Songwriter
A Late Bloomer…
Kav wrote her first single “ Gentle Kind Of Lies” at 29 with Agro-Soul outfit BARQ.
BARQ went on to support Kamasi Washington, sell out in New York and Toronto while gaining a cult following for their bold body of work and amazing live performances. BARQ split in 2020 and Jess went on to collaborate with friends Geoff Warner Clayton, Thomas Donohue and Senita Appiakorang to create “Sister Fenix”.
In 2024, Jess and Geoff collaborated again creating another body of work at Beekeepers retreat Co. Clare. Exhausted by independent release strategies with little return, apathy from the industry and the abyssmal streaming eco system, Kav refused to release her music through these routes. Instead, writing a one woman show around her music and giving it life through theatre and performance. “Fermented Dreams” was born which premiered at Dublin Fringe 2024 to a sold-out run.
Sister Fenix - A project coloured by the lockdown era, with collaborations happening over zoom and the first in person meeting coming seven months into the process. Sister Fenix’s work touches on healing, longing for community and rebellious joy. Releasing their EP “Gentle Life” in 2022 with music video “Benefactor Of Love” and headlining Dublin Pride to celebrate.
In August ‘25, Kav headlined The Complex in Smithfield with her six piece band and went on to perform at A.Wake festival and Letterkenny Pride in the same weekend. Kav is finishing and incorporating the “Fermented Dreams” project and working on her new project to launch her next two singles “Maybe I Like The Misery” and “What You Deserve”. Her processes are documented on her Patreon and Substack.
Jess Kav is working on her composition and production skills, supported by the Arts Council Music Bursary. Currently, her music touches on themes of magic, misery, joyous rebellion, rage, love and lust. All the nutrients for a good life.
Jess has been compared to Brittany Howard, Zach De La Rocha, Janis Joplin, Nadine Shah and…Beyonce.
Simply The Best…
Jess Kav’s career as a session vocalist is unique to her. Her reputation precedes her, working with The Waterboys as a touring backing vocalist, featuring on Villager’s award winning album “Fever Dreams”, Featuring as a vocalist with Hozier at Electric Picnic main stage, featuring twice on RTE’s New Years Eve show with Jerry Fish and Imelda May and a regular vocalist with The RTE Concert Orchestra.
Session Vocalist
In 2025, Kav continues to work with Jazz/Neo Soul collective Zaska, led by composer Max Zaska. She and Zaska recently appeared on soul legend Omar’s new album, performing the track “Holding Onto Life” with Grammy-winning artist Ledisi. During the session, Omar remarked on how naturally Kav’s voice blended with his, a moment made all the more special because she had been singing along to his records since childhood.
That same year, Kav’s journey came full circle when she was invited to tour with Billy Idol as a backing vocalist. Partnering with Grammy Award–winning singer Kitten Kuroi, she will join Idol and Steve Stevens for their South American tour in November 2025.
Highlights include….
Ronnie Scotts, London with Zaska
Iveagh Gardens, Dublin with Villagers
Fujirock, Japan with The Waterboys
The Roundhouse, London with The Waterboys
Paradiso, Amsterdam with The Waterboys
Electric Picnic Main Stage with Hozier
Vicar Street, Dublin with Damien Dempsey
3 Arena, Dublin with The RTE Concert Orchestra
Button Factory, Dublin with Ralph Rolle (Chic)
Supporting Cory Wong with Zaska
3 Arena, Dublin with Kodaline, Hudson Taylor and Gabrielle Alpin
Biarritz, France with The Commitments
London, UK with Glen Matlock and Earl Slick
Vicar Street, Dublin with Turning Pirate New Years Eve Show
The Helix, Dublin with Marisha Wallace, Guy Barker and RTE Concert Orchestra
Production and Composition
After training in Music Production in Ireland’s Sound Training Centre and being mentored by Dr Isaac Gibson of SARC Belfast, Kav took to composing for interdisciplinary artistic works and producing her own music for commercial release.
Since her first multidisciplinary development project in 2021, Kav has regularly collaborated with other artists such as Catherine Young Dance Company. Merging both composed vocal motifs, live band and rich vocal improvisations, enriching Catherine Young’s contemporary dance pieces laden with passion and meaning.
Kav composed the soundscapes for her poetry which she performed for Sligo Cairde Festival 2024 and for the Improvised Music Collective in 2025.
Jess Kav is now writing her songs autonomously using Ableton, her Boss MC-505 and her Novation launchpad. She is inspired by Trent Reznor, Finneas, J Dilla, Wendy Carlos and Rick Rubin.
Jess Kav is a founding member of The Dirty Laundry Collective which consists of artists Kate Finegan, Alison Lowry and Laura Sheeran. The collective’s first audio/visual work named “Venous Returns”. This film was commissioned by the National Museum Ireland as an artistic response to the official Mother and Baby Homes Report which stated erroneously the lack of abuse experienced by the women and children who endured such institutions. Their work explored intergenerational trauma, female rage and bodily autonomy.
In these musical compositions Kav explored extended vocal techniques, melancholic harmonies, large vocal layering, claustrophobic soundscapes and pushing against both the top and the bottom boundaries of her vocal range. She was guided and assisted by Laura Sheeran, a fellow musician and director of “Venous Returns” and soundscape mentor Dr Isaac Gibson. This was a personally challenging work, touching on her own intergenerational trauma but all in all, the process provided catharsis and community.
“Venous Returns” was filmed on site in Clarke’s Square of the National Museum, using both cardioid and ambisonic mics to capture the spacial tensions between the enclaves and the wide military square’s booming reverberations and providing an opputinity to exhibit the work as an immersive sound experience.
