Dear all,
The ‘Incidents and Accidents’ tour starts in less than one month! To celebrate, you can see a video of the opening track from the new album: Time To Stay. Plus there’s some sound clips from the album on this site too. Let me know what you think!
A reminder of the tour dates:
01/03 – Twickfolk, London
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/302154
04/03 – Dorking Folk Club
http://dorkingfolkclub.org.uk/
05/03 – Unicorn Continue reading “Videos and previews”
Dear all,
Well it’s been an unusually travel-free start to the year as January often is. I’ve spent much more time spent on a computer than on a stage, not exactly the way I like it but needs must! Nevertheless, as the title might have revealed I have been back on trains over the last few days which as always provided me with rather more to blog about than car journeys do. Read on for more… Thanks to all of you for your responses on facebook, email and this website about the new album and tour. I am very excited! See previous blog for details.
Anyway, before I do I should say that I’ve just come back from London where I spent three days doing Live Music Now work which is something I enjoy very much. Those of you unfamiliar Continue reading “Surreal travels”
Dear all,
I’m very excited to announce that Incidents and Accidents is to be released on March 16th! There will also be a big tour to support it so it’s all rather exciting. The full press release and tour list is Continue reading “Incidents and Accidents to be released March 16th”
Dear all,
A blog tomorrow has big news but in the meantime…here’s my annual round up of the year. It was a rather remarkable one for me it’s fair to say with more new countries played, the first year of action with the UFQ and my busiest year to date. It wasn’t always the easiest year from a personal point of view as I sadly lost some great people and had other difficult stuff going on but it’s impossible to look at the year with anything other than a smiley face and I had some serious fun on my travels!
Top of the list on the solo side would have to be the trip to New Zealand. What started as a casual whim of emailing a few gig venues there because one of my very best schoolfriends is living out there suddenly became a reality and I ended up with a headline festival gig, a two and a half week tour, a breakfast TV appearance and thanks to the Mussel Inn being swamped by an audience and experiencing table dancing (not that sort). That and meeting some of the most amazing people and seeing the most beautiful country made January and February months to seriously Continue reading “How was 2014?”
Dear all,
I can’t quite believe I’m about to say this but I have ONE gig left this year. The review of the year will of course follow but it must wait til my live year has officially finished. By that I obviously mean my year of gigging not my year of being alive…although that will also have finished. Anyway, I have just returned from Norway which was an absolutely wonderful place though fairly chilly at this time of year as one might expect and by god it’s expensive. However, it was a very pretty place with lots of lovely people and two rather marvellous gigs. A special thank you to Mark and Gillian for making the Bergen gig possible and to the gang at Bluegrass at Buckley’s for a fantastic gig there too. In Bergen, I played to a front row of viking looking heavy metal fans Continue reading “The travel curse has lifted!”
Dear all,
A few weeks on since my last blog and more twittery to tell you about and umpteen gigs to boot. First up was the conclusion of the Urban Folk Quartet gigging for the year as we played a couple of Gloucestershire villages – Brockweir and May Hill. Both were cracking fun as these rural gigs tend to be. What a joy it’s been this year to finally gig with the quartet. There’s loads more to come and it’s exceeded what were already lofty expectations.
After this came the arrival of the wonderful Miss Meaghan Blanchard from PEI, Canada as we embarked on the UK half of our collaboration after a successful trip round the Canadian east coast last year. First up was a gig at the House Of Commons. After all, where else would you start a tour. We shared the bill with a cracking Canadian musician called Tim Chaisson, a fine fiddler and singer who has also been participating in a UK exchange thingy with the extraordinary Kizzy Crawford, a sickeningly young and talented Welsh singer/guitarist. A real star in the making. Also present was Cerys Continue reading “Dan’s moments of twittery…part 2”
Dear all,
We’re in November. How is that even possible? Anyway, I write to you after a cracking UFQ gig in Birmingham last night at the MAC. The band was formed and is 3/4 based in Birmingham too so it was something of a hometown gig and the crowd gave us a great night. This followed a damn good night up in Ormskirk as well at Edge Hill Arts Centre. Prior to that we had a great turnout at Huntingdon Hall in Worcester which was also much fun and a, yes dash it, another wonderful gig at Colchester Arts Centre. The tour has really been a joy and we’ve been thrilled to play to full houses. I should also add the Noodle Bar in Colchester – just wow. In between Worcester and Colchester we headed to Bedford and played a rare band wedding gig for Tom’s sister Continue reading “Dan’s moments of twittery”
Dear all,
It’s been a big old Urban Folk Quartet tour and we’ve had a great time with a colourful mix of rural village halls and some more city-based outings. So to report:
My own solo tour finished off with two London folk clubs, both of which were highly enjoyable as well as a rare duo outing with my mandolin playing chum Nic Zuppardi in his hometown of Norwich. This was also jolly good prior to a day of feeling nothing short of horrific as the lurgy struck. Driving home from Norwich to Stafford with the most intense headache I’ve ever known, a shivering fever and phenomenal amounts of snot was not so fun. Really.
As for the UFQ tour, it also began in style with a cracking gig in Yorkshire in Brantingham. A great crowd and a great promoter meant a packed house and much fun was had. Hitchin Folk Club was next with a larger packed house so we had an absolute ball and many thanks to the Pages for their typically vocal support. Newbury was next with a very vocal and dancey crowd before one of the very finest village hall gigs EVER. I bloody live village halls. The audience are so often full of enthusiasm and we are so welcomed and fed and watered. It was a brilliant night, a real highlight so thanks to Oxenhall.
Some folks travelled far and wide to get to our gig in Farnham at the Maltings which was greatly appreciated but then it was back to rural touring with no fewer than four village Continue reading “Dense people”
Dear all,
A bit of a plug-filled blog this time round. I have tours, oh such tours, I have such tours and tours and…er…gigs.
I’m at the tail end of a mini solo tour which ends with:
25/09 – Uxbridge Folk Club, London
28/09 – Walthamstow Folk Club, London
30/09 – Bicycle Shop, Norwich (featuring Nic Zuppardi)
Then it’s UFQ autumn tour time:
September 27th TRITON INN, Brantingham, East Yorkshire
October 5th Hitchin Folk Club
October 9th Arlington Arts Centre, Newbury
Oct 11th Oxenhall Parish Hall, Gloucestershire
October 12th Farnham Maltings, Surrey
October 15th Kirk Langley Village Hall, Derbyshire
October 16th Taddington Village Institute, Derbyshire
October 17th Denstone Village Hall, Staffordshire
October 18th Fillongley Village Hall, Coventry
October 24th Huntingdon Hall, Worcester
October 27th Colchester Folk Club
October 31st Edge Hill Arts Centre, Ormskirk
November 1st MAC, Birmingham
November 7th Brockweir Mackenzie Hall, Chepstow
November 8th May Hill Village Hall, Gloucestershire
Then a very special tour with Canadian singer Meaghan Blanchard:
| 12 Nov 2014 07:30 pm |
with Meaghan Blanchard | Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford |
| 13 Nov 2014 07:30 pm |
with Meaghan Blanchard | Cecil Sharp House, London |
| 14 Nov 2014 07:30 pm |
with Meaghan Blanchard | Spring Bank Arts Centre, New Mills, Derbyshire |
| 15 Nov 2014 | with Meaghan Blanchard | AFO Conference (not public), Nottingham |
| 16 Nov 2014 07:30 pm |
with Meaghan Blanchard | Old Launderette, Durham |
| 17 Nov 2014 08:00 pm |
with Meaghan Blanchard | House Concert, Edinburgh (email for details) |
| 18 Nov 2014 07:30 pm |
with Meaghan Blanchard | Kitchen Garden Cafe, Birmingham |
| 21 Nov 2014 07:30 pm |
with Meaghan Blanchard | Maverick Events at the White Horse, Easton |
Wow the fonts in the blog have gone crazy! But anyway that’s the giggage coming up and very excited I am too. So a little report on things that have been happening…After a great time in the studio recording my new solo album it was back to giggery with two food-themed gigs – Sturminster Cheese Festival with UFQ and then a solo slot at the Great British Food Festival. Both were rather good and I ate well. Then a couple of solo shows at St Neot’s Folk Club and at Shakespeare’s in Sheffield. A lovely audience for both gigs and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Then from the Sheffield gig I drove to Liverpool to catch a 3am ferry to Ireland. Silly boy. Anyway after an eight hour ferry ride of not sleeping I headed to Navan to play the Spirit of Folk festival which by all accounts was an absolute belter. The reception great and I enjoyed some cracking music from a variety of bands but special mention must go to In Their Thousands with whom I had some great craic and one of my all time favourite bands Kila who as ever were just stunning. Then it was off to Galway, a magical city with music on every corner quite literally. I have never come across anywhere so enveloped by music and my gig at Monroe’s was ever a blast. Finally, the wonder that is Ballymore Acoustic Gigs with its incredibly attentive audience and first rate pints of Guinness! Great to meet Buddy Mondlock and Mike Lindauer who shared the bill and were great company and of course outstanding musicians.
Then back I came on the ferry which was mind numblingly tedious until the last few hours when my beloved Liverpool team appeared on the telly and played well into extra time and a record length of penalty shootout which kept me much entertained and rather tense! I spend a lot of time ranting on this blog but I feel the need to redress the balance here. I overheard a couple of young German girls chatting to a typically gregarious scouse couple and after a bit of chat the Germans asked if the scousers knew anywhere to park for free in Liverpool so they wouldn’t pay exorbitant charges whilst staying wherever they were staying. The reaction of the scouse couple – use our drive! You can even come in and have a cuppa if you like. Use our drive while you’re here as much as you need.
That, people, is why I bloody love Liverpool.
Dear all,
I am very excited to tell you that a new album is on the way soon. It’s been a while since my last outing The Same But Different so I’m writing to you from Northampton where I’ve been in the studio for the last couple of days with producer Mark Hutchinson. The new stuff’s sounding great and you can expect something a bit more like my gigs this time – it’s fairly stripped down. Some live favourites and some new surprises are on there and I am a little excited! It’s all going very well so I shall keep you posted.
So after a fairly crazy August, September is not much quieter! The last weekend in August saw two festivals with the Urban Folk Quartet at Burnham on Sea and Fylde folk festivals. We had a good time and Continue reading “Album time!”