Meet Jamie McKeogh

We were lucky to catch up with Jamie McKeogh recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jamie, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I found my purpose from the last few years of gigging and playing shows. I realised that performing and entertaining is what I was meant to do for a living. From seeing how our music with JigJam has had a positive effect on people is the reason we continue to make music and perform. When you see people leaving your shows in a good mood after singing along to your original songs it makes it very worthwhile.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My name is Jamie McKeogh and I’m the lead singer of Irish Bluegrass band JigJam. I formed the band in 2012 at home in Tullamore and we have been on the road ever since. We currently spend most of our touring season in The US. Here’s a bit about our band.

When virtuoso Irish playing jumps the pond running naked through the wide open fields of bluegrass/Americana JigJam is born. Bluegrass and American Folk music originated from the group’s home, and now JigJam is here to take it back!
JigJam made its Grand Ole Opry Debut in Nashville in March 2023 to critical acclaim receiving a standing ovation from a sold-out crowd on Country Music’s biggest stage. The group was joined on the night by Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Steve Earle, Lauren Alaina, and many more. This Offaly and Tipperary-born band has started the first wave of attack in the new Irish invasion of Americana.
‘Foot stomping’, ‘high energy’ badassery is what you’re in for when you see this musical powerhouse live in concert.
Founding members from Offaly Jamie McKeogh (Lead singer and guitar) and Daithi Melia (5 String Banjo and Dobro) were joined by Tipperary-born Gavin Strappe (Mandolin and Tenor Banjo) in 2016. This year they are joined by Kevin Buckley (Fiddle) to make up this iGrass (Irish Bluegrass) quartet.
Described as ‘The best Irish band in bluegrass’ and ‘sparkling, infectious’ these lads have been hailed as ‘Ireland’s answer to New Grass Revival’
Bluegrass has its roots in Irish music and Irish immigration. iGrass and JigJam is what happens when the Irish find their prodigal son.

We’ve just released our latest album in The Spring of this year called ‘Across The Pond’. It tells the story of the Irish people travelling to The States years ago and still to this day. The 12 track album features mainly original material and is now available on all platforms.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Dedication – In order for anything to work you have to be fully dedicated to the project. A ‘never give up’ attitude is extremely important for every band member. We have had a lot of setbacks over the years in many shapes and forms but you have to keep working towards the end goal in order to be successful. We’re still working towards that goal but we wouldn’t be where we are today had we given up along the way.

Patience – I think being patient is very important in the music industry. Realising that things may not just happen for a band overnight, and sometimes it takes time.

Enjoying the journey – The main thing about being a full time musician is that you’re getting paid to do something you love. Enjoying every minute of every show and being grateful for what we have as a band is very important. We get to travel the world playing the music that we love, and that’s a mighty feeling!

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

We would love to collaborate with some of the greats of Irish and Bluegrass Music. Some names that come to mind for the Irish players would be Paul Brady, Matt Molloy or John Doyle. Whereas in the bluegrass world we would love to collaborate with Jerry Douglas, Aoife O’Donovan or Chris Thile.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Mickey Bernal
Spencer Peck
Greg Belter

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