Caoimhe is a woman driven half to insanity while thinking about a man named ‘Finbar’. Such is the power he has over her, she loses herself to dancing, at first in a bar, and then later, in a field, in front of a bonfire. Beautifully channelled by Kerry Kenny, the song is accompanied by an evocative music video directed by Tom Robenolt, of Point Five Films.
Although she’s born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Kerry Kenny has Irish blood running through her veins, and her upbringing was steeped in traditional Irish music. She was performing by the age of four, harmonizing with her cousins in “The Kenny Kids”, and singing at festivals and on local TV. Not only that, but her family’s pub, the oldest Irish Public House in the area, still fills the neighbourhood with the sound of fiddles and bagpipes every St. Patrick’s Day.
This drove Kerry Kenny expand her horizons beyond Scranton, and she studied Irish music in Limerick, Ireland, as well as computer music in Krakow, Poland. Additionally, she speaks several languages, including Polish, and taught English in both South Korea and Thailand. She has toured clubs across Germany, Belgium, and Amsterdam, but back home in Pennsylvania, she’s also “Miss Kerry”, where she leads an early childhood music program sees almost 90 children attend each session.
‘Finbar’, the lead single from her upcoming album, ‘Brutal Best’, was recorded with engineer Eric Ritter, at Windmill Agency Studios, in Mt Cobb, Pennsylvania, an experience Kerry Kenny describes as “lusciously creative, ego-free and super fun”. The song is evocative of not just Irish and other Celtic music, but also the high-energy Flamenco sound of Andalusia, Spain. Accompanying the singing with bodhrán, described by composer Seán Ó Riada as “the native drum of the ancient Celts”, as well as other drums, fiddle, and 12 string acoustic guitar, there is an almost spiritual quality to ‘Finbar’, and we’re driven half mad too, as we lose ourselves in the music.
Be moved by the evocative music video for ‘Finbar’ below, and find out more about Kerry Kenny Band and their music online on their official website, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
