Dermot Kennedy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dermot Kennedy
|
|
|---|---|
Kennedy performing in 2019
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dermot Joseph Kennedy |
| Born | 13 December 1991 |
| Origin | Rathcoole, County Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels |
|
Dermot Joseph Kennedy (born 13 December 1991) is an Irish singer and songwriter. He is well-known for his popular songs like "Outnumbered" and "Power Over Me" from 2019. His 2020 song "Giants" and his part in the Meduza song "Paradise" also became very popular.
Dermot Kennedy works with Interscope Records in the United States and Island Records in other parts of the world. His first big album, Without Fear, came out on 4 October 2019. His second album, Sonder, was released in 2022. He also released an EP (a shorter album) called I've Told the Trees Everything.
Contents
Early Life and Family Background
Dermot Joseph Kennedy grew up in Rathcoole, County Dublin, Ireland. He loved football and played it often. Dermot started playing the guitar when he was 10 years old. He began writing songs at age 14. However, he says he didn't really get serious about music until he was 17.
His parents were very supportive of his music. He often thanks his father for driving him to Dublin to perform at open mic nights when he was too young to go by himself. His mother helped him apply to study classical music at Maynooth University in County Kildare. He studied there for three years. His aunt, Mary Kennedy, is a well-known Irish TV personality.
Dermot Kennedy's Music Career
Dermot Kennedy officially started his music career at 17 by busking. Busking means performing music in public places for tips. He traveled to cities like Dublin, Ireland, and Boston, US, to perform. This helped him develop his unique sound.
His career really took off when he was in his mid-twenties. In 2015, he put his song "An Evening I Will Not Forget" on Spotify. He felt like he was "really reaching people" with this song. He also got to open shows for Glen Hansard, another famous musician. Dermot had met Glen while busking and they stayed in touch.
Forming a Band and Solo Success
Besides his solo work, Dermot also had a band called Shadows and Dust. He formed this band with three other members while he was in college. One of the members, Micheál Quinn, is now Dermot's tour drummer. Even though he enjoyed being in the band, they broke up in 2015.
In 2018 and 2019, Dermot toured across the US, Australia, and Europe. All his shows were sold out! He played at big music festivals like Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2017. He also performed at Lollapalooza, South by Southwest Festival, and Austin City Limits Music Festival in 2018. In 2019, he played at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on both weekends.
In 2018, listeners of NPR (a public radio station) voted him as Slingshot's Best New Artist of The Year. He also performed on NPR's Music Tiny Desk Concert. This was a 14-minute live acoustic session. He was also featured on WGBH's Fraser performance studio for a 20-minute live session. The BBC also included him on their Sound of 2019 nomination list.
After releasing many singles and EPs, Dermot released his first full album in late 2019. It was called Without Fear. This album included many of his older songs, some of which he had written eight years before the album came out.
Dermot Kennedy was nominated for International Male Solo Artist at the 2020 Brit Awards. In 2022, he won the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Song of the Year 2021 for his song "Better Days".
His second studio album, Sonder, was released on 18 November 2022. Dermot explained that the album's title, "Sonder," means realizing that every person you see has a life as rich and complicated as your own.
Helping Others: Philanthropy
Dermot Kennedy uses his music to help others. In early 2020, he worked with other artists on an album called Songs for Australia. He sang a cover of Matt Corby's "Resolution." This album was put together by Julia Stone to raise money for organizations helping Australia recover from bushfires.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dermot took part in Billboard's Live At-Home concert. He helped raise money for Housing Works, a non-profit organization. He did this by performing a short online concert. After that, Dermot organized his own online concert called Sound Waves in May 2020. This concert supported the WHO's Solidarity Response Fund.
On 6 September 2020, Dermot Kennedy played in the Soccer Aid charity match for the first time. He joined other famous people to raise money for UNICEF UK. He played for the World XI team against England. He helped his team win their second match in a row by scoring one of their three goals. The team won in a penalty shootout, changing their 3-3 score to a 4-3 victory. He was even named Man of the Match!
Musical Style and Influences
Dermot Kennedy tries to combine two different music styles in his songs: folk and hip-hop. This is a change from his earlier songs, which were more acoustic (meaning they mostly used instruments without electric amplification). He doesn't usually write songs about specific moments or events. Instead, he lets memories and feelings come to him naturally as he listens to the music.
GQ magazine described Dermot Kennedy as a "singer with a rich, echoing voice." They also said he has "epically emotional songwriting skills." The New York Times said that during his 2018 South by Southwest Festival performance, he had "a grainy, melancholy voice that can crest with a howling rasp."
He says that musicians like Ray LaMontagne, David Gray, Damien Rice, and Glen Hansard have inspired his folk music style. His newer music includes hip-hop influences. This can be heard in his work with Mike Dean on the EP Mike Dean Presents: Dermot Kennedy. Dermot has also called this EP a "mix tape."
Personal Life
Dermot Kennedy bought a house in Ireland in 2022. He likes to keep his private life to himself. He has said that he has "always been resistant to the idea of celebrity." He also mentioned that he doesn't want to force his political opinions on his fans.
Discography
Studio albums
- Without Fear (2019)
- Sonder (2022)
