Jason Kirkness

About

Jason Kirkness had an amazing 2017 and has proven once again that he is one of Manitoba’s hardest working and most talented country stars.  It’s a distinction he has earned over many years of touring and performing as an independent artist.  This year alone he released and promoted a brand new record including dozens of TV and radio appearances as well as a 60 minute spot on Dauphin Country Fest main stage and the Boots & Hearts main stage.  This never say die attitude garnered him 4 nominations at the MCMA Awards (Best Male Artist, Single, Album and Video) in November and a performance on the broadcast.

Success has been ten years in the making for Jason Kirkness. His first tour dates as a solo artist stem back to 2007 when he was transitioning from a touring classic rock/country/casino act living his “life on the road” to becoming the country music recording artist he is today. Fast forward ten years. with more then two full years as a resident of Music City, Nashville, TN, one full album, two EPs and a live album have brought Kirkness to the point where he’s ready to release a new album, A Beautiful Disaster and its first single “Whiskey Kiss."

Early on Jason was already becoming a musician with diverse roots. As a young boy, he started off playing classical piano and doing recitals. His father was educating him on Led Zeppelin, Santana, Alabama, Jerry Reid and Johnny Cash. In the early 90s, he connected with the sound of Seattle and the “angsty” punk rock inspired songs of that time. Then, in the early 2000s, Keith Urban’s Golden Road album brought Jason immediately back to country music as the sound of country music had changed to reflect a more interesting musical and lyrical approach than some of the 90s counter parts.

Kirkness signed his first label deal in 2010 with MDM/Universal/EMI, after only three years of writing and recording. It was during this time that he released four singles from his debut album Life on the Road, “Run Me Away,” “Send My Heart,” “No Cowboy” and the hit song “Leavin’.” Several of these songs have remained regional radio and club/bar staples. 

In 2013, Jason went independent and began creating a new album. He was renting a second home in Nashville, TN and began working with producer, Sean Power, at the Hilson Studio. Traditionally, music in a Nashville studio is played live off the floor with a studio band, a vocal is then finished and the song is mixed. Jason looked more to his 90’s roots and took a non-traditional approach layering the instruments one by one with Sean and himself playing the vast majority of the instruments.

By 2016 the vision for "A Beautiful Disaster" was complete. Now, as he is readying to release his most-accomplished work to date, Jason Kirkness is finally realizing his potential as an artist.