About

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 contemporary ensemble Colm O’ Hara 10tet.

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

Featuring some of Ireland’s leading exponents of improvised music, Aengus Hackett Trio‘s debut album was named in Irish Times’ Top 5 Irish Jazz Albums of 2024.

AKA electronic music producer Penji, Aengus has released an acclaimed EP and album ‘Future Nostalgia’.

In 2020 Aengus released ‘Shimmer‘, a series of works for guitar & electronics.

With jazz/folk/rock trio DINOSAUR Aengus released an album in 2017 and toured Ireland in 2014.
In 2016, Aengus released an album with experimental post-rock group Zinc.

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

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

A passionate educator, Aengus has over twenty years experience as a guitar teacher.
Since 2025 he has lectured in Javanese Gamelan at The Irish World Academy of Music & Dance at University of Limerick.

Aengus facilitates two projects supported by award-winning disability arts programme That’s Life:

Javanese gamelan project 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.

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.