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Kenny Grant

Acoustic // Malahide, Dublin

Kenny Grant is a singer/songwriter originally from Scotland, now living in Malahide, Ireland.

After studying music at Glasgow University, Kenny played music professionally for ten years in Germany, England and France before settling in Dublin in 2001.

During his time in Germany and London Kenny produced 3 CDs on his own label. Beachcombers (1991) features acoustic arrangements of Kenny's original songs, marked by the well-crafted lyrics of songs such as "Why I'm Reading Charlie Brown". Carrickfergus (1993) is an album of well-known Scottish and Irish folk songs from Kenny's live repertoire at that time which sold some 7,000 copies on the continent. Kenny then moved to London where he formed the jangling guitar-pop combo The Songlines, with whom he recorded Papercuts And Parakeets. Mastered at Abbey Road, the focus here was on driving 3-minute alt-pop songs, with up-front vocal harmonies balanced by the chiming Rickenbacker and Telecaster sounds of guitarist Pooley.

After a career change and a long break from the music scene, Kenny has recently returned to songwriting. His more recent compositions seek to reconcile the lyrical intelligence of his earlier solo work on Beachcombers, with the hookier melodies of The Songlines.

"Bethlehem", a poignant song about the war-torn Middle East, made the top 3 in the Christmas FM Song Contest 2012. "The Old Concrete Mattress", a ballad about homelessness, was selected as a finalist for the A Song For Simon contest.