The singer-songwriter’s ‘Misneach’ festival launches here in March

Editor's Note: This story was first published in Boston Irish Magazine on Dec. 4, 2024.

Courage.  

That’s the English-language translation of the Irish word “Misneach,” the name attached to Dermot Kennedy’s global Irish music festival that will launch in Boston and Sydney, Australia, in March 2025.

The two-day turn in Boston will feature an already sold-out “emerging artist showcase” at the Brighton Music Hall on March 18, followed by a much bigger concert the next night headlined by Dermot Kennedy himself at TD Garden.

The 32-year-old singer and songwriter explained his concept over lunch and a pint of Guinness at the Abbey in Brookline last month.

“I think in Ireland, we're so proud of our music and our heritage and our culture,” he said, name-checking artists like Van Morrison, Sinead O’Connor, and Thin Lizzy. “And so just on that celebration around St. Patrick Day, I wanted to make sure that's what we're celebrating.

"I think there's so many artists at home that people might not be aware of that are so talented and so special and just deserve to be heard. So, it's a lovely thing to put together, honestly.”

He chose the name “Misneach,” (pronounced mish-nyach) in part because “courage” fits neatly into Kennedy’s own life and career trajectory. His first major album release, which dropped in 2019, was titled “Without Fear.” Since then, the native of Rathcoole, Co. Dublin, has amassed a worldwide following with particular popularity in Australia, the US, and Europe.

The young Dermot started playing guitar at age 10 and was busking and playing in Dublin pubs by age 15. But like many contemporary artists of his generation, Kennedy created and performed in relative anonymity until viral videos shared on social media platforms launched him to stardom when he was 25. 

Since then, his songs — and his rich, soulful vocals— have been streamed more than 4 billion times on platforms like Spotify and Pandora and he has played to packed arenas, including New York’s Madison Square Garden. He has also been called upon to share the mic with notable pop artists like Niall Horan and Zach Bryan.

“So courage has been an important word for me in my career,” Kennedy explained during an hour-long interview with The Reporter in early October. “And it just feels kind of like it'll last for a long time to me, because it's important in Irish history. And when I think about the fact that it's a music festival for courage and music to intertwine, you know what I mean? If you think about Ireland 200 years ago, trying to get through certain things, how important music was, how important courage was for people to survive and sustain certain things.

“And now you think about places like Boston and Sydney. There's so many young people coming over trying to sort of make a life for themselves … that takes a certain degree of courage … so it just feels like a word that makes sense for me.”

Boston Days

It also makes sense that Kennedy would seek to launch his global festival in his home away from home— the city where he spent an eventful summer as a 19-year-old visiting for three months on a J-1 Visa. It was 2010.

The aspiring musician had no gigs lined up. Just a guitar, a bed in a cozy walk-up apartment in Allston that he shared with two friends from home, and a passion to play for whoever he could get to listen.

“It’s not like I was here for a particularly long time, but just at that age, it's a very important time in your life,” Kennedy recalled. “I still think it's by far the most sort of carefree time in my life. Definitely. I was here with my best friends and I was playing music in the street."

“When I think about those memories… I'm very sort of nostalgic about that time. I think in terms of having any kind of ambition or awareness that you might be able to do something around the world. I think America's so good for that. Like, it's a sense of promise and you can get excited about what you're going to do. And, so to play music in the street here, and feel very supported in that sense, just felt very good.”

His first busking spot was along a path on the Boston Common. Kennedy recalls that he auditioned for “an Argentinian guy called David” who acted as a sort of unofficial booking agent for the Common’s street musicians.

Above, Dermot Kennedy speaks to The Reporter inside The Abbey. Seth Daniel photos

“I think he might still be there, but I got swindled basically,” Kennedy said with a chuckle. “He made me audition for him in the park and I played a Mick Flannery song. He was kind of like, ‘You're not playing here unless I think you're good enough.’

Kennedy’s rendition won him a spot— but it wasn’t exactly a prime location or time slot.

“And he said, ‘You're allowed to play here from 7 a.m. in the morning, which is absolutely nobody. At 7 a.m. there’s about five people walk past me and everyone's just going to work with headphones in anyway. And, so, I quickly realized I was just holding the spot for him so he could walk up at 10 and start playing and all the tours to be there. So, it was very clever on his part.”

Dermot quickly sought out busier perches along tourist heavy routes in Harvard Square and Faneuil Hall before find the “sweet spot” in front of a block of stores and hair salons on Newbury Street, where he found a more receptive audience. One fan enjoyed his playing so much that she booked Kennedy to perform at her wedding.

“I was playing on Newbury Street one day and a lady came out with all curlers in her hair and stuff— she was in a salon on Newbury Street. She heard me play a Bee Gees song. And she's like, ‘Will you play that at my wedding in two days?’ And I said, yeah, grand, because I was just looking for money, do you know? And I was like, perfect, a Greek wedding.”

Serendipitous encounters like that one were plentiful in Kennedy’s carefree Boston summer.  There was no objective other than to play music for hours and soak up the experience.

“That's why it was so good, my life. I went around like literally just to have a good time. I make enough money to buy beers. That was it,” he says. “Life was just very simple. I think about it now and obviously stupid amounts of luck and all that, but like, life is kind of full of responsibilities now. Back then, you just didn't care. It was brilliant.”

Boston was — and remains— a familiar place for this County Dublin boy.

Dermot Kennedy with Damien Dowling, owner of The Abbey pub and restaurant in Brookline. Seth Daniel photo

“I think we didn't want to go to New York, do you know what I mean? It's too hectic. And then the West Coast never kind of held that allure for me. Even now, it's funny, like you feel it. Like if I play a gig in Boston or Philadelphia or New York, you feel that Irish connection, you know what I mean? Or even in Chicago. Yeah. When I'm on the West Coast, I don't feel it as much, you know, and you still have great shows, but… I feel more comfortable in places like this.”

Sydney — the first stop for the “Misneach” festival— is another place that feels like home.

“Sydney, for example, we've always had good shows there. And then last December we played three nights outside the Opera House in the Forecourt. And it felt like it just kind of went up a gear a bit, you know? And it felt there was a solid foothold there to build something.”

Other cities, including Dublin and Vancouver, might be added to future festival schedules if all goes well with the upcoming launch. But Boston, given Kennedy’s own attachment to the place and his ever-growing fan base here, is a lock for future editions.

“If I can sort of have an ideal scenario, I'd like to keep it [in Sydney and Boston] and branch out, you know? A lot of things have to fall into place, but, we'll see.

He added: “We're so proud of that culture that still exists and there's still so much excitement in Irish music, but it just seems like a good opportunity to celebrate it. And, even if Boston and Sydney is just the beginning, like to have a global celebration of Irish music and culture— there's a big opportunity there.”

Tickets for the March 19 TD Garden concert featuring Dermot Kennedy, The Swell Season, Ye Vagabonds, and Nell Mesca start at $49.50.  Go to misneachfestival.com to buy tickets.