JigJam

bluegrass · newgrass · americana

JigJam is an Irish quartet from the country's midlands, drawn from counties Offaly and Tipperary, that blends Irish traditional music with American bluegrass and Americana in a style the band calls I-Grass, or CeltGrass. Founding members Jamie McKeogh, on lead vocals and guitar, and Daithi Melia, on five-string banjo and Dobro, both come from Offaly; Tipperary-born Gavin Strappe joined in 2016 on mandolin and tenor banjo, and fiddler Kevin Buckley completed the current lineup in 2024. The band's recorded catalogue runs from Oh Boy (2014) and Hello World (2015) through the concert album Live in Tullamore (2016) and Phoenix (2019) to Across the Pond, an eleven-track set released in March 2024 and recorded at Native Sound Studio in St. Louis with guest Becky Buller. That record drew notice from No Depression and American Songwriter, the latter hearing in it something close to the roots of American string-band music, and the group was nominated for the International Bluegrass Music Association's Momentum Award for Band of the Year in 2024. JigJam made its Grand Ole Opry debut in Nashville in March 2023, on a night that also featured Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood and Steve Earle, and has since returned to the Opry stage. Festival appearances include MerleFest, DelFest and Lollapalooza, the last on a bill with Sierra Ferrell. Onstage the four members work acoustically and swap instruments freely, pairing bluegrass drive with close vocal harmony and Irish dance-tune sets; the material moves between traditional Irish repertoire, bluegrass standards and original songs. They are endorsed by Yamaha Guitars, Deering Banjos, Fishman, Hoffee cases and TKD Mandolins, and McKeogh plays a custom Yamaha FG9.

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