Charlottetown- Nova Scotian musician Dave Gunning will perform his unique blend of folk music and innovative arrangements of traditional songs at The Mack on Friday, April 27, at 8 p.m.
One of the most respected musicians on the East Coast, Gunning won Folk Recording of the Year at the 2005 East Coast Music Awards for his fourth album Two-Bit World and was nominated for Male Artist of the Year. His 2006 Christmas release, Dave Gunning Christmas, features the popular original track, “Daddy’s Beer,” co-written with Jamie Robinson.
His previous albums, Caught Between Shadows and Lost Tracks, were nominated in the roots/traditional category at the ECMAs in their respective years of release. His next full-length studio release is expected to be out in the spring of this year.
During the 2007 ECMA gala, he joined a cast of 20 musicians in a tribute to the late music greats John Allan Cameron, Dutch Mason and Denny Doherty. Specifically he sang the Mamas and Papas’ classic song “Monday, Monday” in honour of Doherty. He is also a multiple Music Industry Association of Nova Scotia (MIANS) award winner, including 2004 Folk Album of the Year, and 2003 Musician of the Year, and is an award winning recording engineer and producer.
In addition to headlining his own shows across Canada, Gunning has performed with other great Canadian artists including George Canyon, John MacDermott and Stompin’ Tom Connors. He was the special guest opener for INXS on their sold-out performance in Halifax in May 2006. Gunning performed on INXS frontman JD Fortune’s original demo, which helped win him a spot on the reality show Rock Star: INXS. In November 2006 he performed as a special guest on John McDermott’s holiday shows in Ontario and Nova Scotia.
A favourite on the festival circuit, he has played internationally and at such notable events as the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, The Stan Rogers Folk Festival in Nova Scotia, SXSW in Austin and Tonder Folk Festival in Denmark. A charismatic performer, he is known for infusing his shows with his own brand of humorous tales and touching commentary on the everyday, bringing a new vibrancy and life to his songs.
This PEI Presents event is licensed for people aged 19 and older. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased at the Confederation Centre’s box office, by phone at 1-800-565-0278, or online at www.confederationcentre.com. Sobeys is the overall sponsor of PEI Presents. Media sponsors are The Guardian, CBC-TV, Ocean 100 and K-Rock 105.5. Aliant is the sponsor of the Centre’s toll-free telephone number. This performance is sponsored by the Best Western Charlottetown.
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