I checked in with Irish singing sensation Dermot Kennedy in his dressing room at Barn On The Farm ahead of his set, talking collaborations, his debut album and bromance with Sam Fender!

Are you excited for your set today?

Yeah, I can’t wait. I think we’re playing last on the Outdoor Stage tonight so we get to play a whole hour set.

Hopefully there won’t be too many drunk people!

Haha no I don’t think so. It’s funny because we played Belgium two days ago and we played like a German and Dutch festival and it’s so funny compared, some of the festivals there compared to home and the UK. We were there on the third day and people were still fresh, and there was no mess it was crazy, I don’t know how they do it!

Have you played Barn On The Farm before?

No, never have. But I’m really excited because I’ve seen the posters of previous years up, and you can see the lineup and it’s always been good – yeah I can’t wait.

What other festivals have you got lined up this year?

After this we’ve got Citadel Festival in London, we’ve got some America ones in Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco, and a Canadian one in Montreal. Then I think that’s all the festivals done until September when we’ve got one in Ireland.

Are you touring as well?

Yes, well I’m writing a bunch and recording a lot because we’re going on tour again in September until the end of November, so I’m basically trying to get the album done before then. (Do you guys want a towel because I’m sweating?!) So yeah that’s what we’re doing, I’m going to be flat out on tour for the last quarter of the year, so I’m trying to do an awful lot before then.

So if people are coming to see you at any of the festivals/on tour what can they expect?

Well it’s funny because depending on what set times you get you can kind of pack everything in to like half an hour, sometimes you get an hour to fresh things up, which feels like a full gig which is really cool. But it depends, it’s just all the songs that have been released to date pretty much, and just a fun set.

I mean like everything started off as an acoustic thing, so now it’s grown into this thing with a band and there’s four of us playing it’s quite a big show, really exciting.

What’s your favourite track to perform?

Well we play An Evening I Will Not Forget first, and that’s great because that’s probably my favourite song, and so if there’s any nerves or anything like that it’s a really nice way to start.

How would you describe your sound?

I always sayy, I think it’s like – someone who’s inspired by acoustic music and singer/songwriters, but is also influenced by a lot of hip-hop in terms of production.

I never get ahead of myself and take it too far and try and be something I’m not – I’m still someone who sings with a guitar and piano, but I try to be influenced a bit. It makes it more me, and more exciting for me live and in terms of what I’m releasing and stuff like that. It started acoustically, but it’s growing in time.

So how do you begin the songwriting process?

It’s different every time, sometimes there’s a line or lyric that sort of comes to you and you start from that and try and build a song. I know that Sufjan Stevens is a guy that sometimes writes poems and fits them into songs which is crazy, I know it’s not the norm.

An Evening I Will Never Forget was like that, it was just lyrics and then the music had to fit to that. But I mean these days if I’m in a studio working with somebody who I think is really, really great it’s exciting to just work on the music and start a vibe that way, and work off however that makes you feel. I mean it’s changing all the time and so if I was to say It works a certain way I’d almost be implying that I’ve figured it out, and I haven’t at all. It’s fun both ways.

Do you have any collabs in the pipeline, or is there anyone you really want to work with?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot.

For the album there’s an Irish group called The Gloaming, have you heard of them? It’s like technically traditional Irish music, and there’s a singer, piano player, two fiddle players and a guitarist, and the music is crazy! They’re like my favourite Irish thing ever, they’re like so cool that I don’t even know if it could be a thing, and if they would even be open to the idea, but it would be a dream.

Is there anyone you’re hoping to catch here (at BOTF)?

The second we got here Sam Fender was playing, and so we like legged it from the van because we toured with him in Europe. We’ve bumped into him that many times, and it’s really cool to watch him grow and watch his set, and all his music – it’s really awesome. He’s probably the person we’re most excited to bump into on the road.

I bet it’s nice to watch each others successes and see each other grow.

Oh yeah it’s awesome, really good to see. Because he supported us in Europe at the beginning of the year and when we were touring again. I was saying to someone the other day I’ve love to do that again, but he’s probably got a lot going on a stuff haha!