Erin McKeown is a musician, writer, and producer known internationally for their prolific disregard of stylistic boundaries. Their brash and clever electric guitar playing is something to see. Their singing voice is truly unique —clear, cool, and collected. Over the last 20 years, they have performed around the world, released 11 full length albums, and written for film, television, and theater, all the while refining their distinctive and challenging mix of American musical forms.

Erin’s first musical, Miss You Like Hell, written with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes, opened Off-Broadway at The Public Theater in 2018. It was nominated for 5 Drama Desk Awards, including Best Lyrics, Best Music and Best Orchestrations, and The Wall Street Journal named it Best Musical of 2018.

Leading their own band, Erin has performed at Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, and the Newport Folk Festivals. A familiar presence on NPR and the BBC, McKeown’s songs have also appeared in numerous commercials and television shows.

While a student at Brown University, Erin was a resident artist at Providence, RI’s revolutionary community arts organization AS220. A 2011-2012 fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center For Internet & Society, they are also the recipient of a 2016 writing fellowship from The Studios of Key West and a 2018 residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. McKeown was a 2020-21 Professor of the Practice at Brown University and a 2022-23 fellow at The University of Chicago’s Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry.

Erin’s latest album KISS OFF KISS is out now.

ARTist statement

I am a multi-instrumentalist working primarily in American forms. I build my work from a knowledge of early American popular entertainment (minstrelsy, vaudeville, musical theater) plus a lived experience of folk music (blues, Americana, string band). I recast these historical antecedents into contemporary contexts, challenging listeners to look more closely at themselves and the world around them.  Playfulness and pleasure are key aspects of my work.  I believe in rhythm as a primary means of communication and joy, so all my work begins with the elemental engine of percussion and the interplay of vowels and consonants.

Performed with:  Amos Lee, Anais Mitchell, Ani DiFranco, Andrew Bird,  Ben Sollee, Carrie Rodriguez, Jason Isbell, Joan Baez, Josh Ritter, Kris Delmhorst, Lake Street Dive, Mike Doughty, Richard Thompson, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, The Mountain Goats, and Welcome To Night Vale.

Appeared at: Bonnaroo, Newport Folk, Glastonbury. Beacon Theater, Olympia Theater, Royal Festival Hall, Sidney Opera House. Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Later with Jools Holland, NPR, BBC.

Songs Placed: “Chicken Sisters” (Hallmark+), “American Rust” (Showtime), “The Good Fight” (CBS, Paramount+), “Bunheads” (ABC), “Desperate Housewives” (ABC), “Awkward” (MTV), “Gilmore Girls” (CW), “The L Word” (Showtime), “Nip/Tuck” (FX), “Roswell” (WB),  Tesco, Google, Ferraro Praline, Bose.

FUN FACT: Erin plays guitar, mandolin, bass, piano, drums, and recently took up the violin.

FUN FACT: Erin has written a song via text message with their friend Rachel Maddow.

FUN FACT: Erin has made 10 episodes of their acclaimed “Cabin Fever” series of live webcasts streamed from their house in rural western Massachusetts. Described as “Wayne’s World meets the Judy Garland Show”, the series has garnered considerable attention for its entertaining exploration of the intersections of art, technology, and commerce. You can watch the whole series here.

FUN FACT: #mynameiserinfuckingmckeown

“Her operative mood is effortless grace” – LA Weekly

“In several distinctive ways- voice, dynamic subtlety, and sheer songwriting ability- Erin McKeown is in a class of her own.” – Sunday Times (UK)

“Her playing is so muscular, her arrangements so well conceived that she succeeds brilliantly. As with all truly great guitarists, the wonder is less in her chops than her choices.” – Boston Globe

“It’s fun, it’s flirty, it’s morbid, but it also bangs.” – Brightest Young Things for “Pretty Little Cemetery” (2017)

“Her voice slips into the territory of Florence Welch and Elena Tonra with its depth and texture, but stands alone in its complete clarity, a dinner bell ringing through a drafty home until the whole place is warm. She is, more simply, the kind of artist who will give you a varied, confetti-colored pocketful of secrets in return for a smile and some applause. She is easy listening without anything inherently easy about it.”– Lucy Gellman, New Haven Independent