Holly Kirby is a singer-songwriter and musician from the Isle of Wight, England. Born in 1990, she begins playing piano, clarinet and singing at the age of ten, and her early interest in music includes practising Enya songs on the piano during school lunchtimes.

Early online activity

Kirby sets up her YouTube channel, alpet07, when she is 16 in 2007. The channel becomes widely viewed, with her videos attracting close to a million total views, the main page viewed more than a hundred thousand times, and a subscriber base of more than three and a half thousand people who receive notifications of new uploads.

Style and influences

Her work moves between Celtic, folk and pop, and she describes herself as open to new ideas and sounds. Her listed influences include Enya, Clannad, Joni Mitchell, Tanita Tikaram, Suzanne Vega, Loreena McKennitt, Sharleen Spiteri, Dido and Sandy Denny.

Performances and television

Kirby appears as Enya on the British television programme Stars In Their Eyes Kids in 2006, performing “Orinoco Flow”. She receives congratulations from Enya after the performance, and her work also draws comment from Alan Rickman and a tweet from Ashton Kutcher. She performs live in settings ranging from busking to concert audiences of several hundred, and she also gives solo performances supporting Joan Armatrading.

Festivals and recordings

She appears at Wickham Folk Festival, Bestival and the Isle of Wight Festival. After a break in songwriting, she releases the album The House, which includes original material and a version of the traditional Irish song “Star of the County Down”. The album has seven tracks and reflects a move towards music connected with Ireland, which she describes as the country of her ancestors.

Availability

Kirby makes her original music available through her official website, hollykirbymusic.com.