Davy Kettyles may have arrived late in life to the alternative-country music scene but this Belfast based, singer/songwriter has not arrived empty handed.

Over the last four years he has recorded three albums. “Flags and Union Banners” 2016. “Shackles and Chains” 2019 and now, “The Great Red Wall Album” in 2020. His songs are strong on social commentary and have an unmistakable left-wing angle to them. A musical angle that comes from forty years of trade union, community and political activism in Ireland and Britain.

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Lyrically he has the wordsmith qualities of Dylan and Cohen, coupled with an uncanny ability to compose earworm melodies time after time. None of the 30 songs on these three albums sound remotely alike. He has the musical gift that moves the heart and stirs the soul as he sings about real life topics as they happen. Most who have experienced his music videos like “Humanity”, “No Tears at Your Grave” or Grenfell Tower – Voices for the Dead are moved to tears by their sheer poetry and brilliant imagery. 

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His song “For Leonard Cohen" (musical inspiration for this Enniskillen born musician) is a masterclass in word assembly, constructing  a song comprising thirty of Cohen’s greatest hits, with an unmistakable 'Cohenest' refrain. The video that accompanies this tune covers the life of this great man and is a favourite of Cohen fans worldwide. No easy feat, I might add.

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Music was always in Davy Kettyles blood, his father Cecil was a big band leader in the 1950’s, and later went on to form the highly acclaimed “Sky-Rockets Showband” in Ireland. Cecil was a mighty music man for 50 years until his passing in 2000 and undoubtedly Davy is his father’s son. It was only in 2015 when he had a chance meeting with his music producer, Gregor “G-Man” McPhie at 'The HQ Glasgow' recording studio, did the music come to the fore in Davy's life. Like a dam that burst, the music stored within him has come gushing out, and now runs like a river to the sea, forming an ocean of great melody and verse.

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“The Great Red Wall Album” enters the world on November 7th 2020. It has ten highly polished tracks, featuring a range of outstanding Scottish and Irish musicians. From Scotland, G-Man on guitar, bass, drums and percussion, Tony Graham on sax and keyboards and Alison McNeil on fiddle. From Ireland, Catherine Dunne on viola and accordion and of course Davy Kettyles on acoustic guitar and vocals.

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Davy has already started working on his fourth album, "The Silence of the Tongues" due out in mid-2021. He has almost half of that project completed already, and has another seven songs already written and awaiting the opportunity to record them at 'The HQ Glasgow' with his friend and mentor, Mr McPhie.