Fontaines D.C. Tour Overview
Fontaines D.C. are an Irish post-punk band formed in Dublin in 2014. The band consists of Grian Chatten (vocals), Carlos O'Connell (guitar), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor Deegan III (bass), and Tom Coll (drums).
The band members met while attending music college and bonded over a common love of poetry. The band began self-releasing singles and performing live regularly, signing to Partisan Records in 2018. The band's debut album, Dogrel, was released on 12 April 2019 to widespread critical acclaim; it was listed as Album of the Year on the record store Rough Trade's website, voted Album of the Year by presenters on BBC Radio 6 Music, and was nominated for both the Mercury Prize and the Choice Music Prize.
The band's second studio album, A Hero's Death, was written and recorded in the midst of extensive touring for their debut, and was released on 31 July 2020. A Hero's Death was later nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Their third album Skinty Fia, released in 2022, became the band's first to reach number one on the Irish Albums Chart and UK Albums Chart.
About Fontaines D.C.
Carlos O'Connell, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan, Grian Chatten and Tom Coll met while attending music college at BIMM in The Liberties, Dublin. They bonded over a common love of poetry and collectively released two collections of poetry, one called Vroom, inspired by the Beat poets (Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg) and another called Winding, inspired by Irish poets (Patrick Kavanagh, James Joyce, W. B. Yeats). None of the published poems were translated into songs, but the track "Television Screens" on their debut Dogrel started out as a poem and was turned into a song.
Lead singer Chatten is half-English (his mother is English and his father is Irish) and was born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria but grew up in the County Fingal coastal town of Skerries, north of Dublin. Prior to starting Fontaines D.C., Chatten was a part of local indie rock bands Gun Runner and Thumbprint, serving as a drummer and guitarist/singer respectively.[non-primary source needed][non-primary source needed]
Coll and Deegan hail from Castlebar in County Mayo, while Curley is from Emyvale in County Monaghan, and O'Connell grew up in Madrid, Spain. Deegan is regularly seen wearing Mayo GAA clothing during live performances.
The band got their name from a character in the movie The Godfather called Johnny Fontane, a singer and movie star portrayed by Al Martino. Fontane was godson of Vito Corleone. Originally they were called The Fontaines, but they added the initials "D.C." when a band in Los Angeles had the same name. The initials D.C. stand for "Dublin City".
Fontaines D.C. Facts
- The title Dogrel is an homage to Doggerel, working class Irish poetry – 'poetry of the people' – that dates back to 1630. It was popularised by William McGonagall and later Ogden Nash. The record was recorded live on tape.
- The NME said that "Dogrel proves that early-days pinning as punk’s next great hope was perhaps premature – there's far more to Fontaines D.C. than your typical thrashed-out, pissed-off young rebellion."
- Paul Duggan gave the album an unprecedented 10 bananas out of 10. The Times said that Shouty post-punk bands are making a surprise comeback in 2019, with this brutal but articulate Irish bunch emerging as one of the most captivating.
- They were supposed to perform at the Glastonbury Festival in 2020; This was going to be the festival's 50th anniversary but it had to be cancelled due to the increasing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
