Oen Kennedy was weaned on West African and South Indian music, having spent his early years overseas. He has been writing songs since 1969 covering manifold subjects, especially love. Besides birds, which are a long- standing, chronic source of joy, his obsessions include tunnels (especially underwater tunnels), Bach fugues, vortices, Sequoias, Blue-black spider wasps, Vincent Van Gogh, Sea Otters, tsunamis, Mandelbrot Images, Armadillos, and perpetual motion, Oen believes that the greatest truth is compassion, but that the universe is older than truth.
Oen has a B.A. in English from Colby College, an M.A. in Expressive Therapies from Leslie College, and a national music therapy certification (CMT). He worked at the Perkins School for the Blind for 11 years, and now practices music therapy in a private practice as well as teaching extensively at local area music schools. "More than any other artist I know, Oen''s music is his vocation in the truest sense of the word. With his miraculous spirit and joyously beautiful music, he gives voice to the subjects of his song, whether it is a young injured bird, a wolf in the wilderness, a friend in need, or the earth itself. And when he opens his mouth to sing it is as if there was something beyond him that is singing through him. He is the most efficient instrument for transmitting joy that I have ever witnessed." JOHN BOEHMER Following his first acoustic 'open mic' in January of 1999, booking calls started flooding in from many area venues. Kennedy released his debut album "Aluminum Green" in June of 2001 to a packed house at Club Passim, and instantly received regular airplay from local radio stations. He completed his second CD "Live at Club Passim 6-20-01" within six months of "Aluminum Green", released his third CD,"Slow Food" in 2007,which carries the Boston Folkfest Songwriter Contest winner,Annapurna, and his 4th release ?Oook?, in October 2008.