles on Mitchelstown's last track, "Maids of Mitchelstown."

Five Equation members were included: Sean Lakeman, Sam Lakeman, Seth Lakeman, Kathryn Roberts, and Dillon. In winter 1995–96, they signed a major record contract with Blanco y Negro (part of Warner Music Group) and recorded an album at Peter Gabriel's Realworld Studios. David Bottrill produced Return to Me, the album's name. "He Loves Me" was released as a single, with accompanying promotional video. The band appeared on MTV and VH1, but the album's release was delayed weeks because the record label shelved it. It was not announced in 1996, but after Geoff Travis (the band's former manager) purchased the band's old manager) purchased the band's property, it was released under Rough Trade in 2003.

Dillon and original band member Sam Lakeman were thrown out of Equation because of musical inconsistencies, and together they signed a separate contract under the same name. The pair were referred to as Polar Stars at the time. During this period, Dillon enjoyed a fruitful musical relationship with Lakeman. They produced several albums with top songwriters and producers in the United Kingdom and San Francisco, but no of their work was ever released. Dillon performed on "Man in the Rain" on Mike Oldfield's 1998 album Tubular Bells III, where she was credited as "Cara from Polar Star" on the album. Dillon and Lakeman had decided that they would never be allowed to give the label what they wanted by 2000. Dillon and Lakeman's five-year partnership with Warner Music Group came to an end in 2000, with the signing of Indie label Rough Trade Records.

In The Firs, Lakeman's parents' house, Dillon recorded her first album. Films were also shot in County Donegal, Ireland. Lakeman and mixed by John Reynolds (Sinéad O'Connor and Damien Dempsey), and Damien Dempsey produced and recorded the album. It contained nine traditional songs that Dillon had since her youth, as well as two original Dillon/Lakeman songs "Blue Mountain River" (which became a single in her native land) and "I Wish I Was." The album debuted on July 16, 2001, to critical acclaim. According to Dillon, the reaction to the album was remarkably unexpected. "Black is the Colour" is the album's opening track. Lakeman's Hammond organs and bass playing with a piano riff gave the track a more modern feel. Dillon's voice earned her comparisons to Kate Bush. Dillon's fan base continued to expand steadily throughout 2001 to 2002. The album has received several accolades and received rave reviews. The couple married in December 2002 on a high note with their marriage.

Sweet Liberty, the follow-up album, was released on September 22, 2003. The album was a huge success both in terms of sales and airplay. The inclusion of Dillon's popular version of "There Were Roses" (notably featured on BBC series Billy Connolly's World Tour of England, Ireland, and Wales) had a huge effect on sales, particularly in the BBC's Billy Connolly's World Tour of England, Ireland, and Wales). The album debuted on the Irish album charts and the UK indie album charts. "High Tide," "There Were Roses," and "Everywhere" were among the album's songs. The album contained also a more balanced blend of traditional and original songs, including "Falling Like a Star" and "Broken Bridges," two more traditional and original songs on the album. Both songs demonstrated that Dillon and Lakeman's songwriting could safely cross musical boundaries. The album was released "at home in Somerset" by Lakeman and mixed by John Reynolds and Alan Branch.

Dillon went to Japan in January 2004 on a promotional tour of the album. Cara's solo career was polished at this point, with her winning the Meteor Ireland Music Award for Best Irish Female. Dillon's music was showcased on a worldwide basis, with two albums under her belt. WOMAD's involvement in this was instrumental. In summer 2004, the pair returned to the studio to record their third album.

After the Morning, her third album, was released on February 27, 2006. The album was the longest in the making to date, with several guest appearances. The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra performed on two tracks on the album, Garden Valley & The Snows; Martin Simpson, the renowned blues guitarist on Grace; and two of Ireland's finest traditional musicians, Mairtin O'Connor and Cathal Hayden appear on Bold Jamie and Cara duetted with Paul Brady on album highlights The Streets of Derry.

Dillon's album was her most commercial radio hit to date, never in a Million Years, and it's received a substantial amount of airplay on radio stations in the United Kingdom and Ireland. On BBC Radio Ulster and RTÉ Radio 1, the song appeared on the Radio 2 playlist for six weeks and was the week's record on the BBC Radio Ulster and RTÉ Radio 1. Despite the song's growing success, an official single release was never made to the album, and it was only available on download-only by iTunes a week before the album's debut and climbed to the top 40 most downloaded songs this week. After the album came out, there was supposed to be a single release, but it didn't happen. This Time/I Wish You Well was the album's newest single to be released from the album. It featured a recent radio version of This Time with more vocals and guitars. The single had some airplay on Radio 2 in July 2006 and was supposed to be out on August 14th, but Rough Trade cancelled it due to a lack of airplay.

Cara and her band recorded a DVD in January 2008 in County Donegal, which culminated in a lengthy tour in the May and continuing into the winter of 2008/9. This tour took place in venues around Ireland, Great Britain, and the United States, with guitarist John Smith as a duet partner on the single If I Prove False, which was released on January 26th, 2009.

Despite being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2008, Dillon has continued to tour, recording, and giving interviews around the world. On Aled Jones' radio show in 2009, she revealed her illness and her deep Roman Catholic faith.

Throughout Dillon's career, she has participated in a number of artistic collaborations. On the single from Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells III album, "Man in the Rain," she appeared as "Cara from Polar Star" for her 1998 appearance. Interview with the Angel, a John Reynolds project, was released on two tracks in 2001. Cara appeared on the tracks "Faith in Love" and "Sacred Touch of Beauty," the former being the album's lead single. On the soundtrack to Keeping Mum, a British comedy, she appeared in 2005. She appeared at the Belfast Festival with the Ulster Orchestra in 2003.

Dillon's award-winning Black Is The Colour was remixed by DJ Pete Devine (2Devine/Coco & Green) and became a big hit on the dance floor in 2005, which was also on the dance floor. Over the next year, the website grew steadily, and the album debuted in many polls and became a favorite of the top DJs on the scene. Following legal issues surrounding the track's release, the Anjunabeats dance label was not released until March 2007.

The year 2006 Dillon was rewarded with the invitation to appear at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Ryder Cup at the K Club in Ireland. With Afro Celt Sound System vocalist Iarla Lionáird, a 60 piece choir, and a 23 piece band, she performed Mo Ghile Mear to an audience estimated at 500 million worldwide. She appeared in October 2006 at the re-opening of Belfast's prestigious Grand Opera House. Judge Jules' debut album, which Cara contributed vocals on the lead UK single Ordinary Day, was released in 2006. The trance album was a hit in the UK dance charts and debuted at number three. Dillon appeared on BBC Radio 2 Radio Ballads and appeared on the episode Thirty Years of War in 2006. This was sold on CD, and an album of songs from the radio ballads has also been released (see Discography).

All You Need Is Love, Cara's official Children in Need single, was released in 2009 at Abbey Road Studios, alongside Peter Gabriel, Terry Wogan, Hayley Westenra, and others. Cara Dillon – Live at the Grand Opera House in Belfast in September, she also produced "Cara Dillon – Live at the Grand Opera House" in the Opera House in Belfast, featuring the line up from her award-winning album Hill of Thieves. Bowers & Wilkins, a renowned loudspeaker manufacturer, used 11 songs from this collection in their Society of Sound music club, which showcases a high quality audio recording for audiophiles. Bowers & Wilkins' live recording of "The Hill of Thieves" was also used as a demonstration song in-store throughout the world on their Zeppelin Air iPod speaker.

Cara also narrating the opening sequence in 2010 for Disney's Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue's "Summer's Just Begun" for Disney's Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue. During the movie's credits, she performed "Come Flying With Me." On its first national cinema debut in the United Kingdom in August 2010, it became the third iteration of Disney's highly profitable brand.

Cara performed the vocals on "Come Dream A Dream," which forms the closing sequence of the nighttime spectacular show, Disney Dreams!, which was intended to celebrate Disneyland Paris's 20th anniversary. Cara appeared with the Ulster Orchestra twice in the summer of 2012. The first was to commemorate the Ulster Hall's 150th anniversary of publication of "Hill of Thieves" as one of the "Top ten" original songs to come out of Northern Ireland, according to BBC listeners. The second was a performance in Belfast at which the Ulster Orchestra joined Cara and her band.

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Awards and nominations

• 2002 Won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award – Best Traditional Song (for "Black Is the Colour")
• 2002 Won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award – Horizon Award (Best Newcomer)
• 2002 Nominated for BBC Radio 2 Folk Award – Folk Singer of the Year
• 2002 Nominated for BBC Radio 2 Folk Award – Best Album (for Cara Dillon)
• 2002 Won the Hot Press Award – Best Roots Act
• 2002 Won the Big Buzz Magazine Award – Best Traditional Act
• 2003 Won the Big Buzz Magazine Award – Best Traditional Act
• 2004 Won the Meteor Music Awards – Best Irish Female
• 2004 Nominated for Meteor Music Awards – Best Folk Act
• 2004 Won the Irish Tatler Woman of the Year – (Music category)
• 2005 Won the Big Buzz Magazine Award – Best Traditional Act
• 2007 Nominated for Meteor Music Awards – Best Irish Female
• 2007 Won the Indie Acoustic Project Best Celtic Album of 2006 – (for After The Morning)
• 2010 Nominated for BBC Radio 2 Folk Award – Best Traditional Song (for "Spencer The Rover")
• 2010 Nominated for BBC Radio 2 Folk Award – Folk Singer of the Year
• 2010 Won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award – Album of the Year (for Hill of Thieves)
• 2010 Won the Spiral Earth awards – Best Female Singer
• 2010 Won the Spiral Earth Awards – Best Traditional Song – (for "Jimmy Mó Mhilé Stor")
• 2015 Nominated for BBC Radio 2 Folk Award – Folk Singer of the Year
• 2018 Nominated for BBC Radio 2 Folk Award – Folk Singer of the Year