MERCURY Music Prize nominee Lisa Hannigan returns to Killarney this December to play The INEC Acoustic Club, on Sunday, December 6.

It has been a phenomenal year for Lisa with her debut album Sea Sew going platinum in Ireland, she has also been nominated for both the Choice Music Prize and for Meteor Best Irish Female and Meteor Best Irish Album. Hailed by The New York Times as 'exquisitely ethereal', Lisa has performed on The Jay Leno Show and Stephen Colbert Report while on her last headline tour of US.

Lisa spent many years singing in choirs and musical choruses in school, all the while taping songs off the radio. After hearing a recording of Maria Callas singing the 'Bell Song' from Delibe's 'Lakme' (a CD at this point), she became fixated with the idea of learning how to sing like her.

After a few years of study and development she realised that her chances of playing a consumptive operatic heroine were severely hampered by both her naturally quiet voice and her insatiable love of cake.

A chance meeting with singer songwriter Damien Rice led to a long period of collaboration and development. Lisa spent the next few years touring the world, meeting wonderful musicians and friends, writing songs contributing backing vocals on many friends records, including The Frames and Mic Christopher, singing with the legendary Herbie Hancock and gradually finding her voice, needing the microphone less and less.

When this collaboration wit Rice came to an end after seven years, Lisa was left with a notebook of songs and the desire and confidence to put them onto a record.

Gathering a talented band of friends together, including Tom Osander on drums, Shane Fitzsimons on double bass and Donagh Molloy on trumpet, they got to work.

The result is a record which is warm and creaky, sparse and much more besides, rightly winning universal critical priase.

Tickets to see Lisa Hannigan at The INEC Acoustic Club on Sunday December 6 cost €20 and are available from the INEC Box Office. Tel 064 6671555 or visit www.inec.ie