Music

Album Of The Week: Dan Blakeslee’s Owed To The Tanglin’ Wind

blakeBoston musician Dan Blakeslee is an extremely talented individual on the folk music scene. Along with being one of the kindest and most energetic human beings you’ll ever meet, his songs have immense heart and passion that’s rarely equaled. Dan has a brand new album out called Owed To The Tanglin’ Wind and it’s quite a jewel. Each song is bound to take your breath away while giving the senses a touch of bliss.

Recorded at The Columbus Theatre in Providence, the album features an ensemble cast joining Dan to give each track it’s own identity. With The Low Anthem’s Jeffrey Prystowsky and Ben Knox Miller, Death Vessel’s Joel Thibodeau, Ian Fitzgerald and Joe Fletcher, among others, providing their accentual beauty to Owed To The Tanglin’ Wind, it’s a great example of how a community can come together to create something truly brilliant. Dan Blakeslee shows his talents with his thoroughly soulful voice and his amazing skills on guitar exquisitely to create a whole album that’s a series of stories. The fiddle of Joseph Arnold is all over Owed To The Tanglin’ Wind to add a nice body to the recordings.

Before you know it the long days will quickly become early nights and the weather will get colder and colder as the days go on. While you get ready to bring out your sweaters and scarves, get cozy and jump into the top tracks off of my Album Of The Week:

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I do love “My Lightning Valentino” a lot, a spectacular ballad about a southern man meeting a northern girl, and an amazing white horse takes your mind to picturesque places you never thought imaginable. The strumming chords of “Sleepwalkin’” set the song off perfectly and when Dan starts to sing about walking with his eyes closed, his voice shows you his essence. Another wonderful track is “Love and Confection.” Dan’s description of falling for a girl at a bakery while drinking a cup of coffee is another example of how he can tell a mesmerizing story and make a pretty damn good song out of it.

Dan will be doing a little mini tour in celebration of Owed To The Tanglin’ Wind’s release with fellow Bostonians Tallahassee starting at Great Scott in Allston, Mass., on September 3 with Tigerman WOAH! and Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons, September 4 at The Columbus Theatre with Will Dailey and The Press Room in Portsmouth, NH, with Brook, Bear and The Elephant on September 5. You better make plans to go to one of these shows because once you see Dan Blakeslee play you won’t regret it. While you’re at it, grab a copy of Dan’s new album. It’s a fantastic piece of music that I guarantee you won’t be able to stop enjoying.

Dan Blakeslee’s BandCamp page: http://danblakeslee.bandcamp.com