Clare Cunningham, an independent and award-winning singer-songwriter from the quaint village of Collon in Co. Louth, Ireland, captivates audiences with her raspy, Celtic, and soulful voice. Her remarkable ability to traverse multiple genres sets her apart as a truly unique artist. With a passion for her faith, performing, touring, and recording, Clare continues to share her musical journey with the world, leaving a lasting impression wherever she goes.

 

Clare is dedicated to using her musical platform to raise awareness about mental and brain health, her faith, and her cultural roots. Having navigated her own personal challenges, she is committed to being real and honest with her listeners, aiming to de-stigmatize important conversations around mental health issues such as addiction, anxiety, and depression. Through her music, Clare hopes to inspire others to embrace their struggles and seek help, fostering a supportive community for all. 

‘If I can leave this world a little better off than when I entered, I’ll know I fulfilled my life’s purpose. With the help of my Lord and Savior, as a mental and brain health advocate, I want to use my platform to be a voice for those who feel they can't express themselves or are too afraid to speak up and be a vessel of inspiration, hope, love, truth, and faith for those around me so that nobody ever feels like they are in this world alone''

 

Clare has written, released, and performed with a many Grammy, Dove, and billboard-winning artists, producers, and songwriters. To name but a few : 

Garth brooks

Steve Earle

Vince Gill

Gary Chapman

Steve Cropper (Blues brothers, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett) 

Tedd Tjornhom (Faith Hill, Stacie Orrico, Newsboys, TobyMac, For King and country, We are Messengers, Natalie Grant)

Drac Gibson (Prince, TLC, Janet Jackson, Flo Rida, T-Pain, Sean Combs, Rick Ross, Yung Joc, Sean Paul, 

Ken Bell (TobyMac, Stacie Orrico)

Steve Dean (Rodney Atkins, The Oak Ridge Boys, Alabama, George Strait Lee Greenwood, Reba McEntire, The Roys)

Wood Newton (Razzy Bailey, The Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, Alabama, Charley Pride)

Bill Whyte (Hillary Scott, Joe Nichols, Ray Stevens, Darin & Brooke Aldridge)

Mike Loudermilk (Crystal Gayle)

Bobby Keel (Hank Williams Jr., David Allan Coe, Confederate Railroad, Travis Tritt, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Freddie Powers, Albert King, The Carter Family, Johnny Rodriguez, Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley, Tammy Wynette, McGuffy Lane and Tom Jones.)

Chris McCarthy (Steve Miller Band) 

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Her 'GRAND OLE OPRY’ debut (March 18th, 2023) was a sold-out show and an extremely rare accomplishment as a completely independent artist. A surprise add-on to the bill on the night was her childhood heroes, GARTH BROOKS, and TRISHA YEARWOOD. Clare also performed with STEVE EARLE, singing his infamous ‘Galway Girl’ as a duet. Other performers on the night included LAUREN ALAINA, MORGAN EVANS, JEANNIE SEELY, John Conlee, Jameson Rodgers, and Jig-Jam. 

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As if the stars had aligned, Clare had only just starred in the new GARTH BROOKS documentary ''GARTH BROOKS: COMING HOME'' - An exploration of the life of the country music star, looking at his biggest songs. These relationships have influenced his career and his love affair with Ireland.

 

‘The Josie Music Awards’ crowned her 2024 female 'ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR' with an amazing 15 nominations. The ceremony was held at The Grand Ole Opry on October 27th. She also picked up a songwriter achievement award the night before at the CMA theatre inside the Country Music Hall of Fame, where she also performed. She has previously been crowned  'ARTIST OF THE YEAR' in 2022; ‘VOCALIST OF THE YEAR’ in 2021 and ‘FOLK/AMERICANA ARTIST OF THE YEAR' in 2020,

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The World Entertainment Awards crowned Clare as 'BEST NEW ARTIST' and Best Christian song for 'Somewhere I Want to Live', held in Hollywood during The Grammy's weekend in February 2024. Her album 'On My Way (Ar mo Bhealach)' was nominated for 'Best Americana Album of the Year' for 2025.​

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Clare was nominated as 'NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR' at the 2024 Inspirational Country Music Awards at the Grand Ole Opry on May 29th, 2024, where she also performed her single 'A Day to be Me'. 

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Most recently, Clare has received a phenomenal 9 nominations at the 2025 Red Carpet Awards Show in Europe, which will take place in The Netherlands this May. 

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Clare has performed at multiple events for charities most notably 'Volunteers of America' where she has shared the bill with many artists including VINCE GILL

 

Clare had notable success before moving stateside as the lead singer of the all-female Swedish quintet THUNDERMOTHER (2013-2018)

A phone call from Stockholm, Sweden, landed her the position as lead singer with an offer Cunningham couldn’t refuse - to open up for MOTÖRHEAD at 'Metaltown festival',  Sweden, Clare was on a flight to Sweden in less than 4 weeks. Life as she knew it would drastically change. the band ended up on the biggest news channel in Sweden following the show which ultimately led to their rapid success. 

After only 3 months of being in the new line-up, the ladies were head-hunted at a festival by the Warner Music Sweden boss and signed their first major record deal. Clare moved full-time to Sweden in 2013 to concentrate on the band. 

where she released two vinyl albums (Road Fever and Rock 'N' Roll Disaster) and was signed (her first major record deal) gaining support from Motörhead (LEMMY would play their albums on his tour bus!) 

Thundermother has gained support and shared stages with icons including MOTÖRHEAD, Metallica, Slayer, Whitesnake, Megadeath, Iron Maiden, Zakk Wylde, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Opeth, Rob Zombie, Halestorm, Inflames, Jack Black, Flogging Molly and many more. 

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Due to some discrepancies, the band left Warner and signed with ‘Despotz Records’ for their second album ‘Road Fever’. 

Cunningham departed Thundermother in January 2017. A decision that wasn’t made lightly. She needed to focus on her mental and physical health after it declined rapidly. With her self-titled debut EP already doing well, her solo career kicked off after her move to the USA in 2018. 

 

Clare has a huge testimony (for more information you can read her memoir) and came back to faith at the end of 2020 and her music now reflects how she has become a conduit to her Savior Yeshua. Her worship/inspirational album ‘HELPING HAND’ was released worldwide on July 7th, 2023. Songs from the album have been winners and nominated for many major awards including film festivals and have gained much recognition since its release. She is on a mission to show that her past no longer defines who she is and that her outward canvas does not reflect what’s on the inside.

''I want people to get to know me and spend a few moments in my presence before judgment is passed on my appearance.  My tattoos can cause a little controversy but I believe GOD uses my appearance to prove a person does not have to look like a Christ follower to be one''. 

 

Previous to the release of MERCY for suicide prevention and mental health awareness) released September 2022, does exactly just this. Clare exclaims Clare put out a collection of songs on an EP called DEAR IRELAND (2021) which pays a beautiful ode to her culture and heritage. r

 

Clare's voice is truly haunting and captivating, dubbed as having a vocal register similar to ADELE and most notably sounding like STEVIE NICKS. It hasn’t gone unnoticed amongst some familiar names in the industry either. 

STEVE CROPPER (Blues Brothers) who featured on guitar on Clare's single 'Heart of Mine' (2020) and who co-produced the vocals on 'Éireann i mo chroí' (On her EP 'Dear Ireland' 2021) has said ''Clare has such a tremendous voice. She makes me want to play because she sings with passion and feeling.' LZZY HALE of HALESTORM and PHIL CAMPBELL of MOTÖRHEAD have both said she has a ‘'Powerful’ and ‘killer voice'’. 

 

Cunningham’s love for music showed early on. At six years old her first instrument was the keyboard and by the time she was eight, she was playing Mozart. She self-taught guitar at 16. This was the start of her budding songwriting career. She was highly praised by Irish singer-songwriter JULIET TURNER and spent a week at a song-writing camp hosted by Turner. She saw the natural talent Cunningham possessed for writing and told her this was most definitely the path she needed to embark on. Cunningham took Turner’s advice and moved to Dublin after high school at eighteen, where she obtained a national diploma in Popular Music performance and technology. 

 

With this at hand, she then headed overseas and studied at the ‘London College of Music’ (Vocal Tech) where she had her first TV appearance on ‘Sky TV’, singing one of her original penned songs.

After graduating with a BA Hon’s Degree in Music Performance and Technology, Cunningham then moved to Cardiff, Wales, UK, where she started up her own business and became a professional musician. She co-founded SMOKIN ACES, a function/corporate/original band. They were extremely popular all across the country and often played between 350-395 shows per year. 

Clare and guitarist Jamie Hiscox created a duo from the band and it was after Cunningham decided to put up some acoustic material on YouTube which ultimately got her noticed by Thundermother. 

 

Not long after moving to the US, Clare recorded her first project at iconic RCA studios, with her team ‘Eddie & Justy Productions’ on Music Row (Nashville) The band on the recording consisted of AUDLEY FREED on Guitar (Sheryl Crowe, Dixie Chicks, Black Crowe’s, Joe Perry) STEVE MACKEY on bass (Garth Brooke’s, Dolly Parton) and JARED KNEALE on drums (Lauren Daigle, Kacey Musgraves) 

 

She is currently on her third 01 visa and has been having an amazing response so far. She has played a host of major stateside festivals including ‘The Sundance Film Festival, ' The Nantucket Project’, and The Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival’. She has also graced the stage of prestigious venues including ‘The Bluebird Cafe’, ‘Zanie’s’, ‘’ Tree’s, ‘The Listening Room’, and ‘The Texas Troubadour Theatre’. She’s also had a song placement in the LIONSGATE movie (‘Bernie the Dolphin 2’).

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Clare's much-anticipated album 'ON MY WAY (AR MO BHEALACH) was released on March 15th, 2024. An 18-track album full of her Irish roots and inspirational songs surrounding mental health, her faith, and her love for Ireland. 

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To date, Clare’s achievements include : ​

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• 9-time nominee (Red Carpet Awards Show in Europe 2025)

• ‘No need for God’ - WINNER - ‘Gospel/Christian song of the year’  (Tennessee Songwriters Association International 2025)

• ‘No need for God’ - Nominated - ‘Gospel/Christian song of the year’  (Tennessee Songwriters Association International 2025)

• ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR (Josie Music Awards 2024) 

• Nominated as ‘New Artist of the Year’ (Inspirational Country Music Awards 2024) 

• ‘I sleep alone’ - Songwriter achievement ((Josie Music Awards 2024) 

• ‘On my Way (Ar mo Bhealach)’ Nominated for 'Best Americana album of the year' (World Entertainment Awards 2024

• Winner  - ‘Clovers’  -  Honorable mention - Best Christian song (Unsigned Only Music Competition 2024)

• Finalist  - ‘Clovers’  - Best Christian song (Unsigned Only Music Competition 2024)

• Semi-finalist  - ‘Clovers’  - Best Christian song (Unsigned Only Music Competition 2024)

• ​Semi-Finalist - “Mic Drop” - Best Hip-Hop Song (International Songwriting Competition 2024) 

• 15-time nominee (Josie Music Awards 2024) 

• 'Feel Good Christmas' nominated as Best Inspirational Christmas Song (Holiday Music and Film Awards 2024)

• 'A voice' music video - Winner (Bollywood International Mainstream Movie Awards 2024)

• ‘A Voice’ music video - Winner (Toronto International Filmmakers Festival 2024)

• ‘A voice’ music video - Winner (Brampton International Nollywood Film Festival 2024)

• ‘A Voice’ music video - Official selection (Brampton International Nollywood Film Festival 2024)

• ‘A voice’ music video - Nominated for Best Music Video (Brampton International Nollywood Film Festival 2024)

• ‘A Voice’ music video - Official selection (Lift-Off Filmmaker sessions 2024)

• ‘A voice’ music video - Nominated for Best Music Video (Aryan International Children’s Film Festival of Jaipur-ICFF 2024) 

• 'You Know Where I'm Going' music video - Winner (Calcutta International Cult Film Festival 2024)

• 'You Know Where I'm Going' music video - Official selection (The Dubai International Cine Carnival 2024)

• 'You Know Where I'm Going' music video - Winner (Hollywood Gold Awards 2024)

• 'You Know Where I'm Going' music video - Winner and Finalist (Star Hollywood Awards 2024)

• 'You Know Where I'm Going' music video - Official selection (Brampton International Nollywood Film Festival 2024)

• 'You Know Where I'm Going' music video - Nominated for Best Music Video (Brampton International 2024)

• 'You Know Where I'm Going' music video -Official selection (Lift-Off Filmmaker sessions 2024)

• 'You Know Where I'm Going' music video - Honorable mention (International Music Video Awards 2024)

• 'I swear' - Winner for pop/rock song of the year (Tennessee Songwriter Association International 2024)

• 'I swear' nominated for pop/rock song of the year (Tennessee Songwriter Association International 2024)

• 'Clovers' nominated for pop/rock song of the year (Tennessee Songwriter Association International 2024)

• “No Need For God” - Honorable Mention (International Songwriting Competition 2023)

• Best New Artist (World Entertainment Awards 2023)

• Best Christian Song - “Somewhere I Want To Live’’ (World Entertainment Awards 2023)

• 4-time nominee (World Entertainment Awards 2023) 

• Finalist - “No Need For God” - Best Christian song (International Songwriting Competition 2023)

• Semi-finalist - “No Need For God” - Best Christian song (International Songwriting Competition 2023)

• Semi-finalist - “Clovers” - Music Video (International Songwriting Competition 2023)

• 'I swear' nominated for pop song of the year (Tennessee Songwriter Association International 2023)

• 12-time nominee (Josie Music Awards 2023)

• Songwriter achievement - 'Like I said I would' (Josie Music Awards 2023)

• Semi-finalist - ‘Clovers’ (Unsigned Only music competition 2023)

• ‘ARTIST OF THE YEAR’ - Multi-Genre (Josie Music Awards 2022)

• Songwriter Achievement - “This is Me” (Josie Music Awards 2022)

• 5-time nominee (Josie Music Awards 2022)

• Best Music Video ‘Angel of the Emerald Isle’ (World Songwriting Awards, Spring 2022) 

• Best Pop Song - ‘I Swear’ (World Songwriting Awards, Summer 2022) 

• Semi-finalist - “I SWEAR’- Pop/Top 40 (International Songwriting Competition 2022)

• Winner (Honorable mention) - “Angel of the Emerald Isle” (Unsigned Only’ music competition 2022)

• Finalist- “Angel of the Emerald Isle” (Unsigned Only’ music competition 2022)

• Semi-finalist - “Angel of the Emerald Isle” (Unsigned Only’ music competition 2022)

• Semi-finalist - “I Swear” (Unsigned Only music competition 2022)

• SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR - GOLD (International singer-songwriters Association 2021)

• VOCALIST OF THE YEAR - Multi-Genre (Josie Music Awards 2021) 

• Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year - ‘Heart of Mine’ (Josie Music Awards 2021)

• Songwriter achievement for an unreleased song - ‘I swear’ (Josie Music Awards 2021)

• 2nd place (Performance category) - Angel of the Emerald Isle” (International Songwriting Competition 2021)

• Honorable mention - 'Clovers' (International Songwriting Competition 2021)

• Semi-finalist - “Angel of the Emerald Isle” - Performance (International Songwriting Competition 2021)

• Semi-finalist - “Angel of the Emerald Isle” - Music Video (International Songwriting Competition 2021)

• Semi-finalist - “Clovers” - Christian (International songwriting competition 2021)

• Best Alternative Song- ‘Clovers’ (World Songwriting Awards, Spring 2021) 

• Semi-finalist - ‘Clovers’ (Unsigned Only music competition 2021)

• Finalist - ‘Watercolor World’ (World Songwriting Awards, Winter 2021)

• Finalist - ‘Clovers’ (Unsigned Only Music Competition 2021)

• Finalist - ‘Éireann i mo chroí’ (World Songwriting Awards, Summer 2021)

• Finalist - ‘Angel of the Emerald Isle’ (World Songwriting Awards, Fall 2021) 

• 6-time nominee (International singer-songwriters Association 2021)

• 8-time nominee (Josie Music Awards 2021)

• Nominee ‘Aim to Misbehave’ (The International Music Awards, Holland 2021) 

• FOLK/AMERICANA ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Josie Music Awards 2020) 

• SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR - Silver (International singer-songwriters Association 2020)

• Folk Americana song of the year- ‘Angel of the Emerald Isle’ (Josie Music Awards 2020)

• Best Pop Song - 'Heart Of Mine' (World Songwriting Awards, Summer 2020) 

• Best Alternative Song - ‘Carry Me’ (World Songwriting Awards, spring 2020) 

• Finalist & honorable mention - ‘Éireann i mo chroí’ live performance (International Songwriting Competition 2020)

• 5-time nominee (International singer-songwriters Association 2020)

• 6-time nominee (Josie Music Awards 2020)

• ‘Aint your momma’ title of the album and song Clare co-wrote with Rhonda Funk) was up for consideration for a nomination for the Grammys 2021 in October 2020 and now has over 1 million streams