Darren Kiely, an up and coming Irish folk-pop artist, comes to DC the first weekend of February. His first ever single, “How Could You Love Me,” came out in 2022, followed by a few more singles from the EP Lost, which dropped just this past November.

To be entirely transparent, I found Kiely’s music over the summer from an Instagram reel that featured his song “Mom & Dad,” which I listened to *constantly* because of its excellent suitability for being belted out quite loudly while driving alone. Darren Kiely’s music has been likened to that of Noah Kahan, The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons. 

Although I can see similarities, his music (to me) feels very much like its own dynamic brand. Sometimes his songs unlock nostalgic memories of listening to country music in the car with my parents as a kid (“Blood Red”). Sometimes the only way to describe it is indie folk (“Sunrise”). Sometimes it toes the line of a Hozier-esque soul-influenced ballad (“Mom & Dad”). His Instagram reels promoting his upcoming track “Slow Decay” (coming out this Friday, Feb. 2!) use the hashtag #folkrock. An Instagram post (@sams.jukebox) recommends his track “Ella,” calling it an “acoustic folk” song, with “raspy and soulful” vocals.

I am so excited for the release of “Slow Decay,” and am hoping he will play it for us live this Saturday at DC9. I have very high hopes for this sold out event and will report back with my opinion of Darren Kiely’s performance.