J.S. Ondara, known mononymously as Ondara, is a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-nominated

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

n and American singer-songwriter, whose debut album, ''Tales of America'', was released on February 15, 2019 via

Verve Forecast Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * '' The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee h ...

. The critical success of the debut led to a follow-up deluxe edition, ''Tales of America: The Second Coming'', in September 2019 featuring the original lineup plus five bonus tracks.

Biography

Ondara was born in August 1992 in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya. As a child, he wrote poems and stories as well as songs despite not having an instrument to play them on because his family could not afford one. He was inspired by

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

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Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

, and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

. Ondara grew up listening to rock songs on his older sisters’ battery-powered radio. Having discovered ''

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963, by Columbia Records. Whereas his self-titled debut album ''Bob Dylan'' had contained only two original songs, this a ...

'' following a dispute with a friend over whether "

Knockin' on Heaven's Door "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, written for the soundtrack of the 1973 film '' Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid''. Released as a single two months after the film's premiere, it became a worldwide hit, ...

" was a

song, Ondara resolved to travel to the

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to pursue a career in music. In February 2013, after winning in the green card lottery, Ondara moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

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at the age of 20. He taught himself to play guitar and perform during open mic nights. Eventually, he decided to study music therapy in college, but dropped out of school to return to playing small shows at coffee houses after attending a concert.

Musical career

After moving to Minnesota, Ondara tried his hand at making music and performing in small venues. His big break came when Minneapolis-St. Paul radio station KCMP 89.3 The Current, located in St. Paul, played one of his songs on air by pulling audio from his

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel, where he had been uploading covers of his favorite songs. Ondara's debut album, ''Tales of America'', was released in February 2019 by Verve Label Group. Despite only 11 tracks making the final tracklist, Ondara wrote more than 100 songs for the album, all based on an immigrant's life in America. The album was produced by

Mike Viola Michael Anthony Viola (born September 26, 1966) is an American producer, musician, songwriter, and singer, best known for his work with Panic! at the Disco, Andrew Bird, Ryan Adams, J.S. Ondara, Mandy Moore, and Jenny Lewis. His original music h ...

of the Candy Butchers. In support of the album, Ondara embarked on his first headlining tour in March 2019. After the release of the album, Ondara debuted on Billboard's Emerging Artist chart at No. 37 in March 2019. The album also landed on the ''Billboard''

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Album, Americana/Folk Album Sales, and Rock Album Sales charts. He was nominated for Best Emerging Act at the 2019

Americana Music Honors & Awards The Americana Music Honors & Awards is the marquee event for the Americana Music Association. Beginning in 2002, the Americana Music Association honors distinguished members of the music community. Six member-voted awards and several Lifetime A ...

. Ondara cites

as his musical hero, which is why he chose to live in Minnesota, and why he wears his signature fedora. He has toured with the

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and in 2019, he opened for select dates on tour with

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

. In early 2020, he opened for

The Lumineers The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing to ...

on their III world tour. Ondara was nominated for 'Best Americana Album' at the

62nd Annual Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Ali ...

for his album, ''Tales of America''. In May of 2023, it was announced that Ondara was the Grand Prize winner of the 202
International Songwriting Competition
(ISC) for the song "An Alien In Minneapolis."

Discography

Album

* ''Tales of America'' (2019) * ''Folk N' Roll, Vol 1: Tales of Isolation'' (2020) * ''Spanish Villager No. 3'' (2022)

Singles

References

External links

J.S. Ondara's official websiteVideo for American Dream
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ondara, J.S. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American folk singers American male singer-songwriters Singers from Minneapolis Singer-songwriters from Minnesota Musicians from Nairobi