Herb Dale
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Herb Dale

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Band Country Bluegrass

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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Press


"Herb Dale puts it together for release of It Was About Time cd Sat. Sept 9 at"

"I like Country," "Uncle" Herb Dale tells an audience of mostly fellow musicians at a small café where he and other talents gather a couple of times a week to share their tunes, making what might well be the understatement of the year. The 61-year old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist only began writing a couple of years ago but, as the 12 tracks on his debut album, It Was About Time, demonstrate, he's what we call in the biz "a natural", whose songs are heavily influenced by all the greats but exude sincerity and authenticity and have a way of sticking with you long after you've heard them even for the first time. Though Herb is backed by ten musicians on various instruments at various times on different tracks, there's nothing overly clever or artsy-pretentious about this disc -it is, as studio overseer and co-masterer Sebastian Agnello of Turtle Shell music observed, "a songwriter's album." Those familiar with Dale's shows will recognize some of his best-loved tunes such as "Like Good Old Willie Nelson", "Tranquility Bound", "Nothin' But Good" and "Insomnia and Tears" as well as two covers he's known for and some newer originals. This is an album to keep you company and reassure you that it's not the entire world that's going to hell in a handbasket.
-Gary 17
- To-nite magazine #377, Aug. 31 - Sept. 13, 2006


"Uncle Herb Hosting Party Wed. Dec 1 at Renaissance"

An engaging performer and affable fellow, “Uncle” Herb Dale is a regular participant at the weekly Tuesday and Thursays open stages at Renaissance Café and Café Au Lait in Toronto’s East York areas as well as regularly featured at clubs in the west end and downtown. Somehow his shows end up resembling the open stages he hosted for a few years downtown…lots of performers drop by to sit in for a song or two. Expect that to be the case when Herb takes the limelight at the Renaissance the night of Wed. Dec. 1.
- Gary Seventeen
- To-nite Music Nitelife & Leisure Guide, Nov 18, 2004 edition # 334.1


"Open Mic Night Caters To All Types"

Herb Dale (“Uncle Herb” to practically everyone), 58, was a gigging musician who fell into organizing the open mic nights at Shakespeare’s Café. ..On Friday and Saturday nights, he and his band, Uncle Herb and Friends, can be found doing the showcase where he struts his country stuff to the tunes of George Jones and Merle Haggard. His 20-plus years of experience, he says, help him deal with the schizophrenic havoc that comes naturally with musicians. “Every Night is a different night. It has its own memorable things with it,” says the host. …Open nights bring out everyone from newbies, full of adrenaline and exhilarated to finally get their shot, to those for who this kind of night is old hat.
Having seen “a big resurgence of live music in the last three years.” Uncle herb continues to do it for “the love of the chance for people who really want to play,” and to inspire “people who haven’t played in years.”
Fortified with generous helpings of dedication and belief in the industry, he is optimistic about the burgeoning scene. On days when he’s not organizing or playing at Shakespeare’s himself, Uncle Herb checks out other open mic nights in the city to see how they are being run, what talent is being responded to, and get a feel of the current music vibe.
But is seems like Shakespeare’s is his musical lifeline. It used to be a bad corner, reflects the host mentioning druggies and general ruffians. But after starting the open mic, he says, the environment has improved: “Now it’s a café as opposed to a coffe shop”.
-Stephanie Dickison
- The Annex Gleaner, ARTS Section, August 2003


Discography

Herb Dale: Bloodshot Glow, November 2004, Demo. CD ( 4-originals songs, cross-genre, country, bluegrass, blues, jazz).
Herb Dale: Ticket (in my hand) January 2005 Demo CD (4 original songs).
Herb Dale- It Was About Time, September 2006 - Full CD - 10 original tunes, 2 cover songs. (As traditional country as it gets)

Photos

Bio

Herb Dale has been performing in Toronto for over two decades. As a seasoned bass player, Herb has joined the stage with some of Toronto's finest musicians. He released his first full-length CD in Sept 2006 "It Was About Time" which reflects the styles of his traditional country and bluegrass heroes, but with his own musical twist.

He is known fondly in the Toronto music scene as “uncle” Herb, by a generation of young musicians who have received his support and encouragement over the last decade. Many of these same musicians started performing at his open stage at Shakespeare’s Café, which ran 7 days a week for almost 4 years.

Currently, he hosts a very popular open stage every Thursday night at Dave's Gourmet Pizza, and the "It Takes Two" series for performing Duos at the Renaissance Cafe.

Herb commented once, "I will take any opportunity I can get to play, but my passion is writing songs. It is my dream to have some of the younger musicians to pick up my songs and cover them".

Festivals and events that Herb has performed at include Winterfolk V (2008), Winterfolk VI (2009) ,Toronto CityWide Roots Festival Groovy Monday Stage(2008), Concert for Peace VI at Mel Lastman Square (2007), and a number of fundraising events including "Every Note Counts" a fundraiser for the music Therapy program at HSC, (2009), Canadian Cancer Society Benefit, Roar Up Kilimanjaro for the CFID (2006), The Bike For Life Benefit (2006), and The Sammy Sugar Festival (2007)

Herb continues to stay connected with the local indie music scene, he can be found around town playing 2-3 nights a week, and he continues to write and promote his original songs.