Happy New Year!! I hope 2012 is a great year for you. It’s Celtic Connections Festival time again in Glasgow this month. This is a massive festival of all things connected with Celtic Roots music. From traditional Folk music through to Americana, Pop, Rock and singer-songwriters. I’m doing a few performances at the festival. First up [...]
Hi there folks. Well it’s that time of the year again where things go all sparkly and a wee bit crazy. No sign yet of the snow, but I’m sure it’s not far away. December has a few things in store for me… On Friday the 2nd December I will be playing a show with [...]
Limited Edition Whisky Heart LP’s now available!! These come in red vinyl with a gatefold sleeve, plus a copy of the cd!! There’s also a bonus short film included. The price is £15, $20 plus postage. Drop me a line if you would be interested in getting a copy. Cheers Dean Digg this post Recommend [...]
January 24th, 2012 
admin This week we are joined by Pittsburghs one and only Chuck Orzechowski. Chuck takes over the questions this week and asks Dean about how things started and what on earth to do with that brand new Guitar you get for Christmas. Oh, nice surprise song at the end of the show. Enjoy!
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January 20th, 2012 admin My Celtic Connections stuff: I’ve a show at The Tron on Sunday with Tom Russell followed by ‘Another Country’ with Ricky Ross live from the BBC at Pacific Quay, Glasgow on Friday the 27th and finally Hazy Recollections at the ABC2 on Sunday 29th. On the 27th and 29th I will be accompanied by Kim Edgar on piano and Arthur Nicholson on guitar. PLUS I’ve a wee Celtic Selections concert at Douglas Robertson Photography in Edinburgh on 2nd Feb with Kevin Henderson and Mattias Perez. Details for all these shows at www.deanowens.com
January 10th, 2012 admin Well its got everything. No really it does! The album has arrived from the manufacturers, Dean has updates on some new shows and we have the legend that is Douglas Robertson. Oh did I mention that we have a world exclusive about a Rolf Harris story? Well we do! Listen on!
Please leave us your comments on the show with anything you liked, disliked or would like to hear in the future.
To get in touch with Douglas then drop him a line at
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January 9th, 2012 admin Happy New Year!!
I hope 2012 is a great year for you.
It’s Celtic Connections Festival time again in Glasgow this month. This is a massive festival of all things connected with Celtic Roots music. From traditional Folk music through to Americana, Pop, Rock and singer-songwriters.
I’m doing a few performances at the festival. First up I will be opening for the fantastic Americana singer-songwriter Tom Russell on the 22nd January at The Tron Theatre - www.celticconnections.com/whatson/event/118659-Tom-Russell-and-Support
Next up I have been invited to take part in BBC Radio Scotland’s Another Country radio show on the 27th January. This is presented byRicky Ross and will be broadcast live in front of a studio audience from the BBC at their Pacific Quay headquarters in Glasgow. Also on the show are the fantastic Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion.
Tickets are available for this event. For details check out -http://www.celticconnections.com/whatson/event/119559-BBC-Radio-Scotland-92-95FM-&%3B-810MW-Live-Radio-Broadcasts-Another-Country-With-Ricky-Ross (note it mentions Feb 3rd in this link. There is a show then too)
On the 29th January I will be taking part in the Hazy Recollections concert at the ABC 2 in Glasgow at 2.30 pm. For details visit – http://www.celticconnections.com/whatson/event/118849-Hazy-Recollections
This should be a brilliant afternoon of music with various singer-songwriters performing.
My big news is that my new album New York Hummingbird will be released on March 26th on Songboy Records.
Produced in New York and New Jersey by Ray Ketchem with Dave Derby the album features a host of New York, New Jersey and Nashville musicians. I’m over the moon with how it’s turned out. The fantastic album artwork was designed by James Morrison at Mojo Creative in Glasgow.
The tracks listing is:
Desert Star
No One’s A Failure
The One That Got Away
Springtime
Lost Time
Baby Fireworks
Snowglobe
Solo (Valentine NYC)
Wander On
New York Hummingbird
Here’s a link to a live acoustic performance of Solo (Valentine NYC) –http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7MtFgq9Q3k Thanks to James at Mojo Creative for this. James shot this wee video during our photo shoot for the album cover.
I want to be out playing as much as possible in 2012 to promote New York Hummingbird so if you know of any good venues in your town that I should look into playing or if any of your friends would be interested in hosting a House Concert in 2012 please drop me a line. Thanks.
On the 22nd February I’m opening for Kris Drever at the Slaughtered Lamb in London - http://www.pulluptheroots.co.uk/page.php?id=42 and possibly playing a few other shows with Kris throughout late Feb and March. Keep an eye out for details.
Well that’s all for now.
Cheers
Dean
January 4th, 2012 admin The first ‘Messages From The Action Men’ podcast of 2012 will be ready for next week once Grant and I get all the festive fun out of the way.
Happy New Year.
Dean
December 13th, 2011 admin Mark Robertson joins Dean and myself this week to talk about the recipe for a great press release, some memories of classic interviews whilst working as the music editor at the List Magazine and a hint to his love of Metal music! Dean surprises us all with a list of his favorite albums of the year and I worry about the howling gales taking roof slates from my house.
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December 13th, 2011 admin check out the new podcast ‘Messages From The Action Men’, hosted by Grant Macnamara and myself. Episode 3 features our special guest – journalist Mark Robertson.
December 7th, 2011 admin This week is all about “House Music”!! We also talk about Deans re-release of the Single ‘Snow Globe’ in support of mental health charity “Mind” www.mind.org.uk. Please give us some feedback using the form below. No registration required but we would love your email. To make it easier to listen to the updates please subscribe through iTunes.
Until next week. Cheers!
Grant.
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December 1st, 2011 admin In the first of these new podcasts Grant and Dean discuss the weeks activities on the progress of New York Hummingbird, Deans up-coming new album. It’s been a busy week
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December 1st, 2011 admin Hi there folks.
Well it’s that time of the year again where things go all sparkly and a wee bit crazy. No sign yet of the snow, but I’m sure it’s not far away.
December has a few things in store for me…
On Friday the 2nd December I will be playing a show with The Erskine Strings at Café Panola on the outskirts of Edinburgh within the Pentland Plants complex. This will be our second show together following on from the fantastic night during the Edinburgh Festival at Douglas Robertson Photography.
Here are the details for the Café Panola show:
Dean Owens & The Erskine Strings
Friday 2nd December @ Café Panola
Pentland Plants
Loanhead (Edinburgh) EH20 9QG
Tickets are £20 and this price includes the concert and dinner (main course)
Doors from 7pm. Music starts at 8.30pm
Bring your own wine or beer!!
Tickets from Pentland Plants. Call 0131 440 0895 for details.
For more information on The Erskine Strings visit www.erskinequartet.com
On the 15th December I’m heading North to Orkney and Shetland for ‘A Reel Christmas Spree’ with an old mate of mine, Kevin Henderson, and a couple of his musical buddies Brendan & Breanainn Begley. Here are the details for the shows:
Orkney
Thursday 15th – The Reel, Kirkwall. Tickets – 01856 87 1000 or for more info – info@wrigleyandthereel.com
Shetland
Friday 16th -Sandwick Social Club Local Support -VÄIR Doors open 19.30 starts 20.00 Tickets from Sandwick Social Club and High Level Music
Saturday 17th -Muckle Roe Hall Local Support- Ryan Couper and Johnny Polson
Doors open 19.30 starts 20.00 (BYOB) Tickets from Peter Johnson Tel: 01806 522 671 or 07876630899
Sunday 18th -British Legion Local Support- Craa Dang Pussy Doors open 14.30 starts 15.00 Tickets from High Level Music
Plus, before all this we are playing a wee impromptu House Concert at Douglas Robertson Photography in Edinburgh on the 14th. You’ll need to drop me a line for more details on this one or contact Douglas direct at -info@douglasinscotland.co.uk
I’ve never played in Orkney before so looking forward to that show and I’ve been desperate to get back to Shetland for ages. It’s one of my favourite places to play.
Moving into January and it’s Celtic Connections Festival time again in Glasgow. This is a massive festival of all things connected with Celtic Roots music. From traditional Folk music through to Americana, Pop, Rock and singer-songwriters.
I’m doing a couple of things at the festival. First up I have been invited to take part in BBC Radio Scotland’s Another Country radio show on the 27th January. This is presented by Ricky Ross and will be broadcast live in front of a studio audience from the BBC at their Pacific Quay headquarters in Glasgow. Also on the show are the fantastic Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion.
Tickets are available for this event. For details check out -http://www.celticconnections.com/whatson/event/119559-BBC-Radio-Scotland-92-95FM-&%3B-810MW-Live-Radio-Broadcasts-Another-Country-With-Ricky-Ross (note it mentions Feb 3rd in this link. There is a show then too)
On the 29th January I will be taking part in the Hazy Recollections concert at the ABC 2 in Glasgow at 2.30 pm. For details visit – http://www.celticconnections.com/whatson/event/118849-Hazy-Recollections
This should be a brilliant afternoon of music with various singer-songwriters performing.
My big news is that my new album New York Hummingbird will be released in March on Songboy Records.
Produced in New York and New Jersey by Ray Ketchem with Dave Derby the album features a host of New York, New Jersey and Nashville musicians. I’m over the moon with how it’s turned out. The fantastic album artwork was designed by James Morrison at Mojo Creative in Glasgow.
The tracks listing is:
Desert Star
No One’s A Failure
The One That Got Away
Springtime
Lost Time
Baby Fireworks
Snowglobe
Solo (Valentine NYC)
Wander On
New York Hummingbird
Here’s a link to a live acoustic performance of Solo (Valentine NYC) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7MtFgq9Q3k Thanks to James at Mojo Creative for this. James shot this wee video during our photo shoot for the album cover.
I want to be out playing as much as possible in 2012 to promote New York Hummingbird so if you know of any good venues in your town that I should look into playing or if any of your friends would be interested in hosting a House Concert in 2012 please drop me a line. Thanks.
Seeing as this is the festive season I will be giving my charity single Snowglobe another push this Christmas to help raise some more funds for the mental health charity Mind. This is a download only track. If you missed it last year you can get it from all the usual outlets – Amazon, iTunes etc. Here’s the video for the single – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8qvc3-U2fA Please spread the word. This can be a very difficult time of year for those people suffering from mental health issues and Mind do a fantastic job. Snowglobe is also on the new album.
I’ll be doing another short newsletter with a round up of my favourite albums and highlights of the year a wee bit closer to Christmas. In the meantime enjoy the festive season, don’t get too stressed out, don’t spend too much money, but spend as much time as you can with the ones you love.
Remember to keep your requests coming in for my Request Of The Week video slots. I really enjoy your suggestions and it’s always nice to hear from you.
If you are looking for some Christmas present ideas I now have copies of My Town back in stock and also copies of Whisky Hearts, red vinyl in a gatefold sleeve + free cd of album. Contact me if you’re interested in getting hold of these.
All the best and thanks for your continued support.
Cheers.
Dean
August 19th, 2011 admin Just a quick note to let you know that the ‘My Life in Five Songs’
programme I took part in with Phil Cunningham from earlier in the year is getting a repeat broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland on Monday 22nd Aug at 22.05 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yzgqh
July 25th, 2011 admin Well it’s been an interesting couple of weeks. I’m now onto the final track of my New York record. Ray Ketchem has been working away on mixes out at his Orange Road Studio in New Jersey. Jen Gunderman and Sean Eden have been adding their keyboard and guitar talents to the recordings. Can’t wait to get it finished.
I had my first full get together with the guys from the Erskine Quartet last week. Really pleased with how it’s all coming along. Got 2 or 3 new songs for the show on August 27th at Douglas Robertson’s Photography in Edinburgh. We’re hoping to record and film the show. If you want to come along then drop me a line for more details.
At the weekend I was up in Perth for the fantastic Southern Fried festival. I helped my old friend Stuart Nisbet out with his very entertaining pedal steel workshop. Along with Nico Bruce on double bass we played one of my songs Born To Lose You, plus a couple of old classics from George Jones – She Thinks I Still Care and Buck Owens – Love’s Gonna Live Here. Stuart did a great job.
I then had a mad dash over to my soundcheck for my show with Iris Dement. And a fab gig it was too. A great sold out crowd gave me a very warm reception. Andy Shearer who organises the festival does a great job and consistently pulls great artists out the bag year after year. Well done to Andy and all his helpful staff.
Very much looking forward to my show with the Erskine Strings and then it’s my songwriting workshop – 3 Chords, The Truth & A Bunch Of Lies out in Chania, Crete at the beginning of September.
Just scroll down the front page here for more information.
In the meantime I’ll be working on my album of Johnny Cash songs and finishing my New York recordings.
Enjoy the sun while it shines.
All the best.
Cheers
Dean
July 3rd, 2011 admin Hi there.
In September I’m planning to host a week’s song-writing course out in Chania, Crete in Greece. 3 Chords, The Truth And A Bunch Of Lies will take place around the poolside at the beautiful Artemis Apartments complex in Stavros Bay.
The week will consist of informal song-writing workshops, as well as one on one sessions. I’ll also be playing two concerts; one at the complex and the other is planned as part of an excursion. I will be available throughout the whole week for help, advice and encouragement. It should all be very relaxed and good fun for everyone. The idea behind these workshops is to help people who want to write songs and to show them how easy and how enjoyable it can be.
This is not a master class!! For those of you who have seen me play and know my music you will know how simple my songs are. Although I’m completely self-taught I have written, recorded and released many songs both solo and with my band The Felsons and have performed them around the world. I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with some amazing artists and writers over the years. I hope to inspire people and show them what they can also do with a few chords and some words.
What could be better than getting away from it all with a relaxing week in the Greek sunshine, in gorgeous, tranquil surroundings and a chance to get your creative juices flowing?
You can take a look at the complex and get apartment prices etc by visiting –
http://www.akrotirivillas.com/artemis.php or just call any of the following numbers – Artemis: +30 28210 39005 – UK: +44 (0)20 3286 3594
There are flights from Gatwick to Chania on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays or you can fly to Chania from Manchester (Tuesday only).
We are planning for the course to run in the week beginning Sunday September 4th. Should it turn out that most people prefer to fly out on Tuesday 6th we will take this into account when organizing events.
On top of your flight and self-catering apartment costs 3 Chords, The Truth And A Bunch Of Lies is great value at £70 per person. There may be an additional travel cost for the excursion show.
You will need to bring your own guitar or instrument of choice, although some instruments including a keyboard will be available on site.
I’m sure you will love it at Artemis. Reg and Daphne Fairfoot who manage the Artemis Apartments really know how to look after people and have been doing so for many years. There’s nothing better than chilling out at the bar by the pool of an evening chewing the fat with them both. Music lovers themselves they’ve put on many successful musical events over the years.
I hope you will come and join us. Numbers are limited so if you are interested and to avoid disappointment don’t leave it too long to get in touch.
For more information and any questions just drop me a line.
Best wishes
Dean
www.deanowens.com
June 26th, 2011 admin June 15th, 2011 admin My good friend and award winning guitarist Will Kimbrough has chosen to feature my song Man From Leith in his Lick Of The Day video on Youtube.
Will is THE most amazing guitar player and a great singer-songwriter too. He was the guitar player on my Whisky Hearts album and also played on a couple of songs on My Town.
He has recently been on tour playing guitar for the legendary Emmylou Harris.
Check out his website for some great music – www.willkimbrough.com
Cheers
D
June 14th, 2011 admin Hi there.
I had a really productive night last night working with members of Glasgow’s Erskine Quartet. Aaron Mc Gregor – violin, piano & guitar, Daniel Paterson – violin & flute and Emma Peebles – viola and I got together to try out some material. It was our first get together ahead of our Edinburgh Festival concert on August 27th at Douglas Robertson’s Photography Studio at Royal Park Terrace in Edinburgh. I’m really excited about working with these guys. Details about the concert will follow soon.
Cheers for now
Dean
June 8th, 2011 admin Hi there.
My New York record took a wee trip to Nashville today when Nashville based James (Hags) Haggerty added his wonderful bass playing to one of the songs – Springtime. You may know some of James’ work from the likes of Josh Rouse http://www.joshrouse.com/ and also the side project of Wilco members John Stirratt and Pat Sansone – The Autumn Defence – http://www.theautumndefense.com/ among many others. It’s really great to have him play on my songs.
Next up we start work on new song - Solo.
Cheers for now
Dean
www.deanowens.com
June 6th, 2011 admin Limited Edition Whisky Heart LP’s now available!! These come in red vinyl with a gatefold sleeve, plus a copy of the cd!! There’s also a bonus short film included. The price is £15, $20 plus postage. Drop me a line if you would be interested in getting a copy.
Cheers
Dean
May 11th, 2011 admin Hi there.
It looks like summer is just around the corner. At last!
Here’s some news on what’s going on in my world at the moment:
I’ve been getting great feedback on my new website www.deanowens.com Big thanks to Grant Macnamara for all his help with it. Grant is an old friend and was the engineer on my My Town record.
I’m extremely grateful to those of you who’ve decided to get involved in my new album through the ‘BE A PART OF THE ALBUM’ page on the site. I’m off to a very good start with this new venture, but there is still a long way to go. I will of course keep those of you who have shown your support posted on how it’s all going.
If you didn’t see my previous newsletter for some reason, here’s how it works:
NEW ALBUM
I would like to offer you the opportunity to be a part of my new as yet untitled album. I’m very excited about this and really want the record to be community funded, giving those of you who have followed and supported me over the years the chance to be involved. Most of the recording has been completed, but I still need to raise more funds to see it through to completion.
Initial recording sessions took place in New York last year with Producer Dave Derby (Gramercy Arms) and a collection of amazing East Coast musicians: the talented Mr Derby himself on guitar, keyboards and bass and Ray Ketchem (Elk City) on drums and keyboards. Ray is also on mixing duties working out of his studio in New Jersey. The New York line up also features Rainy Orteca (Joan As Policewoman, Dead Air) on bass, Sean Eden (Luna, Elk City, Gramercy Arms) on guitar, Kendall Meade (Mascott) and Renee LoBue (Elk City) on backing vocals.
You most likely will have already heard one of the finished recordings – my charity single Snowglobe which I released back in December to help raise funds for the mental health charity Mind.
So here’s how the donations work:
For just a £10/$15 donation contributors will be credited by name in the album artwork.
£25/$30 donation contributors will be credited on the artwork and receive a signed CD copy of the album in advance of its official release.
For donations over £25/$30 you will be credited on the album artwork,
receive a signed CD copy of the album, plus bonus material including live solo recordings of selected album tracks from my room at the famous Chelsea Hotel in New York City.
If you are able to donate over £250, as well as having your name on the artwork, receiving a signed CD and bonus material, your generosity will be rewarded with the chance to have me play a free private concert for you and your friends. I’m afraid this offer is restricted to UK based supporters only.
But remember, no donation is too small – every little penny/dime will help me achieve my goal – and donators of up to £10/$15 will be credited on the website.
If you’d like to support me in completing the album go to www.deanowens.com click on the ‘BE A PART OF THE ALBUM’ or ‘donations’ link and please donate anything you can to help me reach my target of £7000/$9000. If you have any problem with the donate button then just go straight to this link – https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=YQUHLVNSQTDB6
Thank you.
GIG NEWS
On May 30th I’ll be back at Douglas Robertson’s where my special guest will be Swedish singer-songwriter Annika Fehling – www.annikafehling.com or www.myspace.com/annikafehling
I played some shows with Annika in Sweden a year or so back and she’s over in the UK for a tour in May. Her new album Fireflies was produced by our mutual friend Will Kimbrough. Do try and get along to this concert if you can. Here’s Annika’s promo video for her version of the Townes Van Zandt song – Lungs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHEsc5xqbwk
If you would like to attend just drop me a line telling me how many places you will need and I will give you all the details. It’s £10 per person.
Speaking of Will Kimbrough, big congratulations are in order as Will has just landed the amazing job of guitarist in Emmylou Harris’ new band The Red Dirt Boys and will be touring with Emmylou very soon. Great news for Will.
I’ve just had it confirmed that I will be playing with Iris Dement as part of the brilliant Southern Fried Festival in Perth on Saturday July 23rd at Perth Theatre. This will be an afternoon show starting at 2.30. I’m very excited about this. It’s been a long time since Iris Dement played over here. There are some amazing concerts going on at the festival. I’ve played the festival a couple of times now and it’s always great to be involved. Go to http://www.southernfriedfestival.co.uk/ for details.
SONG OF THE WEEK
Over the years I’ve often been asked about my songs and the inspiration behind them by people either at concerts or via my website. Because of this I’ve decided to invite people to e-mail me any questions about my songs then I will choose one of the songs each week and post a video up on the website with my Song Of The Week. In each video I will talk about the song and where it came from etc. So please do drop me a line if there’s any of my songs you’d like to know a bit more about. It can be from any of my albums or from my work with The Felsons, or even a cover version you may have heard me play sometime. If I choose your song then you’ll get a wee mention in the video too. It’s just a bit of fun, but it would be great to hear from you.
Well that’s all for now.
I hope to see you somewhere soon.
All the best
Dean
March 13th, 2011 admin Phil Cunningham asks singer-songwriter Dean Owens to pick 5 tracks that are special to him.
Dean was the front-man of the Americana act ‘The Felsons’ before embarking on a successful career as a solo artist.
Equally at home in Nashville he recorded his ‘Whisky Hearts’ album in Tennessee with the help of a band of internationally acclaimed musicians from that area. He has supported artists such as Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffiths and the Mavericks on their UK tours
Dean explains the significance of his five tracks including the reason why the Johnny Cash version of the song Loves Been Good to Me brings tears to his eyes.
Opening with the track Man from Leith from his ‘Whisky Hearts’ album Dean goes on to pick the following songs.
1: Walk Out to Winter by Aztec Camera
2: Oh My Love by John Lennon
3: Brass Buttons from Gram Parsons
4: Loves Been Good To Me by Johnny Cash
5: Jesus Etc. from Wilco.
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