Jay McCarrol
Canadian musician, composer, writer and actor
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Jay McCarrol (born August 9, 1983) is a Canadian musician, composer, writer, actor, animator, and comedian most noted as the co-star, writer and composer of the independent web series Nirvana the Band the Show, its spiritual sequel television series Nirvanna the Band the Show, and the feature film based on both, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, all of which he co-created with filmmaker and lifelong best friend Matt Johnson.[1]
Jay McCarrol | |
|---|---|
McCarrol in 2026 | |
| Born | August 9, 1983 |
| Education | Berklee College of Music |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Known for | |
Outside of the Nirvanna franchise, McCarrol is known for his work on BlackBerry, animated series Matt & Bird Break Loose, and has continued his longstanding collaboration with Johnson and Zapruder on Tony, the Anthony Bourdain biopic. His work as a composer extends to Evan Morgan's The Kid Detective, starring Adam Brody, and Finn Wolfhard & Billy Bryk's Hell of a Summer. As of 2026, he has composed the scores for all of Johnson's feature films.
McCarrol and his sister, Stefanie, formed a synth pop duo called Brave Shores in 2014 touring Canada and internationally. He previously served as the musical director at Second City's Toronto location.[2]
During The 2016 United States Presidential Election, a video of Donald Trump dancing to the Brave Shores song 'Never Come down' went viral on YouTube.[3] In a 2026 interview with Exclaim!, McCarrol states '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."[4]
Awards
He won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Score at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards in 2024, for his work on the film BlackBerry.[5] He was previously a nominee for Best Original Music for a Program at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards in 2013 for I, Martin Short, Goes Home[6] and at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards in 2016 for The Second City Project,[7] and for Best Original Score at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021 for The Kid Detective.[8] For Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, McCarrol received two CSAs, including Best Lead Performance in a Comedy Film.
As a writer, he has received two CSA nominations for Best Writing in a Comedy Program or Series for Nirvanna the Band the Show, at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018[9] and at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019.[10]
His other credits have included Johnson's theatrical films The Dirties, Operation Avalanche and BlackBerry.
Filmography
Film
As writer/composer
| Year | Title | Writer | Composer | Actor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | The Dirties | No | Yes | Yes | |
| 2016 | Operation Avalanche | No | Yes | No | |
| 2020 | The Kid Detective | No | Yes | No | |
| 2023 | BlackBerry | No | Yes | No | |
| Hell of a Summer | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2025 | Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-written with Matt Johnson |
| 2026 | Tony[11] | No | Yes | No |
As actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | The Dirties | Mr. Bird | |
| 2025 | Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie | Jay |
Television
As writer/composer
| Year(s) | Title | Creator | Writer | Composer | Producer | Actor | Animator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | I, Martin Short, Goes Home | No | No | Yes | No | No | ||
| 2015 | The Second City Project | No | No | Yes | No | No | ||
| 2017–2018 | Nirvanna the Band the Show | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 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 | Matt & Bird Break Loose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-created with Matt Johnson |
As actor
| Years | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–2018 | Nirvanna the Band the Show | Jay | Fictionalised version of himself |
| 2021 | This Is Pop | Self | Episode: "Stockholm Syndrome" |
| Matt & Bird Break Loose | Bird |
Web
As writer/composer
| Years | Title | Creator | Writer | Composer | Actor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–2009 | Nirvana the Band the Show | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-created and co-wrote all 11 episodes with Matt Johnson |
As actor
| Years | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–2009 | Nirvana the Band the Show | Jay | Fictionalised version of himself |
Discography
|
Brave Shores Albums
EPs
Singles
Live
|
Original Soundtracks
|