If R.E.M. and Bryan Adams were having a fireside acoustic jam session hosted by The Tragically Hip, you’d have Kentucky.

Kentucky, the musical project of Canadian artist Jordan Holman, is emerging like a quiet signal cutting through late-night static. His songs—a quicksilver blend of acoustic rock, indie folk, and subtle ’90s alternative glow—carry stories shaped by extremes: from near-death hushes to the hard-won hope of second chances. Influences like The Tragically Hip, Bryan Adams, Bruce Springsteen, and R.E.M. whisper in his ear, but it’s Holman’s own voice—an unwavering tenor wrapped around each thoughtful chord—that draws listeners closer. Having performed over 100 times across Ontario, Quebec, and his birthplace of Edmonton, Alberta, Kentucky’s music takes on a living presence in these spaces, forging connections at once both intimate and universal. His forthcoming debut album, Second Chance Music, distills this experience into a testament of resilience and renewal, and reminds us that sometimes a song is all it takes to guide us back to the light.

Kentucky is the musical project of Canadian singer-songwriter Jordan Holman, based in Almonte, Ontario. Drawing on a rich tapestry of influences that includes R.E.M., The Tragically Hip, Peter Gabriel, and Bruce Springsteen, Kentucky’s music blends the raw power of acoustic rock with the introspection of indie folk. Known for his soaring vocals and dynamic guitar work, Kentucky creates songs that explore themes of resilience, transformation, and second chances.

Holman’s journey is as compelling as his music. After surviving a near-death experience in 2020, he embraced a mission to create music that speaks to the raw truths of life, love, and redemption. His upcoming debut album, Second Chance Music (set for release in Spring 2025), chronicles his transformation, balancing gritty honesty with an enduring sense of hope. Tracks like “Santa Fe” and “Runway” showcase his ability to weave deeply personal stories into universal anthems.

Since debuting as Kentucky in 2023, Holman has independently released nine singles, including “Wonder” and “America, The Beautiful,” and has performed over 100 shows across Ontario, Quebec, and his birthplace of Edmonton, Alberta. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, he writes, records, produces, mixes, and masters all his music, building a reputation for authenticity and artistry.

Kentucky’s live performances are a testament to his talent and passion, combining unfiltered storytelling with electrifying stage presence. His audience spans generations, drawn to his ability to connect deeply through his music and his story. With his debut album and a series of exciting projects on the horizon—including a houseboat tour and festival appearances—Kentucky is bringing back the magic and mystery of rock and roll, one song at a time.

In a dim corner of a small-town kitchen, the old radio still hums—its dial gently drifting, as if searching for whispered secrets buried between distant stations.

This is where Jordan Holman, known to the world as Kentucky, sets the stage for something that feels almost otherworldly, like a signal carried on a faint, ethereal frequency.

Based now in Almonte, Ontario, he finds himself drawn to transmissions arriving at odd hours—fully formed melodies, instructions in dream language, or fragments of lyric caught in that charged space just before dawn.

Born in Edmonton, he was raised with music woven deep into the fabric of his childhood, and by his teenage years, he’d traded the violin for a guitar, staying up late to dissect records as if they contained some ancient magic. He once traveled across Canada, the U.S., and even the U.K., performing in DIY bands, savouring a deal with Universal Music Canada, and glimpsing the big stages he’d always imagined.

Yet that initial taste of stardom proved illusory, slipping away until life itself nearly slipped from his grasp.

When his heart stopped in 2020, it was a sudden hush on the airwaves—terrifying, but also an opening for a new signal to break through.

Kentucky emerged in 2023, marked by the debut single, “Wonder,” a piece of music that captured something beyond mere sound: a bittersweet glow, a rekindling of an old, essential magic that once made the great artists seem touched by other worlds. Eight more releases followed, including “America, The Beautiful,” each one like an artifact from that mystical static, part of a carefully charted path leading from darkness toward a more illuminated horizon.

By 2024, Kentucky’s live performances—over 100 shows across Ontario, Quebec, and back home in Edmonton—carried a visceral energy. Just a man, his guitar, and an audience, all drifting together toward a shared frequency. He works alone, writing, producing, mixing, and mastering his songs, guided by influences such as R.E.M., The Tragically Hip, and Peter Gabriel.

Through acoustic rock and indie folk, he seeks to restore the elusive enchantment that once adorned music, reminding us that art can transcend time and place, whispering universal truths with a spectral elegance.

Now, with the debut album Second Chance Music slated for Spring 2025, Kentucky stands at the threshold of something both deeply personal and curiously timeless. Tracks like “No More Tomorrows” and “The First Day of the Rest of My Life” share not just stories of survival and rebirth, but a tangible sense that in these notes lie old spells rekindled.

He plans a houseboat tour of the Rideau Canal and festival appearances that will invite listeners to feel, rather than simply hear, these transmissions.

The songs ask only that we tune our ears and hearts toward something half-remembered—an artistry steeped in hushed wonder and ancient possibility.

Later, as dusk settles, the radio’s soft crackle continues to search the airwaves.

In its static and silence, we sense the presence of Kentucky’s music, reverberating as if from another realm.

It’s more than music; it’s a bridge built of notes and dreams, leading us back toward a magic once believed lost, now flickering again in the twilight.