About

” Guitarist/composer/teacher Aengus Hackett is fast becoming a pivotal figure of the Irish jazz scene. “
Jazziz Magazine, USA

Acclaimed Galway guitarist, composer and producer Aengus Hackett is one of Ireland’s leading jazz musicians. Aengus has performed with the cream of Ireland’s jazz scene such as Mike Nielsen, Tommy Halferty, Conor Guilfoyle, Izumi Kimura, Bill Blackmore, Greg Felton, and Damian Evans, as well as RTÉ Contempo Quartet and leading contemporary ensemble the Colm O’ Hara 10tet.

A versatile musician, Aengus’ creative projects span diverse genres such as jazz, electronica and Javanese gamelan. Many of these are generously funded by the Arts Council.

The Aengus Hackett Trio features some of Ireland’s leading exponents of improvised music. Funded by the MISP award, the band’s debut album was named by Irish Times as one of the Top Irish Jazz Albums of 2024.

Another side of Aengus’ musical persona is Penji, his alias as an electronic music producer. In 2023, he followed up his acclaimed debut EP with his album ‘Future Nostalgia’.
“a flawless first release” – Headstuff
“With this EP, Penji has revealed a knack of merging the ecstatic with the downbeat.” – Journal of Music

In 2020 Aengus released ‘Shimmer‘, a series of works for guitar & electronics exploring improvisation as a compositional process.

Aengus released an album with experimental jazz/folk/rock trio DINOSAUR in 2017. The band played a national tour in 2014 culminating in a performance at the National Concert Hall of Ireland. In 2016, Aengus released an album with experimental post-rock group Zinc.

A graduate of the prestigious Conservatory of Amsterdam, Aengus studied under world-renowned guitarist Jesse Van Ruller and in the US, with the likes of guitarist Wayne Krantz, Curtis Fuller, Pat LaBarbera and Grammy-winner Bobby Shew.

A passionate educator, Aengus has over twenty years experience as a guitar teacher.
In Sept 2025 he joined the staff teaching Javanese Gamelan at The Irish World Academy of Music & Dance at University of Limerick.
An experienced music facilitator, Aengus has two ongoing projects supported by That’s Life, the award-winning disability arts programme:

In Flow is an ensemble project combining Javanese Gamelan, improvisation, electronics and visuals. In Flow has performed at Galway International Arts Festival, Night and Day Festival, Galway Jazz Festival and Arts Council’s Place Matter conference.
In Flow’s debut album ‘New Arrival’ and a documentary about the project were released in May 2022.

Electric Dreams is a diverse band which walks the line between synth pop and indie in their sound, and comes with a message of inclusion and community. A debut album ‘Behind the Mask’ was released to acclaim in 2020.
“one of the catchiest and thrillingly original Irish pop albums of recent memory.” – Hot Press

In 2015 Aengus embarked on a tour of Ireland with his ‘Irish-Turkish Project‘, featuring world-class vocalist Sanem Kalfa.

As a curator, Aengus has programmed events for Galway Jazz Festival, NUIG Arts in Action, MusicConnects (formerly Galway Music Residency), Mick Lally Theatre and Black Gate Galway.