Bon Iver
Kennedy's falsetto delivery and atmospheric layering draws heavily from Justin Vernon's sonic palette, particularly the cabin-fever intimacy of 'For Emma, Forever Ago.' The way Kennedy uses Auto-Tune not as artifice but as emotional amplification mirrors Bon Iver's approach on '22, A Million.' This influence is crucial for understanding how Kennedy transforms indie folk introspection into arena-ready anthems.
Glen Hansard
The Dublin connection runs deep, with Kennedy adopting Hansard's raw, throat-shredding vocal commitment and his ability to make acoustic guitars sound orchestral. Kennedy's street-performance roots echo Hansard's busking background, while his dynamic builds mirror the cathartic releases found throughout 'The Swell Season.' This influence explains Kennedy's mastery of the quiet-to-explosive emotional arc.
James Blake
Kennedy's integration of hip-hop influenced vocal rhythms with melancholic piano-driven compositions directly references Blake's genre-blending approach on his self-titled debut. The use of space, silence, and sudden harmonic shifts in Kennedy's arrangements shows Blake's influence on how electronic textures can enhance rather than overwhelm organic instrumentation.
Context
Kennedy emerged from Dublin's post-recession busking scene of the early 2010s, where traditional Irish folk merged with the global streaming-era demand for genre-fluid content. He represents the first generation of Irish artists to bypass traditional industry gatekeepers through social media virality, particularly TikTok and YouTube covers. His rise coincides with the 'sad boy' era of popular music, where vulnerability became commercially viable, bridging the gap between Ed Sheeran's acoustic pop and the darker introspection of artists like Phoebe Bridgers. This positioning allowed him to capture both the melancholy of post-financial crisis Ireland and the global appetite for emotionally direct songwriting.
Legacy
Kennedy's success opened doors for a new wave of Irish singer-songwriters like Cian Ducrot and Orla Gartland who similarly blend folk traditions with contemporary production techniques. His approach to building massive choruses from intimate verses has become a template for streaming-era balladeering, influencing how artists structure songs for both algorithmic discovery and live performance impact.
Why it matters
Understanding Kennedy's synthesis of Bon Iver's experimental folk, Hansard's Irish storytelling tradition, and Blake's electronic-organic fusion reveals how he created a distinctly modern form of Celtic soul music. These influences explain why his songs work equally well as solitary headphone experiences and festival sing-alongs, demonstrating how traditional songcraft adapts to contemporary consumption patterns.