Kennedy's Kitchen

It is homemade Irish Music, from where this music sounds best, in the Kitchen.

Six CDs

joHn Kennedy leads Kennedy's Kitchen, family and friends, gathering for dinner, laughter and music since 1998, rooted in traditional Irish Music, jigs, reels, hornpipes, recitations, stories, songs… and adding our own compositions along the way.

The band is lead by joHn Kennedy, award winning singer and guitar player. It's Kitchen Music from the home, the hearth, and the heart.

We play fiddle, flutes, whistles, mandolin, bouzouki, guitar, tenor banjo, harmonica, bohdran, and bass. And we sing. We love to sing.

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A few Highlights . . . You'll notice that we usually get invited back.
Michigan Irish Fest in Muskegon Michigan (Eight years and counting)
Chicago's Irish American Heritage Center Irish Fest (Seven years and counting)
Milwaukee Irish Fest (Invited for 2012)
Peoria Erin Feis (Four years and counting) Dayton Irish Fest (2004 and 2011)
LVD's Concert Hall in Goshen Indiana (Nine shows and counting)
The Acorn Theater, Three Oaks Michigan (Four shows and counting)
The DeBartollo Performing Arts Center University of Notre Dame (Four shows and counting)
The Schauer Arts and Activities Center in Hartford Wisconsin 2011
The Riveria Theater in Three Rivers, Michigan 2009
The Majestic Theater in Gettysburgh PA (2008)
The Ramsey Auditorium at Fermilab in Batavia, IL 2008)
Muskifest in Bethlehem, PA (2008)
The Kranert Center for the Arts at The University of Illinois (2005)
The Shaheen Music Series at Saint Mary's College (2004)
Front Porch Music in Valparaiso, Indiana (Seven shows and counting
Fiddler's Hearth in South Bend, Indiana over 250 shows
Kate O'Connor's Pub in New Carlisle, Indiana Over 50 shows
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“To hear Kennedy’s Kitchen is to experience the heart of music, the culture of the songs being handed from musician to musician, the beauty of melody untouched by gimmick and the magic of this group of musicians coming together with one aim - to leave you, and them, breathless. Then, on the the next song, they’ll have you partying and dancing as never before. One of America’s best!”
Tom Schaub, Entertainment Director Michigan Irish Music Festival

In September 2006 they shared equal billing with Tommy Makem at the DeBartollo Performing Arts Center at the Univeristy of Notre Dame.
"Kennedy’s Kitchen, was excellent. They have a lovely traditional flavor, relaxed attitude, and a fantastic sound."
A Tommy Makem fan, taken from the Makem guest site.

"'A Pocketful Of Lint' contains some of the best traditional Irish music there is - plus some great original tunes and songs. The musicianship is outstanding. A thoroughly entertaining CD - just what you'd expect from one of the top Irish bands in the Midwest. Buy a copy - you'll be glad you did." Al Kniola, Host of The Back Porch, 88.1 WVPE Public Radio
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Band Lineup

joHn KennedySee film ... joHn in 6/8 time
Vocals, guitar, tin whistle, bouzouki, bohdran, banjo, embellished stories.

John is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, and the leader of the band. His rich, deep voice is an instrument unto itself.

joHn is the 2004 All-Ireland Fleadh Silver Medalist in Accompaniment, competing on guitar. He has won numerous Gold and Silver medals in traditional singing and acommpaniment the Midwest Fleadhs.

joHn's solo CD ‘I'll Learn To Fly’ was chosen by WVPE FM 88.1's Back Porch program as one of the top ten folk releases of 1998. Other recording credits include: ‘St. Patrick's Day at Notre Dame’, recorded live with David James, Dan Gellert, Kevin and Maggie Henry, Pat Max, and Rosie McCormick; ‘The Notre Dame Experience’ with Nolan Ladewski, Autumn Rhodes and Tim O'Neil on the opening cut of this Piano Brothers production; and ‘Extra Stout, Live at the Inn at Long Trail’ a recording which joHn engineered and produced with Pat Max.

joHn is a founding member of the traditional Irish band 'Seamaisin' and co-produced two recordings with that group ‘Joseph Harvey's Fiddle was Left in the Rain’ and ‘Seamaisin: Live at The Tin Shop’. Seamaisin also produced music for the sound track of the short-film, Araby, an adaptation of James Joyce's short story of the same name. Araby was nominated for an Academy Award in the Student Narrative Film category. The band ‘Seamaisin’ can also be heard in one of the scenes from the movie ‘Rudy’.

joHn is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Chile 79-81), and has a doctorate from the University of Notre Dame in Development Economics. He current pretends to be an economist at Saint Joseph College in Renssallear, IN. joHn plays a Fender 1100 Acoustic Guitar, usually in DADGAD tuning, a handmade Jim Shenk guitar (Wooden Music), and a Flat Iron Bouzouki.

"His voice is absolutely phenomenal." - Helen Norris, Senior Life, October 2001.

"joHn Kennedy puts his whole heart into it." - Andy Hughes, South Bend Tribune, March 16, 1996

"The best storytelling songs that I've heard since Harry Chapin"

Chris O'Brien
Fiddle, tenor banjo,mandolin, and vocals.

Chris began classical violin at the age of 9 and later turned to Appalachia and Irish Traditional music. Her early influences include the soulful and rousing tunes of Tommy Peoples from County Donegal, Ireland and the all Irish born Bothy Band. She has studied fiddle at the Willie Clancy School in Milltown-Malbay, County Clare, Ireland. She is currently employed in art and frame restoration. She is also an avid accomplished gardener, just for the joy of taking care of flowers that have no other place to go. Chris has spent many summers in Kilkee, County Clare, Ireland. Chris plays a Czech fiddle, 1947 unknown maker. Her banjo is believed to a Lyon and Healy, and is about 100 years old. The mandolin is a lovely, gentle Eastmon.

Jacob Turner
Bohdran

Jacob joined the band in the summer of 2011 after Bob Harke retired. Prior to joining the Kitchen, Jacob studied bohdran with joHn for three years. In 2011 Jacob placed second at the Midwest fleadh in his age group ( aged 14) and that following summer travelled to Ireland to compete at the all-Ireland Fleadh in Cavan. His bohdran was made by Mike Quinlain.

Joel Cooper

A founding member who appears on all of our CDs and who has recently returned to performing at most of our shows. He began his musical career as a tenor performing choral music with The Notre Dame Chorale and the South Bend based Vesper Chorale.

Joel got his bass out of the closet when he and joHn began playing music together in the mid 90’s. Though he left South Bend in 2001, Joel appears on all our CDs and has returned regularly to perform with the Kitchen. He plays bass, occasionally guitar and whistle, and sings backing vocals. His composition “Land by the Sea” (on the Kitchen’s first CD) is joHn's all-time favorite Kitchen recording.

Joel has performed as a member of The Prairie Creek Group, Jellystone Yogi featuring Peter Diggins, Area 51, So What, The Rice County All Stars, Dimestore Watch, The Bathtub Saints, and The Zillionaires, playing a broad range of musical styles including Irish, folk, singer/songwriter, American roots, classic rock, improvisational rock, gospel, and blues.

Nancy Turner

Traveling to Ireland with her family in 2005, Nancy began her musical journey, to play the bodhran. She plays with Kennedy’s Kitchen as needed since 2015, whenever her son Jacob is unable to do so.

Nancy has studied with Irish bodhran players Colm Phelan (Goitse), Eamon Murray (Beoga), and John Joe Kelly (Flook). Her bodhran was made by Seamus O’Kane. A professor of education at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, Nancy has been on the faculty since 1990. There, she founded an exchange program for students at Saint Mary’s and Maynooth University, Ireland, and travels to Ireland with students yearly.

Nathan Waddill

The most recent member to join the band, Nathan Waddill, plays bass. A regular at traditional sessions for over twelve years, Nathan has been playing for over 10 years in another Irish band that he continues to perform with, Roger Drawdy and The Firestarters. Nathan brings jazz, rhythm and blues, as well rock and roll influences, while remaining firmly grounded in traditional music. In addition to bass, he plays lead guitar, and recently acquired a banjo/guitar which the band is looking forward to working into some of our sets.