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OVERVIEW

Co-founder of Celtic progressive/folk/rock/band IONA, Dave toured the world with the band between 1989 and 2015, releasing 13 critically acclaimed albums. Dave’s multi-faceted career as a solo artist, keyboardist, guitarist, bouzouki player, composer, improviser, producer, arranger, teacher, musical director and sound mixer has led him into many musical genres and work with numerous artists including:

Strawbs,

Lifesigns,

Downes Braide Assocation,

Jack Bruce,

Buddy Guy,

Phil Guy,

Troy Donockley (Nightwish),

Nick Beggs,

Gloria Gaynor,

Moya Brennan,

Colin Blunstone,

Robert Fripp,

David Paton,

Annie Haslam,

Eric Bazilian,

Neal Morse,

Mae McKenna,

Phil Keaggy,

Paul Jones,

Damian Wilson,

Snake’ Davis,

PP Arnold,

Mollie Marriott,

Gabriel Agudo,

The Original (Alan Parsons) Project Band,

Norman Beaker,

Michael Ball,

Pete Brown,

Gary Boyle,

Paul Bielatowicz,

Fernando Perdomo,

Celtish,

Adrian Snell,

Dave Brons,

Bryn Haworth,

Circuline,

and many others.

 

AWARDS

Winner of the BBC Radio 2 Best Jazz Soloist Award (piano) and the Sam Hood Rosebowl for Outstanding Performance during his time at Leeds Music College (where he graduated with a First Class Pass, including Distinction in Arranging), He has regukarky been voted as one of Prog Magazine’s Top Ten Guitarists in their annual Readers Poll, coming 3rd in 2021 after Steve Hackett and John Petrucci, and 4th in 2022.

 

SOLO & COLLABORATIVE RELEASES

Dave has released four critically acclaimed solo albums, ‘Veil of Gossamer’ (2004), ‘Celestial Fire’ (2014), his first solo piano album ‘The Remembering’ (2016) and 'To The Far Away (2021). The ‘Celestial Fire’ album led to the formation of Dave’s band of the same name in 2015 and the Celestial Fire band ’Live in the UK’ DVD/2CD album was released in April 2017. Dave has also released several collaborative albums with Troy Donockley (of Nightwish) and David Fitzgerald (Iona). ‘The Eye of the Eagle’, Dave’s first collaboration with woodwind player David Fitzgerald and the St Edmundsbury Boys Choir, was premiered in front of a sell out audience in Norwich Cathedral at the prestigious Norwich Festival, and was also the subject of a documentary for Anglia TV.  

 

Dave co-wrote a guitar concerto with Classic FM favourite Nick Fletcher, released on the album ‘Cathedral of Dreams’ (2009), which Dave also produced. The DVD, ‘Live in The Studio’, a collaboration with Lord of the Dance singer Sally Minnear was released in August 2018.

His 4th solo album ‘To The Far Away’, was released at the end of November 2021 in 5 formats, including a limited Photo box edition featuring a book of Dave’s landscape photos. 

 

 'TO THE FAR AWAY' was featured in a number of 'Best Of 2021' Polls (despite being release towards the end of the year),

No. 1 Best Album, Album of the Month, Cover Feature, iO Pages Magazine
No. 2 Best Album of 2021 Progressive Rock Central

Number 2 Best of Top 100 of 2021 Prog Archives

No. 2 Best Album of 2021 Esther’s Rock Blog

No. 2 Best Album of 2021 Scotland Rocks Radio

No. 6 Best Album of 2021 Amarok Magazine

No. 6 Best Album of 2021 SymfoCity

No.7 Best Album of 2021 Background Magazine

No. 13 Best Album of 2021 Sonic Perspectives

Album of the Month Radio Xymphonia

3rd Prog Magazine Reader’s Poll Best Guitarist of 2021 

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