Songs from An Empty Room: The Cranberries' Noel Hogan on The Olympia and the fate of live music

"It’s such an unprecedented time right now. Little did any of us think a year ago that this would be the world we live in now," says Noel Hogan. The Cranberries guitarist is gearing up for his Songs From an Empty Room set at The Olympia in Dublin – and simultaneously pondering the state of the world.

"This, combined with the uncertainty of the future, has had such a massive impact on tech people and road crew. Tours get booked so far in advance that a lot of crew would have thought the next 12-18 months would have been sorted. Then everything gets pulled out from under them," he says incredulously. "That’s why doing something like Songs From an Empty Room is a great – to highlight this and the impact it has. A lot of people wouldn’t be aware of all the work that goes on behind the scenes to get a show up and running."

Of course Hogan is right. Unless they work within the music industry, few people truly understand the ins and outs – and the hard work – that goes into pulling together their favourite concerts. And Hogan himself has played many. "It’s very hard to put into words what goes on when you walk on a stage. You almost become someone else. Do things you wouldn’t find yourself doing in any other situation. When a show goes well, it’s a huge high. When it goes bad, it can be the longest couple of hours of your life."

Songs From an Empty Room aims to not only support live music venues, but is also in aid of Minding Creative Minds and the Association of Irish Stage Technicians. The concerts are taking place across various locations in Ireland, including Dublin's The Olympia Theatre. "As a fan of any band, it’s always amazing when they play in a smaller venue," Hogan says. "Somewhere that you can almost feel like you are on the stage with that band. That’s the thing with the Olympia: no matter where you stand, it’s a great spot. I saw Radiohead play there in 2003. It was an amazing show."

Check out the full line up for Songs From An Empty Room below.