Kiernan
In the new season of North Country Song Sessions, Eli Gardiner (Gardiner Productions) met with Minneapolis-based musician Kiernan to capture a performance of her song “Otisville” ahead of her appearance in the upcoming Best New Bands show at First Avenue!
Kiernan. Photos by Eli Gardiner, 2025.
The Beginnings of One of the Hottest Up & Coming Bands in Minneapolis
Local band Kiernan is the brainchild of Minneapolis-based musician and songwriter Laura Kiernan on vocals and guitar. After a series of voice memos, Kiernan (the band) came together in 2023 — Nate LeBrun (Humbird, Squinny) on drums, Maddie Thies (anni xo, Joe Bartel, Willow Waters) on bass, and Jared Johnson on guitar. Drawing sound inspirations from the likes of Big Thief, Waxahatchee, and John Prine, their sound and lyrics mix folk with indie rock and a hint of country.
They played their biggest show yet in December 2023, opening for The Last Revel at a sold-out Fine Line. It was after that show that the band got to work recording their first EP, Magnetic North — released in June 10, 2024 to a near sold-out crowd at First Avenue’s 7th Street Entry. Laura, Jared, Nate, and Maddie spent the end of 2024 at Salon Sonics with Holly Hanson and are very excited to release new music in 2025. The band hopes their music “nourishes your ears like a nice hunk of bread just like when feeding pigeons: soft, silly, spacious, and best done with friends.”
Kiernan will hit the mainroom stage this Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, as part of First Avenue’s Best New Bands of 2024 show!
“Otisville”
“This is a song about my ancestors,” says Laura Kiernan. Her grandparents first met in Otisville “at the Catholic Church with a cemetary in front. The cemetery filled with Kiernans. The sanitorium on a hill. All these people inside of me, who made me, who I have never met.”
“Otisville” will be released as a single this upcoming spring/early summer. Watch the video below for a first listen!
Upcoming Minneapolis Shows:
January 31: Best New Bands at First Avenue
February 1: Yellow Ostrich's Winter Shindig at Pillar Forum
March 15: Jacob Mullis, Stolyette, Kiernan at Icehouse (triple release show)
The band will hit the road the first two weeks of May, when they’ll be touring from Minneapolis to Brooklyn!
About the filmmaker / series creator
Eli Gardiner (Gardiner Productions) is a songwriter, photojournalist, and video creator. You can catch him playing shows all over the Midwest with his band or as a solo performer, and he also captures video and photography for local musicians and nonprofits. His passion is Storytelling through music and pictures.
