Dan May

Artist Information

Biography

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Year In Music just named Dan's CD "Dying Breed" Best in Country/Roots for 2011!

Reviews of Dan's new CD, "Dying Breed" have appeared in newspapers and magazines coast to coast, and here's what they're saying:

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: "exceptionally well-crafted and well-written...full of insistently catchy, emotionally substantial songs"

SACRAMENTO BEE: "A master storyteller"

BELLINGHAM (WA) HERALD: "Though he's been in pop music barely five years, the late bloomer has already compiled an impressive body of work."

COLLEGE TIMES, TEMPE (AZ) : " May delivers songs that, for all their literary grace are accessable and unaffected."

FORT WAYNE (IN) JOURNAL GAZETTE: "Dying Breed" displays all the striking qualities that marked May's earlier sets.

PULSE MAGAZINE, CEDAR FALLS (IA) COURIER : "May engages the listeners with numbers tender and loving as well as sly and cutting."

GRAND FORKS (ND) HERALD: "He can pack quite a bluesy punch when he wants to."

CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE: "The only non-original is Springsteen's "Thunder Road" and it speaks to May's exceptional talents that he can make the Boss's monumental anthem seem a part of his own work."


The Dan May band has appeared at East Coast venues from Florida to New Hampshire, as well as frequent Midwest tours. A favorite of the festival circuit, Dan and the band have played Musikfest, Philadelphia Folk Fest, Lancaster Fest, Summer's Best Music Fest, Somerfest, and many others, and also national venues such as The World Cafe, The Bitter End, Iron Horse Music Hall, Sellersville Theater, headlining and opening for national acts Paul Thorn, Suzy Bogguss, Vonda Shepard, Hal Ketchum, Richie Furay, Crystal Gayle and others. Dan's music has been heard on radio stations and television across the US, Europe and Australia.

Dan's career path has taken more twists and turns than a corkscrew in a hurricane. He's worked as a grave-digger, television cameraman, short-order cook, nuclear missile security guard, made gear-shift covers in a rubber factory, pumped-gas, sold clothing in a big and tall men's store, driven an ice cream truck, coached track, delivered furniture, wrote feature stories for a daily newspaper, unloaded trucks at an amusement park, and labored in a greenhouse. All before the age of 25. Then, while studying music composition in college, he inadvertently stumbled into an opera career that would see him singing with opera companies across the U.S. and Canada, and leaving a promising future as a singer-songwriter behind. Cut to 15 years later, and a vocal-chord surgery that left him no longer able to meet the demands of opera. Talk about a blessing in disguise. He is now back where he belongs, writing and performing his own songs, delivered in a voice that is as unique as it is interesting. Dan's debut CD, "Once Was Red" (2005), features infectious pop melodies and clever lyrics that are sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes filled with longing and loss, but always intelligent. All thirteen tracks are highlighted by beautiful layered harmonies, with melodies and lyrics that maintain their integrity from beginning to end.

Dan's follow-up CDs, "Fate Said Nevermind," (2007) "The Long Road Home," (2008) and "Dying Breed," (2011) feature an eclectic mixture of swampy Louisiana guitar licks, bluesy piano, Tex-Mex grooves, and the driving rhythm guitar which is a trademark of Dan's sound. Painted over this lush tapestry are the layered vocal harmonies that make the music so appealing and truly special. Elements of Americana Roots, Folk, Country, Rock, Jazz and Pop make this music hard to label, but so easy to love.

Dan has certainly made the successful transition from classical to popular music without missing a beat. With a solid regional fan base, and an ever-increasing national audience, this artist is poised to make his mark on a large scale.

And one thing is for sure. It ain't opera.

Having played shows in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Delaware, Ohio, Illinois and Florida, Dan and the band have no touring limitations.

For a demo of the live show, go to:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sro2CYWio_g

Instrumentation

Keith Giosa - Guitar, Keyboards & Vocals
Tom Hampton - Vocals, Guitar, mandolin, Dobro
Mike Kurman - Bass and Vocals
Mike Pietruska - Drums, Percussion and Vocals
Heather Fili - Vocals
Dan Kauffman - Guitar

Discography

_________________________
2011 - "Dying Breed

"Paradise" WXPN "Pick Of The Day"

2008 - "The Long Road Home"

*Ponder In Wonder - WXPN "Pick of The Day"

2007 - "Fate Said Nevermind"

* Title track selected as "pick of the day" on WXPN within a week of the albums' release.
* "Sister Rain" from FSNM has received international airplay, including Irish National Radio

_________________________
2006 - "Roots And Wings"

* Limited Edition EP, featuring new material from the then-not-yet-released "Fate SaidNever Mind" album, songs from his debut, and three songs not featured on any other release: "Still", "The Gift", and "Back To You", which was played at the travelling Vietnam Veterans Memorial ceremony in Washington, DC - in addition to being featured on www.americasupportsyou.com.

_________________________
2005 - "Once Was Red"

* Dan's brilliant debut album, featuring the single "Lights Out In Tupelo".
* Received extensive independent airplay - has sold almost 4,000 copies to date.

Audio samples from each album can be heard on Dan's myspace/broadjam sites, as well as on CDBaby.com, where they can be purchased.

Official Website

http://danmaycd.com

Audio

• That One Song
  Listen  
• Lights Out In Tupelo
  Listen  
• Lucy
  Listen  
• Paradise
  Listen  
• The Fish That Got Away
  Listen  
• Gabriel
  Listen  
• Water Under The Bridge
  Listen  
• Some Love (Master)
  Listen  
• Christmas in My Hometown
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Lucy
• The Fish That Got Away
• Paradise
• Lights Out In Tupelo
• Gabriel
• Some Love

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Reviews of "Dying Breed" [+ Show ]
  

  The Philadelphia Inquirer's Year In Music just named Dan's CD "Dying Breed" Best in Country/Roots...
  The Philadelphia Inquirer's Year In Music just named Dan's CD "Dying Breed" Best in Country/Roots for 2011!
  
  Reviews of Dan's new CD, "Dying Breed" have appeared in newspapers and magazines coast to coast, and here's what they're saying:
  
  PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: "exceptionally well-crafted and well-written...full of insistently catchy, emotionally substantial songs"
  
  SACRAMENTO BEE: "A master storyteller"
  
  BELLINGHAM (WA) HERALD: "Though he's been in pop music barely five years, the late bloomer has already compiled an impressive body of work."
  
  COLLEGE TIMES, TEMPE (AZ) : " May delivers songs that, for all their literary grace are accessable and unaffected."
  
  FORT WAYNE (IN) JOURNAL GAZETTE: "Dying Breed" displays all the striking qualities that marked May's earlier sets.
  
  PULSE MAGAZINE, CEDAR FALLS (IA) COURIER : "May engages the listeners with numbers tender and loving as well as sly and cutting."
  
  GRAND FORKS (ND) HERALD: "He can pack quite a bluesy punch when he wants to."
  
  CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE: "The only non-original is Springsteen's "Thunder Road" and it speaks to May's exceptional talents that he can make the Boss's monumental anthem seem a part of his own work."

• Nick Cristiano [+ Show ]
  

  "The Long Road Home is the latest of his three exceptionally well-crafted and well-written albums of..."The Long Road Home is the latest of his three exceptionally well-crafted and well-written albums of pop music with often rootsy colorings, from mandolin to dobro and fiddle. They're full of insistently catchy, emotionally substantial songs that in another day could have been massive radio hits rather than being limited to the Americana charts."

• Long Road Home CD Review [+ Show ]
  

  "The Long Road Home is substantial work, with haunting, heartfelt tunes and resonant vocals in the t..."The Long Road Home is substantial work, with haunting, heartfelt tunes and resonant vocals in the tradition of deep pocket singers like Gordon Lightfoot and Randy Travis." - Jonathan Takiff - Philadelphia Daily News
  
  

• WXPN Helen Leicht [+ Show ]
  

  "With his new record, The Long Road Home, there is no question that Dan May is at his very best." - ..."With his new record, The Long Road Home, there is no question that Dan May is at his very best." - Helen Leicht - WXPN - Philadelphia
  
  

• FROM AIRFORCE TO OPERA TO SINGER SONGWRITER [+ Show ]
  

  NICK CRISTIANO OF THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER - "May's deep, slightly husky voice, reminiscent of Gord...NICK CRISTIANO OF THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER - "May's deep, slightly husky voice, reminiscent of Gordon Lightfoot and Richard Thompson, hints at the bass he once was in opera, but with his own music he never aims for any kind of operatic, or even Orbisonesque, grandeur. The Long Road Home is the latest of his three exceptionally well-crafted and well-written albums of pop music with often rootsy colorings, from mandolin to dobro and fiddle. They're full of insistently catchy, emotionally substantial songs that in another day could have been massive radio hits rather than being limited to the Americana charts. The Long Road Home is the latest of his three exceptionally well-crafted and well-written albums of pop music with often rootsy colorings, from mandolin to dobro and fiddle. They're full of insistently catchy, emotionally substantial songs that in another day could have been massive radio hits rather than being limited to the Americana charts."

• Bruce Ranes - Program Director of the Sellersville Theater
  

  "Artistically, he's exceptional. "He's as good as any of the best national talent we've had here."

Setlist

Dan May's setlist is all original material - and with three full length albums and an EP to choose from, there's more than enough for a full length headline show.

Basic Requirements

Calendar