Jon Kenzie is a singer-songwriter from Manchester with musical roots steeped in blues, folk and soul. Starting out as a truly independent artist and initially choosing to avoid traditional record companies altogether by releasing two solo albums that have sold thousands of units online, at concerts and while busking on the streets, only now has he decided to partner with a label (the German indie powerhouse Membran) for his third album, From Wanderlust.
Patiently building a fan base by travelling throughout Europe (especially in Germany, where he has built a large and loyal following) and performing on the streets in every town he visits, Jon’s passionate voice and dextrous guitar skills never fail to stop passers-by in their tracks. From these basic grass roots he has gone from strength to strength, playing bigger venues, earning festival slots and reaching the ears of ever greater numbers of new fans.
Jon started out in the Manchester band Beggar Joe, who reached No. 1 on the iTunes Blues chart with their self-titled 2009 debut album, but left in order to embark on a solo journey that until now has seen the release of Not Much Technical Stuff [2012] and Sing A Little Higher [2013]. His solo music provides a fresh take on blues, folk, soul and Americana, sitting somewhere between the troubadour stylings of modern day practitioners such as M. Ward and the earthy edginess of Tom Waits. He has performed at SXSW in Austin, Texas and other US cities to promote these albums, in addition to the aforementioned treks around Europe.
Aside from his music, Jon has always taken a keen interest in the creation of his music videos, not only filming and editing them himself but also collaborating with some of the talented people he meets on his travels. A promo clip from his second album made with the help of the Catalan puppet company TrukiTrek won a number of short film awards, and he has recently worked with them again on a video for a song from the new album, entitled ‘Can You Decide’, taken from the new album.
Artist’s website: http://jonkenzie.com/
‘Can You Decide’ – official video:
Jon will play three UK shows in the south/south west in the days prior to album release :
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