Corey Kilgannon

Corey Kilgannon maintains a second identity as Radiant Phaedrus and works from Florida as an indie-folk singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Since issuing his first recordings in 2014 he has maintained an intense schedule of releases and near-continuous road work that has built a broad audience throughout the United States and, through online channels, across Europe and Canada. His unadorned stage manner is balanced by emotionally direct lyrics and understated yet memorable melodies.

Although born in New York, Kilgannon grew up in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, where he took up guitar at age eight and began composing songs at thirteen. Professional recording began in late 2012, and his debut appeared two years later as the five-song mini-album The Hollow. Reviewers in the indie-folk community, especially progressive Christian outlets, responded with uniform enthusiasm. He moved his base of operations to Nashville for several years and released the singles “Sister III” and “The More We Find (Sister IV)” before issuing the entirely self-penned Christmas EP Hark, A Solemn Bell Is Ringing. The project drew strong approval inside CCM circles even though Kilgannon made no effort to tailor his music to that market.

The year 2016 proved especially active. He followed the three-track EP She Is Blue Sky, I Am Gray with the five-song Hospital Hymns EP, the single “God the Meteorologist (Sister V),” and the EP I’ll Be Here When the Moon Is Tired, which contained his widely recognized track “The Whale Song” and featured guest appearances by Molly Bush and Penny and Sparrow. Both his Audiotree Live Session and the B-sides compilation Bleeding Out Snow were made available on streaming platforms.

After returning to Jacksonville Beach while keeping his recording and distribution facilities in Nashville, Kilgannon adopted the Radiant Phaedrus name for live performances and production work. The alias allowed him to issue solo acoustic material and to oversee recordings by other independent artists from the region. Under his own name he released the sixteen-track album Don’t Hold God to a Promise He/She Can’t Keep, the single “Wash,” the EP A Disjointed Ode to the End of the World, and the album The Hollow II. The cumulative output and growing draw of his concerts attracted the notice of BuzzAngle Music, which named him one of its Top Artists of 2017.