Event Music

Ever wish your favorite playlist could morph into a real live human entertainer? Look no further!

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We had a lovely time listening to Dan at our company party. We'll hire him again!
Katy, corporate event client
In addition to my career as a songwriter and recording artist, I've performed for private events, such as birthday parties, receptions, proposals, anniversaries, weddings, openings, and corporate events, for over 30 years. My repertoire includes over 2000 covers, and I especially enjoy sharing classic songs of the 20th century as close to the original versions as possible. These include songs across a wide range of genres, including Pop, Rock, Motown, Blues, Jazz, Country, Folk, and Bluegrass. If you also enjoy brilliant songbooks such as Lennon/McCartney, Jagger/Richards, Bacharach/David, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Simon & Garfunkel I have you well covered! I'm also happy to perform some more recent hits.

I offer music as a:
  • solo acoustic guitarist, performed instrumentally or with vocals
  • "one-man-band" including vocals, acoustic or electric guitar, percussion, and harmonica
  • violin-guitar duo, performed instrumentally or with lead and harmony vocals
  • 3 to 6 piece band, including bass, drums, and bespoke additional instruments and/or vocalists as needed or requested

After finishing a stint in Toronto as one of the youngest Canadian songwriters signed to EMI publishing (I was 17), I traveled North America and Europe as a street entertainer for a few years, making a living in iconic busking spots such as Dublin and Stuttgart. I quickly found out that in order to survive as a street musician I had to learn to make people smile. As Bruce Springsteen says: “Give it all you got to make the people happy.”
Dan came to play our birthday party and provided fantastic music during dinner and happy hour. He was easy to work with and has a large repertoire. My only regret was that I had to spend time with the guests and wasn’t able to focus all of my attention on his great music. We would have Dan back in a heartbeat.
Russell, birthday party client
I have since performed everything from gas stations to major music festivals, including the Winnipeg Folk Festival, Edmonton Folk Festival, Suwanee Springfest, Kate Wolf Festival, and the Lake Eden Arts Festival. I've had the great pleasure to shake hands with Taj Mahal, Gordon Lightfoot, Doc Watson, and Townes Van Zandt. My songwriting has been appreciated by the likes of Bob Dylan, Tim O'Brien, Jessie Winchester, and David Bowie, and I've had some songs included in feature films. Some of my songs have also been discovered, recorded, and performed widely by celebrated artists around the world, including The Duhks (Canada), Dervish (Ireland), The Ploughboys/Damian Howard (Australia), Emma Cloney (Canada), Jessee Havey (Canada), and The Stacks/Tania Elizabeth of The Avett Brothers (United States).
I hired Dan to serenade my fiance and I at our engagement. I could NOT have picked a better musician. Dan was extremely accommodating and willing to roll with my plans for the day. He was communicative, professional and flexible. What really sets Dan apart are his musical abilities. Great guitarist, great vocalist, and wide-ranging song repertoire. I would 100% recommend Dan for your next event.
Sayrge, marriage proposal client
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However, I'm never far from all the music that inspired me to play air guitar on a tennis racket as a little kid, and the joy and satisfaction I get from entertaining - delighting audiences, changing styles to suit the mood of a crowd, and delivering "Human Jukebox" requests to charmed listeners.

In addition to guitar, I can also perform on mandolin, 12-string guitar, bass, electric guitar, National resonator guitar, dobro, ukulele, banjo, drums, autoharp, or slide guitar as needed or requested.

I enjoy playing for both intimate and large groups, in both formal and informal settings. I can help set the mood of an event with volume sensitive background music, or as needed, kick into high gear, and have everyone dancing and singing along. I am always utilizing those skills I honed in my busking days, being an observant, charming, and passionate entertainer and helping ensure memorable and joyous events.

View my repertoire of popular cover tunes here.
Exceptional talent! I had the joy of watching Dan perform at a local venue and I was in awe! We asked for Bob Dylan and his impressions impressed the hell out of me. His range, skill, and knowledge kept me entertained for hours! So much so that we booked him for our private party and I got the pleasure to sing a song with him. He was truly accommodating. This is a truly talented artist and I can't wait to go watch him again tonight!
Georgina, dinner party client
Our clients really loved Dan and Laurel (his colleage on violin). We highly recommend and will definitely use them in the future. On time, professional, easy to work with! Great job! Thank you!
Teressa, corporate event planner
Dan was terrific! Wide variety from folk country to rock and roll. Could not have asked for better entertainment during our Texas Hold’em tourney!
Rob, corporate event client
Dan played at my son's pre-wedding picnic where he helped create an ambiance where people felt loose and could get to know one another the day before the wedding. He's an amazing musician...knows probably any song you can imagine and has terrific skill on the guitar. I definitely recommend him for any event where you want people to be well entertained with terrific music.
Karen, mother-of-the-groom