From a blues rock cover band in the Baggot Inn, busking on Grafton Street, performing throughout the country at festivals with a Soul band to sitting in a lock in with voice and guitar – The following information details my subjective biography!

There’s always been a fairly big influence of music in my life – probably aided by my Mum who got a scholarship to the Royal Irish Academy of Music. I think I entered every single singing show on our family holidays on the Shannon aswell as playing every part I could get my hands on in primary school. The teenage ‘big break’ was the Blackrock Opera in 1999 when I was in fifth year performing as Mary Magdalene in the musical 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. It was a taste of south side Dublin fame for a year which I enjoyed to a point until our ego’s forgot that this was only a school production, didn't stop the relentless dreaming though.

My first song was written after a pretty horrendous breakup in sixth year and the wilting musician in me was born. Following the musical the year before, I received a phone call from Tadhg Murphy to join him in co-writing and performing one of his own songs with his blues rock cover band. I was seventeen and gigging in the Baggot Inn which was the highlight of the exam obsessed sixth year.

In October 2000 I started in the notorious Trinity college to study science – an unusual choice for any wannabe musician but I am unfailingly an Irish woman with the need to have a realistic path to ‘fall back on’. However, it turned out to be a haven for my development with science as a faculty harbouring bundles of hidden musical talent. I continued gigging with the blues rock cover band and in my second year teamed up with two other guys – Brian Savage (previously Jesus in the Opera) and Mark Duffy a great guitarist – to earn our trade busking the challenging environs of Grafton Street. I must say it’s a productive thing to do for someone who'd often succumb to stage fright. Two minutes performing on an open street will knock the fear very quickly out of you. 

Then Mark, Brian and I formed a group writing and performing original blues based music based for about a year. When we finally moved our separate directions I picked up my badly constructed music and guitar and played solo. At first it took several glasses of wine to allow this as it was the first time I was truly exposed to the public outside of my loyal friends.

My first studio recording came as a present from my sister for Electra Studios in Temple Bar with two of my original songs which the blues rock band recorded with me. I soon realized that coordinating several amateur musicians with un-recorded material was very difficult and the product was forgivable but a great experience. Another recording was with Mark and Brian on some of our collaborated songs with Brendan Sheeran who was to become my guitar teacher and general life mentor throughout the years since my final year in Trinity.

When I completed my degree I joined the workforce of Ireland and in February 2005 I reunited with the initial blues rock cover band, who renamed as 'Marie Keane and The Magic Tones'. With the introduction of the keyboard and trumpet players, the band delved into different genres from motown to light jazz with impressive success playing the Sugar Club, Whelans the Village and the RDS for the inaugural 'Music Ireland Live' convention.

The world of Soul opened up to me and I subsequently worked with 'Cantaloupe' and ‘The Conspirators’ singing from motown, soul, ska, latin and jazz. Then In April 2006 my dominant covers band formed under the title ‘Marie Keane’s Soul Purpose’ and I negotiated and booked festivals and venues all over the country from a residency in the Gaiety, the Festival of World Culture, the Cork Jazz Festival, the Bray Jazz Festival to the Dublin City Soul Festival and the event manager in me was born.

During early 2006, I began vocal coaching for the first time, blossoming under the tutelage of Honor Heffernan, Irelands leading Jazz vocalist. In late 2006 I formed a trio including Eoin Grace (trumpet) and Donal Sweeney (bass). This was an fruitful and complimentary combination where we arranged, developed and recorded four of my original songs as a demo EP. This was the first time the material I had written was allowed to take on an artistic level - and I liked it, alot!

During 2006 I had qualified as an Event Manager and continued to work in the industry until taking a break to climb (and summit) Mount Kilimanjaro over New Years 2007. My resolution for 2008 was to once again pick up the baton and persevere in performing my original material alongside a return to a career in Environmental Science.

So basically, for the years to come, I have a plan outlined for my original music project and look forward to reaching anyone who wishes to enjoy it.