Keywest is an Irish pop folk band formed in Dublin. It's current members are Andrew Kavanagh (lead vocals, harmonica), Andrew Glover (acoustic guitar, piano, backing vocals), Luke Murphy (electric guitar, backing vocals), and Conor Ray (drums, percussion).[1][2] They are known for their rise through the Irish street busking scene to the mainstream music industry[3].
History
Andrew Kavanagh and Andrew Glover are childhood friends who grew up in Artane, Dublin.
After a year busking on the streets of Galway, the band moved to Dublin to busk on Grafton Street, a busy shopping street in Dublin known for street performers[4].
They signed to Marshall Records in November 2018[5] and released the album "Ordinary Superhero" in 2019[6].
As of 2025, Keywest are not signed to a label, and are funded by direct purchases of their music and Patreon.
2012: The Message
The band released their debut album The Message through the Irish indie label Alphastar Records in 2012. The album peaked at No.15 on the Irish charts and No.2 on the iTunes chart in Ireland. It was self-produced and engineered by Mark Needham, who also contributed to music by The Killers, Katy Perry, Fleetwood Mac, Neon Trees, and Dan Frampton (The Script).
The album was a double CD debut release for the band, with CD1 being the main album and CD2 being the Undelivered EP, which showcases the band's acoustic side.
The Message featured the singles "Back Into Your Arms", "Feels So Cruel", "In the Fight for Love" and "Straight Through My Heart". The singles did well on Irish radio and earned Keywest the title of Ireland's most played Irish independent artist of 2012.
The Message is now a triple-platinum selling album in Ireland.
In 2012 Keywest was Nominated for Best New Act at the Meteor Music Awards and The Message was nominated for Best Debut Album in the Hot Press Hotties Awards.
The band also signed a worldwide publishing deal in Los Angeles with publishing giants Peermusic in 2012.
2013: Electric Love EP
The band followed up their debut album with the Electric Love EP, which featured the title track and single "Electric Love".
Electric Love went straight to number one in the Irish charts and was released independently through the band's own label "Sonic Realm" records.
2015: Joyland
Keywest released their second album Joyland on 25 September 2015 which went straight to the number 2 position on the Official Irish Chart. It climbed to the top spot the following week, going to Number 1. This was the same week that they appeared on the front cover of Ireland's biggest music magazine, Hot Press.
Joyland was very popular in Ireland, containing the singles "All My Mistakes", "Carousel", "This Is Heartbreak" and "Apple Tree Hill".
2014 and 2015 saw the band win the 98 FM award for Dublin's best street artist and in 2015 the band won the Hot Press Hotties award for Ireland's most promising artist.
2018: True North
The band's third album, titled True North, was released on 30 March 2018. It entered the Irish charts as number 3, reaching number 1 on the Independent Music Chart.
Keywest earned three nominations at the 2018 Irish Post Music Awards for Best Song, Best Album, and Best Band.
2019: Ordinary Superhero
Their fourth album, Ordinary Superhero was released 18th October 2019 and reached number 8 on the official Irish Album Chart[7].
The song "I'm Not Me Without You" features Irish singer Una Healy.
The title track, "Ordinary Superhero", was released at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in conjunction with Irish and UK charities supplying PPE to frontline workers. The music video for the song depicted frontline workers going to work during the pandemic.
Current members
- Andrew Kavanagh – lead vocals
- Andrew Glover – rhythm guitar, piano, backing vocals
- Luke Murphy – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Conor Ray – drums, percussion
Awards and nominations
- Best New Act – Meteor Awards 2012 (Nominated)
- Best Debut Album – Hot Press Hotties Awards, 2012 (Nominated)
- Best Street Act – 98 FM Best Of Dublin Awards 2014 (Winner)
- Best Street Act – 98 FM Best Of Dublin Awards 2015 (Winner)
- Most Promising Artist – Hot Press Hotties Awards 2015 (Winner)
- Best Song – Irish Post Music Awards 2018 (Nominated)
- Best Album – Irish Post Music Awards 2018 (Nominated)
- Best Act – Irish Post Music Awards 2018 (Nominated)
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRL [8] |
UK | ||
| 2012 | The Message
|
15 | — |
| 2015 | Joyland
|
1 | — |
| 2018 | True North
|
3 [9] |
— |
| 2019 | Ordinary Superhero
|
8 [10] |
— |
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart. | |||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRL [8] |
UK | |||
| 2009 | "Miss You Most" | 6 | — | |
| 2011 | "Back into Your Arms" | 25 | — | The Message |
| 2012 | "Feels So Cruel" | — | — | |
| "In The Fight For Love" | — | — | ||
| 2013 | "Electric Love" | 55 | — | |
| 2015 | "All My Mistakes" | — | — | Joyland |
| 84 | — | |||
| "This Is Heartbreak" | – | – | ||
| 2016 | "This Summer" | True North | ||
| 2017 | "The Little Things" | |||
| "Cold Hands" | ||||
| 2018 | "Something Beautiful" | |||
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart. | ||||
See also
References
- ^ "KEYWEST". breakingtunes.com. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ "Band | Keywestofficial". keywest-officialsite. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ "Keywest Interview". hotpress.com. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "Keywest Interview". hotpress.com. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "Keywest - a Marshall Records alumni band". marshall.com. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "Interview: Keywest's Andrew Kavanagh on busking, mental health, and their new album Ordinary Superhero". hotpress.com. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "Official Charts - Ordinary Superhero". hotpress.com. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ a b Steffen Hung. "Discography Keywest". irishcharts.com. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 6 April 2018". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 6 April 2018". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
External links
| Authority control databases: Artists |
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