Kevin Elam is a multi-instrumentalist and 2019 All-Ireland Champion in Men's Singing. Although he boasts a strong background in classical piano and a degree in Jazz studies, Kevin is rooted in Irish traditional music. In addition to playing the tin whistle, guitar, mandolin and banjo, Kevin has also honed his skills as a singer and interpreter of Irish traditional song, cultivating a significant repertoire of ballads. This intensive practice and study of the tradition were formally recognized in August of 2019, when he was awarded first place in Men's English Singing at the 2019 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, held in Drogheda, Ireland, and took home the coveted “Dalaigh Shield”, an award only won by one other American in its 65-year history.
In addition to his title in Men's Singing, Kevin has also won second place medals in accompaniment (2022) and newly composed songs (2023) at the All-Ireland Fleadh. He is also a highly decorated competitor back home at the CCE Mid-Atlantic Fleadh, including nine first-place awards (tin whistle, singing, accompaniment, newly composed songs, piano, and miscellaneous instrument).
Over the past several years, Kevin has enjoyed a consistent schedule of performing at house concerts, pubs, museums, churches, concert series, and festivals, in the DC area and beyond. Performance credits include AMP by Strathmore, Hylton Performing Arts Center, the Music Center at Strathmore, the Fairfax CCE Irish Folk Fest, the Washington Folk Fest, the Takoma Park Folk Fest, the Virginia Scottish Games, Appaloosa Festival, the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Art, and many more. Kevin has also toured extensively with Scottish National Fiddle Champion Sean Heely, performing throughout the South, Mid-Atlantic and New England. Kevin can be heard playing and singing on Mondays at the weekly session at the Irish Inn in Glen Echo, and at a variety of other DC area sessions.
Kevin greatly enjoys sharing his knowledge and insight with students, and has given classes and workshops on traditional music at the Washington Conservatory of Music (DC), Mississippi Celtic Festival (Jackson, MS), Schoodic Arts Center (Winter Harbor, ME), Seven Stars Arts Center (Sharon, VT), and many more. In 2024, Kevin is joining once again the prestigious faculty of DC's premiere Irish traditional music festival, MAD week. Kevin has taught in a variety of settings with both children and adults, including as a group piano instructor, rock band coach, and treble choir director. Kevin is also a passionate and skilled private teacher, and maintains a studio of about 25 piano students.
Kevin stays quite busy with other musical pursuits outside of the Irish traditional music scene. Holding a BM in Jazz Piano from George Mason University, Kevin performs regularly as a keyboardist in jazz and popular styles in the DC area. He has also developed a reputation as a skilled chamber singer, and enjoys singing Renaissance polyphony (as well as other choral works) as a member of the Suspicious Cheese Lords, an all-male “early music” a-capella group, as a paid chorister at the Church of the Ascension and St Agnes, and with his own acapella chamber group, Ars Gratia Populi.