U2, Damien Rice Perform in New Irish Music Documentary

U2, Damien Rice and the Swell Season's Glen Hansard will appear in the second installment of the documentary series Music of Ireland —Welcome Home and Welcome to America , which Bono's Elevation Group will present this fall on PBS stations. The Cranberries' Dolores O'Riordan, Sinead O'Connor and the Virgin Prunes' Gavin Friday will join the other artists in giving exclusive performances and interviews. Part one of the series, which aired in February, traced Irish music from the early 1900s up through the mid-'80s. Part two will focus on the impact contemporary Irish music, from rock to Riverdance, on America now. "Irish music has that sadness in it, even at its most peppy," Bono says in the documentary. "It's very moving, that bitter sweetness." You'll be able to buy the Music of Ireland soundtracks and DVDs starting August 31st, only at Barnes & Noble.

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Song Stories

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell | 1974

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.

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