James Keegan Unveils New Single ‘Feeling Grey (Teaching Our Teachers)

Few tracks radiate the kind of heartfelt confidence James Keegan delivers on ‘Feeling Grey (Teaching Our Teachers)’. It’s a song that doesn’t beg for attention—it commands it, gently but firmly, through tone and texture.

Lifted from his forthcoming debut EP, Teaching Our Teachers, captures the liminal space between youthful reflection and hard-earned artistic self-awareness. Keegan’s sound—rooted in folk-pop tradition but lit up with indie urgency—lands with a clarity that feels both nostalgic and contemporary. There’s vulnerability here, but it’s worn with the poise of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing.

The production, helmed by Christian Best at Cork’s Monique Recording Studios, is subtly ambitious. The track unfurls with steady confidence: chiming guitars, cleanly layered harmonies, and rhythmic drive form a scaffold for Keegan’s distinctive vocal tone. There’s a warmth in his delivery that recalls early Villagers, while the melodic instincts edge closer to the stadium-folk sheen of Vance Joy. But it’s the song’s hook that cuts deepest—an elegant, accessible earworm that burrows in quietly, then refuses to leave.

Lyrically, ‘Feeling Grey’ walks a tightrope between introspection and universality. Keegan's reflections on outgrowing youth and questioning formative influences carry an honesty that’s rare for someone still only 21. “It’s about growing up…reflecting on my youth as I grew to the mature age of 19,” he says with self-aware wit. But there’s no flippancy in the delivery; the message hits harder because it's unembellished. You feel the years between childhood and creative independence pressing in on the verses—subtle, but unmistakable.

There’s added texture from the players behind him, notably the band of Mick Flannery, adding both pedigree and emotional gravity. Their presence lends a grounded, lived-in feel to the arrangement, as if the instrumentation itself carries its own set of memories. Across the upcoming EP, this collaboration looks set to bolster Keegan’s sound, anchoring his soaring choruses with seasoned intuition. It’s folk-pop, not as comfort food, but as conversation, earnest, insistent, and refreshingly unpolished in its sentiment.

As singles go, ‘Feeling Grey (Teaching Our Teachers)’ is a quietly impressive flex from a songwriter entering a rich creative stride. Keegan may still be early in his journey, but with four iTunes chart-toppers, a relentless tour schedule, and a voice that feels instantly familiar yet undeniably his own, the signs are all pointing one way. This isn’t just a breakout artist—you get the feeling James Keegan has been watching, learning, and teaching all along.