Andrew Kavanagh and Andrew Glover are childhood friends who grew up in Artane, Dublin. Harry Sullivan and James Lock were also friends who grew up in London, England and moved to Ireland in 2011 as full time members of the band. After the English members had joined the Irish, the band began their journey. Starting off by busking on the streets of Galway, Ireland, they cut their teeth singing cover songs in their own style while working hard writing their own material. They soon had amassed enough original songs and enough street experience to start busking in Grafton Street, Dublin. This was where they forged their reputation in Ireland, gaining notable radio play and selling out theatre shows all while still performing on the street. After breaking through the Irish mainstream media Keywest began taking their show on the road, performing on streets around the UK, Europe and America, quickly building a modest but enthusiastic fanbase everywhere they went. Having achieved over 20 million streams online, the band caught the attention of numerous record labels in 2018. They signed with Marshall Records in late 2018, subsequently linking with Eleven Seven Records for all things US.
2012: ''The Message''
The band released their debut albumThe Message through Irish indie label Alphastar Records. The album peaked at No.15 in the Irish charts and No.2 on the iTunes chart. It was self produced and engineered by Mark Needham, whose credits include The Killers, Katy Perry, Fleetwood Mac, Neon Trees and Dan Frampton. The album was a double CD debut release for the band with CD1 being the main album and CD2 being the Undelivered EP, which showcases the band's acoustic side. The Message featured the singles "Back Into Your Arms", "Feels So Cruel", "In the Fight for Love" and "Straight Through My Heart". The singles did very well on Irish radio and soon earned Keywest the title of Ireland's most played Irish independent artist of 2012. The Message is now a triple-platinum selling album in Ireland. In 2012 Keywest were Nominated for Best New Act at the Meteor Awards and The Message was nominated for Best Debut Album in the Hotpress Hotties awards. 2012 also saw the band sign a worldwide publishing deal in Los Angeles with publishing giants Peermusic.
2013: ''Electric Love'' EP
The band followed up their debut album with the Electric Love EP, which featured the title track and single "Electric Love". Electric Love went straight to number one in the Irish charts and was released independently through the band's own label "Sonic Realm" records.
2015: ''Joyland''
Keywest released their second album 'Joyland on 25 September 2015 which went straight in at number 2 in the Official Irish Chart. It climbed to the top spot the following week going to Number 1. This was the same week that they appeared on the front cover of Irelands biggest music magazine Hot Press. Joyland was very popular in Ireland, containing the singles "All My Mistakes", "Carousel", "This Is Heartbreak" and "Apple Tree Hill". 2014 and 2015 saw the band win the 98fm award for Dublin's best street artist and in 2015 the band won the Hot Press Hotties award for Ireland's most promising artist.
2018: ''True North''
The bands third album, titled True North was released on 30 March 2018. It entered the Irish charts at number 3, reaching number 1 on the Independent Music Chart. Keywest earned three nominations at the 2018 Irish Post Music Awards for Best Song, Best Album and Best Band.
