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Dermot Kennedy

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Dermot Kennedy
Birth nameDermot Joseph Kennedy
Born (1991-12-13) 13 December 1991 (age 32)
OriginRathcoole, County Dublin, Ireland
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter
Years active2009–present
LabelsInterscope, Island
Websitewww.dermotkennedy.com Edit this at Wikidata

Dermot Joseph Kennedy[1] (born 13 December 1991)[2] is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for his 2019 single "Outnumbered". He is signed to Interscope Records in the US,[3][4] and Island Records[5][6] for the rest of the world. His debut major-label, studio album, Without Fear, was released on 4 October 2019.

Early life and family

Dermot Kennedy grew up in Rathcoole,[7] County Dublin, Ireland. An avid football fan and player,[8][9] Kennedy started playing guitar at age 10, and songwriting at age 14; however he states that he did not begin to take music "seriously" until the age of 17.[10] His parents were supportive of his musical study, and he credits his father for frequently driving him into Dublin to perform at open mic nights when he was underage.[11] His mother applied for his position to study classical music at university. He remained at university for three years. His paternal aunt is the legendary Irish TV personality Mary Kennedy.[12]

Career

Kennedy developed his sound while busking in multiple cities, including Dublin in the Republic of Ireland and Boston in the United States.[8]

Several breakthroughs led to him developing an offline following. The most significant of his breakthroughs came in winning a local talent competition. He was the 1st-place winner of The South County Song contest, run by St. Finian's GAA club.[13] The competition, widely recognized as a breeding ground for new talent is frequently attended by many industry professionals looking to find the next new sound.[14] The year Kennedy won, he had to beat the reclusive, underground band The Roast Potatoes.[15] The audience wanted the Roast Potatoes to win but the critics gave the victory to Kennedy, catapulting him on a trajectory to stardom. One time Kennedy was invited to join Glen Hansard on stage. He had previously met Hansard busking in Dublin and stayed in touch via text message.[8]

His online viral streaming success was enabled by Spotify Discover Weekly after it was launched in early 2016. For several years, he self-published his material on the platform, and that of his then-band, Shadows and Dust. They have been streamed over 300 million times as of October 2018.[citation needed]

In 2018 and 2019, he toured the United States, Australia and Europe to sold-out audiences. His first festivals were Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2017; Lollapalooza,[16] South by Southwest Festival[17] and Austin City Limits Music Festival[18] in 2018. He played Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival both weekends in 2019.[19][20] In 2018, he was voted by listeners as NPR Slingshot's Best New Artist of The Year,[21] appeared on NPR's Music Tiny Desk Concert in a 14-minute live acoustic session,[22] on WGBH's Fraser performance studio in a 20-minute live session.[23] He made the BBC's Sound of 2019 Longlist.[24] In January 2020, Kennedy was nominated for international male solo artist of the year at the BRIT Awards.[citation needed]

Style and influences

Kennedy plays the guitar left-handed. GQ magazine described Kennedy as a "singer with a rich, reverbant voice, [with] epically emotive songwriting skills (think Ed Sheeran, but darker, more melancholy)."[7] The New York Times, of his 2018 South by Southwest Festival performance, said he has "a grainy, melancholy voice that can crest with a howling rasp..."[25]

He cites Ray LaMontagne, David Gray, Damien Rice and Glen Hansard as inspirations for his folk style. His recent work has included hip-hop influences, reflected notably in his collaborative work with Mike Dean on the EP Mike Dean Presents: Dermot Kennedy, which Kennedy has also described as a "mix tape".[16][26]

Discography

Main article: Dermot Kennedy discography
Studio albums

References

  1. ^ "Shelter lyrics - Dermot Kennedy". Last.fm. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Dermot Kennedy on Instagram: "Yesterday was my birthday, and so today I've been thinking about this year and everything that's happened. I've toured the world multiple..."". Instagram. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Dermott Kennedy Artist Bio". interscope.com. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  4. ^ Henry, Keryce Chelsi. "Acoustic Singer Dermot Kennedy On His Hip-Hop And 'Def Poetry Jam' Inspirations". Forbes. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Artists".
  6. ^ "'The album is exceptional': Island talks global ambitions for Dermot Kennedy | Talent | Music Week". www.musicweek.com.
  7. ^ a b Johnston, Kathleen. "Could Dermot Kennedy be Ireland's answer to Ed Sheeran?". British GQ. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  8. ^ a b c "Dermot Kennedy busks his way from Dublin streets to the mainstream". RIFF Magazine. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  9. ^ Kennedy, Dermot (7 June 2016). "Crumlin United. What a club..last game tonight to wrap up the league for the 4th year in a row. Love it pic.twitter.com/qXDu5UHRFG". @dermotkennedy. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  10. ^ "YouTube Music's Dermot Kennedy on FaceTiming Travis Scott". Metro. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Dermot Kennedy, NPR Slingshot's Best New Artist". NPR.org. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Mary Kennedy praises her nephew, Dermot Kennedy". 24 November 2019 – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ "St Finians GAA Newcastle". St Finians GAA Newcastle. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  14. ^ "South County Song Contest". facebook.com. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  15. ^ Potatoes, The Roast. The Roast Potatoes. The Roast Potatoes http://theroastpotatoes.com/. Retrieved 30 March 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ^ a b "Dermot Kennedy On Mike Dean Collaboration". GRAMMY.com. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Dermot Kennedy On World Cafe". NPR.org. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  18. ^ Austin City Limits Radio, 93 Seconds with Dermot Kennedy [Interview] | Austin City Limits Radio, retrieved 18 January 2019
  19. ^ Also in 2019 Dermot played the main stage at @ElecticPicnic Irelands largest music festival emicom666 (27 April 2019), Dermot Kennedy (live) @ Gobi stage Coachella Palm Springs Los Angeles USA 21 April 2019, retrieved 22 May 2019{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Dermot Kennedy to play 'dream come true' Coachella gig". RTÉ.ie. 3 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Dermot Kennedy, NPR Slingshot's Best New Artist". NPR.org. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  22. ^ "Dermot Kennedy: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert". NPR.org. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  23. ^ "Dermot Kennedy – live in studio". WGBH Music. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  24. ^ "BBC - Sound of 2019 Live". BBC. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  25. ^ Pareles, Jon (18 March 2018). "South by Southwest Music Festival: 17 Acts That Stood Out". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  26. ^ "You Should Know... Dermot Kennedy". JOE.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
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