Jay McCarrol
Canadian musician, composer, writer and actor
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Jay McCarrol (born August 9, 1983) is a Canadian musician, composer, screenwriter and actor. He co-created and starred in the independent web series Nirvana the Band the Show (2007–2009), its television adaptation Nirvanna the Band the Show (2017–2018), and feature film continuation Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2025), with Matt Johnson.[1] He scored all five of Johnson's films, as well as the films The Kid Detective (2020) and Hell of a Summer (2023).
Jay McCarrol | |
|---|---|
McCarrol in 2026 | |
| Born | August 9, 1983 |
| Education | Berklee College of Music |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 2007–present |
McCarrol has won three Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Original Score for BlackBerry and Best Lead Performance in a Comedy Film and Best Original Song for his work on Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie.
Early life and education
Jay McCarrol was born in Toronto, Canada, on August 9, 1983.[citation needed] He has a sister, Stefanie.[2]
While attending Erindale Secondary School in Mississauga, McCarrol became acquainted with Matt Johnson, who attended nearby John Fraser Secondary School. The two became friends and creative collaborators, producing many student films together.[3][4][5] McCarrol attended Berklee College of Music, where one of his classmates was American comedian Eric André.[5][6]
Career
2006–2015
After graduating from Berklee, McCarrol returned to Toronto and in 2006 he began working as a musical director at The Second City's Toronto location, providing live soundtracks to real-time improvisation.[7][5]
From 2007 to 2009, McCarrol and Johnson co-created and co-wrote the independent docufiction sitcom web series Nirvana the Band the Show.[8][9] McCarrol and Johnson star as fictionalised versions of themselves in a musical duo who attempt to book a gig at the Rivoli in Toronto.[10][9]
McCarrol acted in and composed the score for Captain Coulier (Space Explorer), a short film which played at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.[11] He also composed the score for Johnson's 2013 feature film The Dirties,[12] and also played the character Mr. Bird.[citation needed]
McCarrol and his sister, Stefanie, formed the synth pop duo Brave Shores which toured Canada and internationally. During the 2016 United States presidential election, a video of Donald Trump dancing to their 2014 song "Never Come Down" went viral on YouTube.[13][better source needed] In 2018, McCarrol stated "'Never Come Down' was a song I wrote for a cell phone commercial, but it quickly went from television jingle to radio hit. What happened after, however, was even stranger — the song was adopted by online troll types as a sort of Donald Trump victory meme."[2]
2016–present
McCarrol scored Johnson's 2016 film Operation Avalanche.[14] McCarrol and Johnson adapted Nirvana the Band the Show into a television series, Nirvanna the Band the Show, which premiered on Viceland in 2017.[15][16] Two seasons aired across 2017 and 2018.[17][18] A third season was partially produced but not released due to Viceland's discontinuation.[18][19] Johnson and McCarrol co-created and starred in the animated children's show Matt & Bird Break Loose (2021), a spiritual successor to Nirvanna the Band the Show.[19]
McCarrol scored Evan Morgan's 2020 film The Kid Detective,[20] earning a nomination for Best Original Score at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards.[21] McCarrol later won the award for Johnson's film BlackBerry (2023) at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards.[22][23] He also scored Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard's 2023 film Hell of a Summer.[24] McCarrol has recorded with and toured with Hayden.[7] He wrote with Amy Millan on her 2025 album I Went To Find You, which he also produced.[7]
Following the success of BlackBerry, McCarrol and Johnson received funding from Telefilm Canada to develop a feature film adaptation of Nirvanna the Band the Show—a project they had been workshopping as early as 2009.[18][17][3] Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie premiered on March 9, 2025 at South by Southwest.[25][26][27] It was directed by Johnson[17] and scored by McCarrol.[28][29] The film won critical acclaim and was nominated for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2025.[30] At the 14th Canadian Screen Awards, the film received eight nominations and won Best Motion Picture. McCarrol also won Best Lead Performance in a Comedy Film, while he and Johnson received the award for Best Original Song for "The Alphabet Song".[31][32] McCarrol and Johnson reprised their roles in Joel Haver's short film Nirvanna the Band Tries to Get an Animation Made.[33]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Writer | Composer | Actor | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Captain Coulier (Space Explorer) | No | Yes | Yes | Short film | [11] |
| 2013 | The Dirties | No | Yes | Yes | Played Mr. Bird | |
| 2016 | Operation Avalanche | No | Yes | No | [14] | |
| 2020 | The Kid Detective | No | Yes | No | [34] | |
| 2023 | BlackBerry | No | Yes | No | [23] | |
| Hell of a Summer | No | Yes | No | |||
| 2025 | Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie | Yes | Yes | Yes | Played a fictionalised version of himself; Co-written with Matt Johnson | [35] |
| 2026 | Tony | No | Yes | No | [36] |
Television
| Year(s) | Title | Creator | Writer | Composer | Producer | Actor | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | I, Martin Short, Goes Home | No | No | Yes | No | No | [37] | |
| 2015 | The Second City Project | No | No | Yes | No | No | ||
| 2017–2018 | Nirvanna the Band the Show | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Played a fictionalised version of himself; Co-created with Matt Johnson; Co-wrote all 16 episodes with Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Matthew Miller, Matt Johnson and Jared Raab | |
| 2021 | This Is Pop | No | No | No | No | Yes | Documentary; appears as himself in "Stockholm Syndrome" | |
| Matt & Bird Break Loose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Played Bird; Co-created with Matt Johnson | [19] |
Web
| Years | Title | Creator | Writer | Composer | Actor | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–2009 | Nirvana the Band the Show | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Played a fictionalised version of himself; Co-created and co-wrote all 11 episodes with Matt Johnson | |
| 2014–2017 | Space Riders: Division Earth | No | No | Yes | No | Songs written by Mark Little, composed by McCarrol, vocals by Tyler Kyte |
Discography
|
Brave Shores Albums
EPs
Singles
Live
|
Solo
Original Soundtracks
|
Awards and nominations
| Organizations | Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2013 | Best Original Music Score for a Program | I, Martin Short, Goes Home | Nominated | [37] |
| 2016 | The Second City Project | Nominated | [38] | ||
| 2018 | Best Writing, Comedy (with Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab) | Nirvanna the Band the Show | Nominated | [39][better source needed] | |
| 2019 | Nominated | [40] | |||
| 2020 | Best Original Score | The Kid Detective | Nominated | [21] | |
| 2024 | BlackBerry | Won | [22] | ||
| Vancouver Film Critics Circle | 2025 | Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film (with Matt Johnson) | Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie | Nominated | [41] |
| Best Supporting Male Actor | Nominated | ||||
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2026 | Best Original Song (with Matt Johnson) | Won | [31] | |
| Best Lead Performance in a Comedy Film | Won |