by Louise Doyle

A DONEGAL musician has described supporting Alanis Morissette at two concerts in Dublin and Belfast with Irish Women in Harmony as a ‘dream’.

Eve Belle took to the stage of Belsonic at Ormeau Road in Belfast on Monday night to support the Canadian singer-songwriter, whose iconic album ‘Jagged Little Pill’ became the voice of a generation when it was released 30 years ago.

First on the bill at Monday night’s concert, the all-female collective, alongside American singer-songwriter Liz Phair, supported Alanis Morissette for her shows in Belfast and in Malahide Castle in Dublin on Sunday night. Both shows were part of Alanis Morissette’s world tour.

Irish Women in Harmony comprises 34 of Ireland’s best female artists, including Una Healy, Moya Brennan, Orla Gartland, Loah, Imelda May and more. The collective aims to support female musicians in their artistic endeavours, as well as fundraise for charitable causes.

Eve Belle performing at Belsonic.

Created initially by Grammy-nominated songwriter Ruth-Anne Cunningham, Irish Women in Harmony first came to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic with their stunning rendition of The Cranberries song ‘Dreams’. The inspired cover, re-worked and recorded remotely by some of the group’s female artists in aid of Safe Ireland, the national social change agency working to end domestic abuse and coercive control in Ireland, raised €215,000 for the national agency. The project was set up as a response to a rise in domestic abuse during lockdown.

Taking to her own Facebook page after Belsonic, Eve Belle wrote: “Belfast with Irish Women in Harmony supporting Alanis was a dream.
“Still coming down from two nights with Irish Women in Harmony. I am so grateful for every second I get on stage with them.”

As well as performing their own songs, the group also performed a stunning version of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ in homage to the late Sinead O’Connor, ‘Dreams’ by The Cranberries and ‘Runaway’ by The Corrs.

Alanis Morissette delighted the crowd at Belsonic with a wonderful performance.

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Alanis Morissette opened Belsonic with ‘Hand in my Pocket’. Against a stage backdrop of the moon, Alanis began singing the opening lines backstage before walking out to the electrifying crowd to rapturous applause.
Widely referred to as the ‘Queen of the Alt Rock Angst’, Alanis became a cultural phenomenon in the mid-1990s, and is revered for calling out injustice, her emotive voice and honest songwriting.

Just aged 20 when she released the famed album, ‘Jagged Little Pill’ in June 1995, the album went on to top the charts in 13 countries making Alanis Morissette at that time the youngest artist ever to win an ‘Album of the Year’ Grammy.

Alanis Morissette performed a number of her hit songs including ‘Uninvited’, ‘Hands Clean’, ‘Hand in my Pocket’ and ‘Thank you’.