Bap Kennedy

Hailing from Ireland, singer-songwriter Bap Kennedy drew listeners around the world to a sound that merged folk and rock through a distinctly Celtic lens. Martin “Bap” Kennedy entered the world on June 17, 1962, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. At sixteen he made his first forays into music with the fleeting punk outfit Sellout. A few years afterward he joined the Bankrobbers; when several members united with players from the Belfast group Ten Past Seven, the ensemble became Energy Orchard. The band’s mix of poetic folk and propulsive rock prompted frequent comparisons to Van Morrison. After the musicians relocated to London, a lengthy residency at the New Pegasus pub in Hackney helped secure a contract with MCA. Between 1990 and 1996 Energy Orchard issued five albums. Although the releases earned critical favor and Van Morrison enlisted the group for several tours, commercial success remained elusive. Once the band dissolved, American songwriter Steve Earle—who had admired Energy Orchard—contacted Kennedy and urged him to record in Nashville. Earle produced the resulting solo debut, Domestic Blues, which appeared in 1998 on his E-Squared imprint and included contributions from Nancy Griffith and Jerry Douglas. The track “Vampire” was later featured on the soundtrack to the independent film You Can Count on Me. In 1999 Kennedy issued the modest, self-released collection Hillbilly Shakespeare, consisting of several Hank Williams standards. His next studio effort, Lonely Street, arrived in 2000 and paid tribute to both Hank Williams and Elvis Presley; one song, “Moonlight Kiss,” appeared in the film Serendipity starring John Cusack. That same year the live recording Rare, Live & Bladdered was also released. Five years passed before Kennedy returned with another studio album. The Big Picture, issued in 2005, contained guest vocals from Shane MacGowan of the Pogues and a co-writing credit with Van Morrison on “Milky Way.” Following its release, Mark Knopfler invited Kennedy to serve as opening act on a series of American and British dates. In the same period Kennedy met author and singer-songwriter Brenda Boyd; the two later married, after which she joined his touring band on bass and backing vocals while he produced her solo album Banish the Blue Days, released under the name Brenda Kennedy. Kennedy traveled to Ireland in 2009 to record Howl On, an album reflecting his early fascination with American culture and featuring former Joe Cocker guitarist Henry McCullough. The Sailor's Revenge followed in 2012; Mark Knopfler produced the sessions at his own studio and contributed guitar to all eleven tracks. After the expansive sound of that release, Kennedy adopted a stripped-down approach for Let’s Start Again, recorded in Northern Ireland in 2014 following his return to his native region and supported by his road band. In May 2016 he disclosed on his blog that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer; by August physicians informed him the illness was terminal. Kennedy passed away on November 1 in Belfast. His ninth studio album, Reckless Heart—tracked amid his illness—was issued three weeks after his death.