Disco pop singer-songwriter Keegan James will perform at Tulip Fest in Albany on May 9, and debut his latest single, “Sea Level.”
Courtesy of Keegan James
Keegan James brings his signature blend of disco pop and soul to Tulip Fest on Saturday, May 9.
Courtesy of Keegan James
Billy Joel. Theater. Disco and roller skates.
These are the sources of inspiration for Albany singer-songwriter Keegan James. Since releasing his first single a year ago, James has steadily developed his brand of eclectic pop. Now, with a handful of songs to his name, James will play his most notable show to date when he performs at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Tulip Festival, Albany’s signature outdoor event.
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For James, discovering himself as a person and artist has been a “very windy road.” The Tulip Fest gig is just the next step in his journey.
That path started as a kid growing up in Amsterdam (New York, not the Netherlands), where he realized he had an aptitude for music.
“My teachers noticed I excelled in arts over academics,” James said. “Around the age of 12, I started writing songs and my parents bought me a piano. Well, it was Christmas, so Santa brought me it.”
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“I’m a very intuitive person and started playing around and found my own groove,” he continued.
These tween-age attempts at songcraft were the start of “settling into the dream” of a career in music. But at that time, James felt “playing music and being famous went hand in hand, and that was really daunting.” So he moved away from songwriting and pursued musical theater as a high schooler, and for a time, it felt like that would be his calling.
“Theater was a great place to build social skills, reading, even math in a more kinesthetic way,” James said. “I did theater until I was 17 and intended to go to college for theater.”
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That’s when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and for James, “going to school for a theater degree at a time when society started to unravel” didn’t make sense. Stuck at home with no real options, James took his roller skates out of the closet and spent the next five years “really grinding.”
The skating world took him out of the Capital Region to Florida and then California, where he ended up connecting with online skating influencers. James’ wheeled endeavors brought him to New York City in 2022, where he was cast in DiscOasis, a disco-dancing, roller-skating outfit created by the legendary Nile Rodgers. Through this, he made appearances on Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live!” and Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show.
While the roller-skating life was cool, James felt himself “gravitating back toward being a musical artist.” He moved back to the Capital Region and began the process of figuring out who he is as a musician.
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At first, James was thinking his aesthetic would be “campy disco — but I knew that wasn’t sustainable.” Drawing inspiration from the Billy Joel standard “New York State of Mind,” Candi Staton’s 1976 soul classic “Young Hearts Run Free,” Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass and Adele, he developed his own voice.
“It’s really classic pop, late ’80s, early ’90s Billy Joel and Lionel Richie,” James said. “I had to learn to blend all my influences together to figure out how I am. I’m still figuring out who I am to this day, it requires a lot of playing around and workshopping. I’m eclectic and still evolving.”
Part of that evolution involves ensuring queer and neurodivergent artists such as himself have a safe space to create and feel welcomed. To that end, he and his friend, local indie-pop singer-songwriter Shannon Tehya, started Troupe Productions. Through that, they launched an inclusivity-focused project called Indie Whims, which will be hosting live performances from themselves and 518 emcee Aila Chiar at the September’s Too venue in Albany on May 22.
Of course, the other part of the evolution is musical, and Tulip Fest marks the next phase in James’ musical maturation.
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The show will mark the premiere of his new single “Sea Level,” a track with a “positive, forward focused message.” His performance will also be his first playing with a full band as opposed to a backing track. James and his cohorts have been rehearsing for the show and the collaboration has been “like I could never have envisioned,” and breathing new life into his songs along the way.
“It’s been a long, difficult and happy road that’s required a lot of mental work, therapy and finding a community,” he said. “I needed to find a community and friends to enrich my life and I did. I have these talented friends, and we support each other and work together; it’s been the best thing to help me find myself. I feel myself approaching the person and artist I envisioned being.”