The band was originally formed by soul singer Gráinne McCarthy & guitarist/bassist Kevin Healy. They started out as a couple and quickly started writing together. Their union kindled a passion that they both had prior to meeting.

Grá grew up as a typical 90’s kid listening to Bubblegum Pop, citing All Saints, Backstreet Boys and The Spice Girls as some of her favourite groups. However alongside this she was lucky to be exposed to the more mature music that her sisters and parents were listening to. In particular she got a (censored) copy of The Fugees album The Score at a young age and her fascination with Hip-Hop and R&B began. Lauryn Hill really caught her attention and by the time The Miseducation came out Grá was enthralled by Hill’s lyrics,  vocals, and melodies. It is still her favourite album today. In addition to this, her parents were listening to Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Otis Redding and Van Morrison. She began her music education and started to write poetry and songs at a tender age.

Since then she completed several years vocal training under Andres Martorell, Judith Mok and Gemma Sugrue. She completed one year CPD Songwriting course in BIMM, Dublin honing her songwriting skills. She has been singing professionally for over a decade with LaGracia performing both original and cover music, a long time member of Discovery Gospel Choir, as a background singer with Danny G & The Major 7ths and leading the party band The Mass Band.

With Discovery Gospel Choir, Gráinne has provided backing vocals for artists such as Gemma Hayes, The Hot House Flowers, Kíla and The Waterboys, including performances on The Late Late Show and New Year’s Eve Show.

Kevin on the other hand grew up listening to country music such as Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks from his parents and was educated in Rock and Indie from his brothers and peers. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers are still his favourite band today and have heavily influenced his guitar and bass playing. He was also a huge Michael Jackson fan from a young age and was lucky enough to attend the “HIStory” tour in 1997. 

Kevin quickly began playing bass in an Indie Rock band The Antics, performing all over the country, a support slot for The Coronas and they won “Swithwicks Stars of our Bars” competition in 2010. He later studied and completed a certificate in sound engineering in the Academy of Sound, Dublin which helped to develop his production skills . Kevin also played and recorded bass for Emma O’ Reilly and performed with her at the Mondo Festival in New York in 2017.

They met somewhere in the middle of Rock, Soul and R&B and blended their influences together to create an unique sound.

Playlist Featuring Gráinne and Kevin

LaGracia

LaGracia are about to release their first Christmas song “Please Come Home” available from December 20th 2024.

They released their debut single “Don’t You Ever Leave” in 2015 as a tribute to Kevin’s cousin who was battling cancer at the time. All proceeds from the sale of the single and the release were donated to her and her family at the time.

It is a very personal piece inspired by relationships and has a strong soul and motown influence . For this reason, LaGracia collaborated with singers from Dublin’s "Discovery Gospel Choir" to achieve that authentic gospel sound. It also features Johnny Taylor (keyboards) and Richard Ng (saxophone). The single was recorded at Bluebird Studios Straffan.

The followed up with their Debut EP “No One’s Fool” in 2021, recorded in Temple Lane Studios with Michael Gormley and additional recording with Leo Logan in Vibes Studios. They moved away from the traditional soul sound to an edgier vibe with influences from 90’s RnB, Janelle Monae and Solange. They collaborated with G Frequency (Gar), a hip hop producer and bassist who played bass and co-produced the EP. The bulk of the instruments were recorded at Temple Lane with Dennis Cassidy on drums, Tom McGlynn on electric guitar, Kevin on acoustic guitar and and Gar on bass. Gráinne recorded her vocals with Leo Logan in Vibes studio and Jesse Chandler (Midlake) provided Mellotron, rhodes, hammond organ remotely in Texas.

The name of the EP came from one of the 4 tracks, one of their earlier compositions. It seemed to encompass the entire feeling of the EP. It feels like a break up album and Gráinne is telling us “I’ll be no one’s fool, I’m moving on, moving forward and I am relying on myself from now on”. She says “There were situations and relationships that were toxic in my life around the time of writing the songs and I either let go of them fully, or I no longer allowed them to bother me”.

Press Quotes

"LaGracia's debut single is a fine piece of not only soul and R&B, but southern gospel music, vocally McCarthy is in the (happy!) half-way house between Dusty Springfield's 'You Don't Own Me' and Aretha Franklin's '(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman', with more than easy on the ear velvet vocals"

  • Remy's Music and Film Blog.

"Say" is a really funky new track by LaGracia with vocals that would remind you of Destiny's Child"

  • Stevie G - Red FM


    "Believing" by Danny G and the Major 7ths - "The opening track certainly gets you Believing from the off, with gorgeously layered vocals & a beautifully soulful contribution from Gráinne McCarthy"

  • Golden Plec