Jon Keenan

Jon Keenan talked very early and often in his life. He made up stories about himself as a two-year-old, when he picked up the guitar. At the age of 11, he was already writing songs and recording them on to tape players without knowing basic chords. As he grew up, he got more into punk rock and in his freshman year of high school, he formed a band with some friends. After numerous name changes, they eventually settled on King for a Day, the name of a Green Day song, who along with The Ramones and Operation Ivy made up the core of the band’s inspiration . After a few years of playing parties, church basements, VFWs and town halls, the band recorded a self-titled EP. Even as a scrappy punk rock record, it showed amazing promise for the then 15-year-old Keenan who wrote every song. It sold fairly well among friends and others in the scene but outside pressures and internal band conflict caused King for a Day to split. Jon then spent the rest of high school kicking from band to band playing in such varied genres as ska, funk, classic rock and jazz and blues. When Jon graduated high school, he knew there was only one place he could go. He packed his bags and headed to Boston to study Songwriting at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. It was there in his second semester songwriting class that a friend turned him on to ex-punk rocker turned singer/songwriter Jesse Malin. From that source Jon got into artists like Ryan Adams, Wilco, The Jayhawks, Elliot Smith and Sufjan Stevens. Jon finally found music he connected with: a storyteller’s sound that allowed him to express himself. The good times ended abruptly when Lawrence Keenan, Jon’s father died on May, 26th 2004. Jon was devastated by the loss. He didn’t pick up a guitar or sing a single note the entire summer. Back at school in the fall, Jon considered dropping out because of the loss. But after spending weeks at home depressed listening to Ryan Adams and Bob Dylan records, he sat down with an acoustic guitar and penned the song “Tonight” in about 30 minutes. It speaks of love and devastating loss. Lifting a slight weight off Jon’s soul, the floodgates were open and the bottled-up songs that Jon had been ignoring for months flowed out onto paper Jon got out and played open mics, coffee houses and anyplace that would have him. Now finishing up his time at Berklee College of Music, Jon has found a unique and brilliant voice in the muddled genre of singer/songwriters. He has been a noted stand out performer at many CNC Songwriter Nights at the All Asia Café in Cambridge, Mass. become a personal favorite of Livingston Taylor, and played at such hot boston area clubs as Sky Bar, Abbey Lounge, Bulfinch Yacht Club and TT The Bears. He is now very well-known for his heart on his sleeve performances and warm inviting stage presence.