Jess Kav's First Solo Headline Show Debuts in The Workmans Cellar Jan 18th

After her sold out shows at Dublin Fringe, Jess Kav takes to the stage for her first ever gig as a solo artist. On her birthday! Featuring songs from her show "Fermented Dreams", Kav's songs explore, hope, chaos, rage, healing and humour. Etta James meets Bjork meets Pink. Joined onstage by Louis Younge and Korey (Bricknasty) and Finn 'O Reilly (Left iris) it will be night of celebration. Dress for a birthday. Let's get lit.

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Totally Dublin-Jess Kavanagh – Fermented Dreams

Jess Kavanagh has been a force of nature for a minute now, trailblazing through the Irish Soul scene since long before the pairing of words was little more than an eyebrow raising neologism.

Fronting the criminally underrated agro-soul outfit BARQ until 2020, she has earned admiration for her overwhelming voice and deft lyricism. Her work in theater began in childhood, and has developed alongside a career that’s seen her onstage with the likes of The Waterboys, Hozier, Zaska, and as vocalist for the beautiful ‘Somewhere Out There You’ directed by Wayne Jordan last November. All of this while making magic with Sister Fenix, her ecstatic soul duo with Senita Appiakorang [Bantum, Shookrah].

‘Fermented Dreams’ is a multidisciplinary new work comprising an EP of astounding pianocentric soul wrapped within a one woman play, written, produced, and performed by Kav herself, and directed by Totally Dublin April cover star Laura Sheeran, coming to Dublin this September.

 

I’ve been reading about your exploits with the Dirty Laundry Collective. I was a huge fan of Kate Finegan’s ‘Gammy’, and Laura Sheeran’s work.

Isn’t it incredible! I worked with Eimear [Keating, actor and DJ] on ‘Somewhere Out There You’ in the Abbey in November.

 

It’s an incredible collective of talent, the three of you and [glass artist] Alison Lowry. I believe ‘Gammy’ was Kate’s first play, as ‘Fermented Dreams’ is your own debut.

It was! We had worked together on some bursary weeks, developing and writing together. It’s been amazing to watch her confidence grow as a writer over the last years.

I had written some poetry and some articles for the Irish Times, and we were working together and doing a bit of a skill swap. She was picking my brain about writing and singing, and working on movement with me. I was absolutely bollixed. That woman is an athlete. That was only in 2021, so to see the trajectory of her work go from picking my brain to ‘Gammy’ in three years is insane.

 

Can you talk to me about the genesis of ‘Fermented Dreams’, and how it became a theater piece? As somebody in the process of getting my shit together, I am your target audience for this play.

You’re not the first person to say that to me. I wrote this body of work with Geoff Warner-Clayton. We started writing music together in March 2023. At the end of that year I went into the Abbey show, then I felt kind of burnt out.  Theatre is an amazing place to be, but it’s incredibly demanding so I decided to go on a retreat for a week in January.

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Jess Kav
Hot Press-Jess Kav: Between Fermented Dreams and Leonard Cohen There's A Busy Month in Store!

The former lead singer with Barq, Jess Kav, started the year with a bunch of new songs – before realising that she had the basis for a musical on her hands. The resulting theatrical show previews in Bewley’s Cafe Theatre tonight – and she’ll be singing Leonard Cohen songs in 3Arena later in the month...

Its going to be a busy September for singer, songwriter and now actor and playwright Jess Kavanagh, who is previewing her new production Fermented Dreams with a performance on Monday September 9 (that’s tonight, folks) as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival.

That’ll be followed by full-scale performances, on Tuesday 10, Wednesday 11, Friday 13 and two shows on Saturday 14 September. A mere seven days later, she is set to play a Leonard Cohen tribute show – to celebrate what would have been his 90th birthday on September 21 – featuring with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra at 3Arena, in a show which also includes vocal performances from Mick Flannery, Suzanne Savage and Pheilim Drew.

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Jess Kav
Pantisocracy Season 5 Episode 2 ‘Breaking Secrets and Silence’

What happens when your private family story, your deepest secret, is also a national secret of shame and silence? Caelainn Hogan author of the ground-breaking ‘Republic of Shame’ is the guest of Panti Bliss in this episode and she’s joined by singer Jess Kavanagh, whose mum was born, black Irish, in a mother and baby home, and film-maker Paul Duane, who was himself born in Sean Ross Abbey, the home depicted in the film ‘Philomena’.

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Jess Kav feature in The Irish Times Magazine Special #BlackIrishLives: In Irish orphanages, being ‘coloured’ was a defect.

I’m not a fan of weddings, but I made sure not to miss my cousin Jamie’s big day. Jamie and I always got along; racially ambiguous like myself, he looks more indigenous Latin American via Dublin 3 but is actually southeast Asian-Italian. After the wedding another cousin, annoyed at her lack of an invitation to the dinner, is spitting some low-grade venom as I roll a cigarette. I tune in at the worst moment.

“I don’t know why anyone ever told you your grandfather was a doctor. He was a sailor – and everyone knew that.”

I’m taken aback. I don’t react. If you’ve experienced racism you know this moment: a surreal outburst, wildly out of context. It happens so quickly you tend to be left feeling only confusion and mild amusement. The rage creeps in hours, maybe days later.



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Track of the Day: BARQ – 'Dive'

BARQ are ramping it up with their latest 'agro-soul' offering.

BARQ have returned with more tight grooves and soulful melodies. 'Dive' sees the Dublin quartet continue in this new direction of electronic infused funk-soul.

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Jess Kav