Songs From An Empty Room: a Q+A with Eve Belle

Donegal singer-songwriter Eve Belle will be playing a no-doubt riveting set for Songs From An Empty Room from Dolan's in Limerick tomorrow evening. Ahead of the gig, which is in support of Minding Creative Minds and the Association of Irish Stage Technicians, we caught up with Belle to chat all things live music.

Do you remember the first concert you ever attended?

My first proper concert was probably Ed Sheeran in the 3arena when I was 9 or 10. I remember just being blown away by that feeling of being part of the crowd, one of thousands of voices all joining together. It was electric, and very inspiring to a budding singer songwriter to see one man and a loop pedal completely engage an entire arena like that.

Have you ever been to a show at the venue you’re performing in?

I played support for the incredible Frightened Rabbit in Dolan’s on their last Irish tour, and saw their gig afterwards. They were incredible as always, the place was packed and there was such intense love and happiness pulsing through the place. That’s what live music does to people. For the sixty minutes that a gig is happening, we are all outrageously happy for the exact same reason. That’s an incredible thing. It’s a unifying thing, a type of catharsis.

What’s your most vivid memory of the venue (as a fan or a performer!)?

Being a young person and supporting a well-established band, I was in this in-between place of enjoying the gig as a spectator and gleaning every detail I could to better myself as a performer, learning from everything around me. Watching the band play The Modern Leper, now my favourite song of theirs, has stuck with me to this day. It was so full of electricity and anger and I remember thinking ‘this is why we write music, to get these feelings into the world, to translate anger into sound’.

What is the best thing about performing for a live audience?

For me, as a lyrically focused singer-songwriter, I constantly realise that I’m not alone in my experiences. I will have written a song about something extremely specific that happened in my life, and after hearing it played live, someone will approach me and say ‘it felt like you were singing about me, it’s crazy how much I related to that’. There are these intense connective bonds that are formed when you’re playing these really emotional songs to a room full of people. We throw caution to the wind and lay our souls completely bare when we’re on the stage. And the most incredible feeling in the world is getting nothing but love in exchange for that vulnerability.

If you could have one other job in music, what would it be?

It has been a long-time pipe dream to learn to produce music. It’s something I’m setting my mind to this year. I feel like it’s a totally different skillset, and that it opens up this absolute maze of new avenues for your music. It’s something I’ve always been fascinated by.

Songs From An Empty Room aims to support Irish technicians and crew. Any thoughts on the disruption of their world in the pandemic?

The pandemic has absolutely turned everything upside-down. We’ve done our best to innovate and find ways around it, but the reality is that this is an incredibly uncertain time. Technicians and crew have no idea when things will return to any semblance of normal. It’s so important that we help them through this. Without them, music as we know it will never return to normal. We need to acknowledge the hardship they are facing and to offer them our full support.

These gigs will benefit Minding Creative Minds: is mental health an issue that concerns you?

Absolutely. I’ve had my own struggles over the years, and I’ve watched people close to me struggle as well. This is a tough business to be in. You’re constantly comparing yourself to everyone around you, there is a huge amount of pressure from so many angles. I’ve known two musicians who have taken their own lives. It is so incredibly vital that we open up a dialogue around this, offer people a clear and tangible way out. The more we talk about it, the more visible this issue is, the greater the chance that someone might reach out and ask for help. And that chance is worth absolutely everything. It’s imperative that we support Minding Creative Minds in the vital work they are doing.

Which would you rather (and why!): festival or concert?

I am an old soul and I love my home comforts and sleeping in my own bed, which would tempt me to say that I would prefer a concert. But when it comes down to it, there is nothing quite like standing in a field, covered in glitter and spilled beverages, surrounded by friends at varying levels of sobriety, and finally reaching that moment where the first note of your favourite band’s set is played. Everyone starts screaming the words and you feel so ecstatic to be in that moment. So I think festivals win, despite the Irish weather.

Most recent Irish record you've loved?

I think cmat is absolutely killing it right now. KFC is an absolute banger.

What’s next for you?

I am working on new material for a project that’s going to be released this year. My lips are sealed as of yet, but watch this space, I am very excited.

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