The funniest thing to happen to folk music since the banjo!
In no particular order Keith has been described as -
- a great singer-songwriter
- a stunning storyteller
- a fine guitarist
- a superbly original stand-up
- a kids' entertainer par excellence
- the cleanest comic I’ve ever seen
Keith is available to play: festivals and clubs, nurseries and schools, arts centres and theatres, colleges and universities, TV and radio, after dinner entertainment and parties, corporate and charity events throughout the UK and indeed the world. He plays shows for adults, children and mixed family audiences. Scroll to the bottom of the page for details of his Chritstmas Show.
Stand-up comic, fall-down comedian, surreal snigger-songwriter, guitar-hero, performance-artist, [tall] story-teller, philophoser, scriptwriter, [none can] compere, man-of-mystery, inner-childminder, actor, stuntman, life and soul of the [kids] party, raconteur, author, wit, half-wit, secret[sh!]-agent, [Vauxhall] astral-traveller, Geordie-cultural-attache, word-juggler, unexpected clairvoyant, dream-weaver, daydream believer, psycho-linguist, smile sculptor, [compulsive] lying-tamer, Great-British eccentric, [alleged], champion tiddly-winker, sanddancer, friend to the pantomime horse, and... all-round good egg.
Never, ever, offensive - safe to bring your kids, your mother or your great-great-granny too!
And now Keith is doubling up to duo-land. He is available with the lovely Lauren South. This gives Keith the opportunity to air some of his more serious songs and to play for Lauren's beautiful singing.
Also availabe: DONNELLY & SOUTH'S CHRISTMAS CRACKER
Just in case you were worried he was turning too serious, here's Keith's version of Bohemian Wellerman from his hilarious SHANTYSKEPTIC SHOW
For festivals Keith offers: mainstage one-man-shows, family shows, MC-ing, meet-the-artist, round-robins and workshops (The Bits Between the Songs is his most popular, but there's also The Serious Side of Keith Donnelly, and the Workshop Workshop). He's a veritable one-man festival.
His Shantyskeptic show is new for 2023
Keith also offeres storytelling for children in schools and at festivals and any other events you can imagine.
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The Real Biography
Keith started playing guitar in his teens, on a ‘beaten up old monster’ that his dad had traded with a Norwegian Sailor. He had Classical lessons for a couple of years in South Shields, the perfect grounding for the finger-picking style he went on to develop for accompanying his original songs. Whilst studying (Psychology and Education) at Warwick University he met and teamed up with the Multi-Instrumental Singer Songwriter Martyn Oram, and the two worked for a couple of happy (and poor!) years as Waterfall, eventually becoming a trio when Gilly Derby joined in 1980.
Keith and Gilly worked as Little Aeroplane for a while with a successful album of the same name, before becoming Nothing By Chance. doing numerous national and international tours, culminating in the album ‘Ghosts of Love’ for Chrysalis and their own BBC special (first shown on BBC2 then repeated on BBC1 due to public demand) and had reached ‘Cult Status’ (Keith says this means they made lots of money for other people) by the early 90's.
In his solo projects, from the early nineties onwards, Keith’s comedy genius has been allowed to flourish. He has written substantial live Stand-Up routines and TV material for the likes of Phil Cool and Jasper Carrott, as well as having written for TV companies such as Celador (the 'Who wants to be a Millionaire' people) and Ragdoll (the 'Tellytubbies' people). In the last couple of decades Keith has played at literally hundreds of festivals, colleges and universities, arts centres and theatres, comedy clubs, etc. etc. in the UK and worldwide, as well as being widely in demand for After-Dinner Speaking and Corporate Events. He also script-writes light-hearted speeches for corporate events.
He also runs Storytelling and Music and Song workshops at Stratford YHA and works as often as his schedule allows with nursery and primary schools across the country bringing live music and story to preschool children.
He has worked for one series on BBC 1's Pebble Mill writing and performing a new humorous topical song each week and has done the difficult 'warm-up-man' job on many TV shows and live tours.
Keith and Friend at Warwick Folk Festival in the family concert
GIG LIST
KD = Keith solo
D&S - Donnelly & South
KD = Keith solo
D&S - Donnelly & South
FEBRUARY 2024
Wed 14th D&S
Bedworth FC
Sat 24th KD
Private event
MARCH 2024
Sat 30th KD
Private event
APRIL 2024
Fri 26th D&S
Everyman FolkRiverside Centre, Gt Glemham Road, Stratford St Andrew, Saxmundham, Suffolk IP17 1LL
MAY 2024
Sat 11th May
Folk on the Pier KD
Cromer Pier
JUNE 2024
Sat 1st KD
Unavailable
AUGUST 2024
Sat 10th - 13th
Broadstairs Folk Week D&S
SEPTEMBER 2024
Sat 7th-8th TBC
Swanage Folk Fest
KD
OCTOBER 2024
Unavailable
-o0o-
Donnelly & South's Christmas Cracker
Starts Here!
NOVEMBER 2024
Wed 27th Cottingham Live
The Back Room 173 Hallgate HU16 4BB
DECEMBER 2024
Sun 1st D&S
Scrag End Folk
The Railway Inn, 31 Ashby Road, Moira DE12 6DJ
Sun 8th D&S
Folk on the Moor
The Moorland Hotel, Wotter, Plymouth, PL7 5HP
Wed 11th D&S
Xmas Costa Festival
Hayling Island
Thur 12th KD
Xmas Costa Festival
Hayling Island
2025
Fri 3rd Jan KD
Poynton Phoenix Folk Poynton Royal British Legion, Georges Road West, Poynton, Stockport, Cheshire, SK12 1JY