Declan McKenna

Born in Enfield, London, England on December 24, 1988, singer/songwriter Declan McKenna weds an indie rock sonic approach to socially conscious, often politically charged lyrics, an approach that has led some to tag him with the label “voice of a generation”. Choosing to abandon higher studies for a music career, Declan McKenna won the Emerging Talent Competition at the 2015 Glastonbury Festival, and used that momentum to release his debut single, “Brazil”. The track addressed the corruption of FIFA, the international governing body of soccer and organizers of the World Cup and became an alt-rock hit. A pair of EPs – Stains and Liar - followed the next year, as well as singles like “Paracetamol”, which detailed the struggles of transgender teens, and “Isombard”, which took shots at the influence of right-wing media. His 2017 debut LP, What Do You Think About the Car?, won him the BBC Music Award for BBC Introducing Artist of the Year. Celebrity did not blunt his political stances, as proven by the 2019 single “British Bombs”, a critique of his country’s approach to foreign policy. In 2020, he issued “Beautiful Faces”, the lead single for his sophomore album, Zeros, which came out later that year. In 2023, he released a series of singles – “Sympathy,” “Nothing Works,” and “Elevator Hum” – which were scheduled to be included on his third full length album, What Happened to the Beach?, which was scheduled to be released in February 2024.

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