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Kevin Dempsey | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Folk |
| Years active | c. 1960s–present |
| Labels | various |
| Website | kevindempsey |
Kevin Dempsey is a British, Coventry-born guitarist, songwriter, producer and arranger, whose playing has been described as "innovative". [1]
|
Kevin Dempsey | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Folk |
| Years active | c. 1960s–present |
| Labels | various |
| Website | kevindempsey |
Kevin Dempsey is a British, Coventry-born guitarist, songwriter, producer and arranger, whose playing has been described as "innovative". [1]
Dempsey started off playing drums before moving quickly to guitar. [2]
A co-founder of progressive folk act Dando Shaft, when the band broke up in 1972, Dempsey spent time in India before heading to the US, where he joined Blue Aquarius, a jazz/ funk outfit signed to Stax Records. He also played Latin music with Los Bohemios, and did session work with Alice Coltrane. [3]
Upon returning to the UK, Dempsey went on to perform with a variety of acts including, notably, Swarb's Lazarus and Whippersnapper (band) with Dave Swarbrick, and Uiscedwr (2005-2007).
He also worked with Denim (band), accordion player Karen Tweed, Cincinnati-based Rosie Carson [4] and Peter Knight (folk musician). [5]
Other artists Kevin has played with include Percy Sledge, The Marvellettes, Mary Black (accompanying her on a 2004 US tour) [6] and from 2018, Jacqui McShee. [7]
In 2020, McShee and Dempsey released From There To Here via their own McDem Records which gave "them both a chance to explore and record more traditional folk songs and share writing ventures." [8]
Well travelled, Dempsey has performed across the UK, Europe, Ireland, US and in 2013, made his first appearance in Australia, appearing at Folkworld Fairbridge Festival. [9]
Kevin has released one solo album, 1987's The Cry Of Love.
In 1999, Dempsey teamed with fiddle player Joe Broughton (The Urban Folk Quartet, The Albion Band) as Dempsey Broughton. The duo have released several albums, beginning with Every Other World (1999), and tour intermittently. Their most recent release is Off By Heart (2017). [10]
Dempsey said, the duo play "instrumentals, traditional songs and original songs", [11] while their teaming has been described as a "dynamic partnership." [6]
In 2019, the duo marked their 20th anniversary with a series of UK dates. [12]
Although Dempsey is best known for his work within the British folk tradition, "he grew up on a diet of American music; folk, blues, soul, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, Otis Redding, Mississippi John Hurt" and has played with musicians from US, El Salvador and Guatemala. [9] His wide experience "shows in his versatility and ability to turn his hand, and guitar, to many different styles and genres." [13]
Dempsey has been praised for his "sensitive finger picking" [14] while Martin Carthy has referred to him as “a beautiful guitarist.” [13]
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater They started out influenced by American folk rock, with a set list dominated by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell songs and a sound that earned them the nickname "the British Jefferson Airplane". Vocalists Judy Dyble and Iain Matthews joined them before the recording of their self-titled debut in 1968; afterwards, Dyble was replaced by Sandy Denny, with Matthews later leaving during the recording of their third album.
Pentangle are a British folk band, formed in London in 1967. The original band was active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and a later version has been active since the early 1980s. The original line-up, which was unchanged throughout the band's first incarnation (1967–1973), was Jacqui McShee (vocals); John Renbourn ; Bert Jansch ; Danny Thompson ; and Terry Cox (drums).
Dave Pegg is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, primarily a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of folk and rock groups including the Ian Campbell Folk Group and Jethro Tull.
David Cyril Eric Swarbrick was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was one of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second British folk revival, contributing to some of the most important groups and projects of the 1960s, and he became a much sought-after session musician, which led him throughout his career to work with many of the major figures in folk and folk rock music.
John Renbourn was an English guitarist and songwriter. He was best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo career before, during and after that band's existence (1967–1973). He worked later in a duo with Stefan Grossman.
Jacqueline 'Jacqui' McShee is an English singer. Since 1966 she has performed with Pentangle, a jazz-influenced folk rock band.
Christopher Julian Leslie is a British folk rock musician. He joined Fairport Convention in 1997.
Peter Knight is a folk musician, a former member of British folk rock group Steeleye Span. Born in London, Knight learnt to play the violin and mandolin as a child before going to the Royal Academy of Music from 1960 to 1964. The recordings of the Irish fiddler Michael Coleman inspired him to take part in Irish pub sessions. He teamed up with guitarist and singer Bob Johnson until 1970 when he joined Steeleye Span. The parting was short-lived, as Johnson himself also joined Steeleye Span in 1972. Since 2016, he has performed as a duo with Bellowhead founder and melodeon player, John Spiers.
Gerald Conway is an English folk and rock drummer/percussionist, best known for having performed with the backing band for Cat Stevens in the 1970s, Jethro Tull during the 1980s, and a member of Fairport Convention from 1998 to 2022, alongside various side projects. Conway has done a considerable amount of work as a session musician. Conway is married to vocalist Jacqui McShee, who is the singer of Pentangle, a band Conway is also a member of.
Glasgerion is Child ballad 67,, existing in several variants.
This is a list of artists who have played at the various Fairport Convention Fairport's Cropredy Convention over the years.
Rosie is a 1973 album by British folk rock band Fairport Convention, their eighth album since their debut in 1968.
The Cropredy Box is an album by Fairport Convention recorded at their annual live concert in Cropredy, Oxfordshire, England to celebrate the band's thirtieth anniversary in 1997. Featuring many songs for which the band had become noted, the set also features performances from many former members including violinist Dave Swarbrick, original vocalist Judy Dyble, and Ralph McTell. Commentary is provided by their first manager, Joe Boyd, and Ashley Hutchings.
Hedgehog Pie were a British folk rock group from the north-east of England, that evolved between 1969 and 1971. Despite frequent line-up changes, they built up a considerable regional and national following and produced three highly regarded albums. They were connected to many of the most important folk and rock bands of the region from the 1970s and have been seen as one of the most significant groups in a rediscovery and popularisation of Northumbrian roots music.
Whippersnapper was an English folk band formed in 1984, consisting of Dave Swarbrick, Chris Leslie, Kevin Dempsey and Martin Jenkins.
Swarb's Lazarus, or just Lazarus were an English folk band formed by Dave Swarbrick ("Swarb") with ex-Whippersnapper Kevin Dempsey and ex-Fairport Maartin Allcock. They have released one album - Live and Kicking (2006), a compilation of live recordings made in April and May 2006, which has received critical approval.
Hunter Muskett is an English folk-rock band, that first existed between 1968 and 1974, and reformed in 2010.
Rosemary "Rosie" Hardman is a British folk singer-songwriter, musician and performer, best known for such recordings as Lady For Today, Pride of the River, Song to the Evening Sky, and Tongue Tied. Hardman was one of the mainstays of the Manchester folk scene in the 1960s, and performed extensively in both the UK and internationally until 1991.
Dando Shaft is the name of a short-lived psychedelic/progressive folk and folk jazz band that was primarily active in the early 1970s. The band has attracted a measure of attention from recent compilation releases and Dando Shaft is today known primarily as one of the major influences on the progressive stream of the 1960s folk revival.
50:50@50 is the twenty-eighth studio album by British folk rock band Fairport Convention, released in January 2017 to mark the band's 50th anniversary. Half of the album was recorded in the studio, and the other half is a selection of songs recorded from live performances.
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