Dave Hawkins, Folk Musician

Dave Hawkins is the songwriter’s songwriter and the audience’s performer. There are not many entertainers today who can feel equally as comfortable sharing the stage with performers as diverse as Folk legend Tom Rush and Rock and Roll icon Ian Anderson and still sit and share stories and songs with a group of grade school kids.

Dave has received praise from Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul and Mary), Tommy Sands (Sands Family), Folk and Old Timey legend Jean Ritchey and Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), among others.

From his first “professional” gig at age 8; sharing the stage in Kenley Players production of The Man Who Came to Dinner with Jack Cassidy and Margaret Hamilton to his performance in Oklahoma City with Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson Dave has proven his diversity and love of his work.

With over 14 recordings to his credit and 5 solo albums in the past 10 years he has a proven track record as a recording artist and staying power as a songwriter. With pithy songs about loves gained and lost, songs about baseball, kids, from the view of a jilted lover or the eyes of an old man’s dog, Dave has an eye, ear and heart for life’s little quirks.

His latest CD, Manchester Mornings (2005- Mountainside Audio Records) was under consideration for Grammy nomination in 3 categories and his previous release, Hotel DeVille (2002 AUR Records) was under consideration for Grammy nomination in 4 categories.

His songs and live performances have been compared to well known artists like John Prine, Steve Goodman and Loudon Wainwright III. But Dave is so much more than a “Songwriter Clone!” While eliciting these fine performers, pigeonholing Dave is an impossible feat. The English free-lance journalist John Whishaw wrote,

“… Dave is an Americana artist with his Irish roots showing.”

Dave is equally comfortable on stage performing for 2000 people as he is in the intimate setting of a house concert with 35 fans.

His current tours consist of this very thing. Performing Wilmington College’s 500-seat theater, Rose State College (Oklahoma City) with 1000 seats, house concerts at homes from Cincinnati, Ohio to Brussels, Belgium. Dave’s done it all, and enjoys every minute of it.

With his talent and chosen life in music Dave feels the obligation to “give back.” To that end he serves as chairman of an Arts organization in his hometown of College Hill, Ohio. He also serves as Solidarity Committee Chairman and Executive Board member of Local 1000- American Federation of Musicians where he organizes an annual fundraising concert for various causes.

In Austin Texas 2006 Dave organized a fundraising concert for Gulf Coast Relief and performed along with Arlo Guthrie, John McCutcheon, Peggy Seeger among others. Dave is also a member of Peace Village, and performs regularly at Peace rallies and remains active in causes involving social justice and the Labor Movement.