Maine fiddler Owen Kennedy is a seventeen-year-old award-winning musician whose love of traditional music and enthusiasm for performing has captivated audiences from San Diego to the Shetland Islands and all over New England. Owen is the 2022 New England Regional Open Scottish Fiddle Champion, the 2021 Junior US National Scottish Fiddle Champion, and won the 2021 Young Stars of Maine "Glenn Jenks Future in Music" prize from Bay Chamber Music School. As an emerging musician rooted in the Maine Maritime tradition and immersed in his growing passion for Scottish music, Owen’s powerful playing can capture the melancholy of a Scottish air, mimic the sound of pipes in a march, or drive a good ol’ New England contradance tune.
Owen's debut album "Oh When: Now" is out!! Digital downloads and compact disks are on Bandcamp and will be available at events this spring & summer!"Oh When: Now" is a musical snapshot of the places Owen's visited and the musicians he's played with and learned from. Many talented Maine folks were part of this project: it was recorded with Owen Marshall, mixed by Noah Fishman, mastered by Lincoln Clapp, with album design by Elsie Gawler and duplication from Crooked Cove. Owen's teacher (honorary Mainer) Seán Heely adds fiddle to a track that includes his original tune, Beinn Hòb.
Album Release Events with Seán Heely!
May 20th 11am ~ May Faire ~ Monmouth
May 20th 4pm ~ Winthrop United Methodist Church
May 21st 3pm ~ Maine Irish Heritage Center in Portland
May 24th 12:30pm ~ Oasis of Music ~ Lewiston
June 22nd 7pm ~ Old South with Ethan Tischler ~ Farmington
July 1st 7pm ~ Acadia Trad with Owen Marshall ~ Bar Harbor
July 8th ~ House Concert with Ethan Tischler ~ Cherryfield
July 27th 7pm ~ Music at the J with Owen Marshall ~ Portland
Owen is also wrapping up a solo project, 50 Fiddlers from 50 States, this spring before heading up to Cape Breton to attend the Beinn Mhàbu Gaelic Foundations: Living Cultures program for his first year of university in fall 2023. Here's a news clip from the Young Tradition Vermont Touring Group's April trip to Cape Breton including a brief interview with Owen: "American teens strike the right chord with Celtic tunes during Cape Breton road trip."
