Kevin started working with Jacqui McShee (Pentangle) at the New Forest Folk Festival in July 2017, then in August played with her at the concert held in homage to Bert Jansch at the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh. During 2018 they played as a duo in Italy and as Jacqui McShee & Friends including Mike… Read more »
As with composing music, Kevin first started writing song lyrics for Dando Shaft because of a desire to sing his own songs. There is something special about lyrics which could also serve as poems, and Kevin’s invariably do that. Words harbouring love and loss, redemption and betrayal, consciousness and humanity, and enigmatic phrases which comment… Read more »
Also in 2006, Kevin took time out to do a solo tour of the US arranged by long term friend Steve Carson (bass player and promoter.) Whilst staying with Steve’s family in Cincinnati, Kevin did some playing with Steve’s daughter Rosie. Another young fiddle player who Kevin took under his wing, they went on to… Read more »
In 2000 Kevin had a call from Joe Broughton asking if he would like to meet up for a play. “I remember meeting Joe at a Whippersnapper gig at Burnley Mechanics – I think he was 14 then. At the end I was talking to him and his older brother (guitarist) Ben, and Joe said… Read more »
Kevin started working with Jacqui McShee (Pentangle) at the New Forest Folk Festival in July 2017, then in August played with her at the concert held in homage to Bert Jansch at the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh. During 2018 they played as a duo in Italy and as Jacqui McShee & Friends including Mike Piggott (Pentangle) and Tom Chapman, (UFQ) the extraordinary cajon player.
2018 /19 also saw the annual February tour with Joe Broughton (Albion Band, Urban Folk Quartet) and a few gigs with Carolyn Robson and Paul Hutchinson going out as Makepeace. An enjoyable couple of gigs with Marion Fleetwood (Iota) happened unexpectedly in 2019! But most of Kevin’s time is taken up with solo work, and during 2018 and 2019 he toured Austria, Germany and Italy.
Teaching is also important and Kevin has been asked to return many times to a few places. Creative Vacances in France, Folkworks in Gateshead, and Halsway Manor in Somerset all run residential courses. At Halsway Kevin has led their Guitar Week for the last two years and also occasionally helps out at Joe Broughton’s Fiddle School days. Summer 2019 he also taught a Trad Music Workshop in Lockenhaus, Austria.
During 2019 Kevin has produced his album with Jacqui McShee which will be out before the end of the year. 2020 looks like it’s going to be busy and will include a solo tour in Canada.
“The beautiful voice of Kevin Dempsey” – Mike Harding
Kevin’s guitar playing is inspired and inspiring; the strings bending to Kevin’s will as he insists on getting the sound he wants.
Joe Broughton says, “Kev is the best guitarist on the planet.”
As with composing music, Kevin first started writing song lyrics for Dando Shaft because of a desire to sing his own songs. There is something special about lyrics which could also serve as poems, and Kevin’s invariably do that. Words harbouring love and loss, redemption and betrayal, consciousness and humanity, and enigmatic phrases which comment on the state of the world. It’s all in there.
“The lion roared at the chosen one and the roof of the world got trampled on….”
(The Lion)
“It comes down to dishes sometimes; it comes down to the floor…..”
(Leaving in a Hurry Blues)
Dr. Jonathan Day, in his 2016 book Lyrics (ISBN 978-10911048-19-0 Zest Press) included Kevin’s song, Living On Dreams:
“Answers to questions take you high and low, some take forever ‘cos nobody knows,
Some tell you truly that its mine all mine, but sundials in the moonlight always tell the wrong time.”
Also in 2006, Kevin took time out to do a solo tour of the US arranged by long term friend Steve Carson (bass player and promoter.) Whilst staying with Steve’s family in Cincinnati, Kevin did some playing with Steve’s daughter Rosie. Another young fiddle player who Kevin took under his wing, they went on to make three albums together, The Salty Diamond was recorded in Newport, Kentucky, followed by Between the Distance and Nightbirds. Over a few years they played several UK tours, including supporting Fairport Convention on their five thousand mile 2015 Wintour, after which, Kevin disappeared for a short while to Abu Dhabi for some solo work.
In 2009 Kevin was again asked to step in and help, this time by multi award winner accordionist Harriet Bartlett who had worked with some of the biggest names in Folk, such as Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham. This was the start of another duo that so far has toured UK and Europe, with more gigs in the pipeline.
Karen Tweed (accordion) and Carolyn Robson (vocals) were teaching at Folkworks in 2012 and met up with Kevin there. After playing with them, Kevin agreed to join them in a new venture. As DTR they very quickly they recorded an album, Dirt Road, in preparation for appearing at the National Folk Festival in Canberra, Australia.
“The festival organiser from Fairbridge Festival (in Western Australia) knew me from Dando Shaft and Whippersnapper so on hearing I was going to be in the country, he booked me to play solo at Fairbridge. He also found a few gigs for me after the festival, so I did a short tour of the West coast.”
The following year Kevin returned to Australia to play solo at the Nannup Festival, also in Western Australia, and again in 2016 with the same format of festival and short tour, including Fairbridge Festival.
Producing music is another aspect to Kevin’s work which grew out of necessity in his early career. As well as collaborating with Joe Broughton on their recordings, Kevin has produced albums for some of the young musicians he has helped to mentor. At the other end of the generational scale, he also produced the album Straws in the Wind by Dave Swarbrick and Martin Carthy.
Asked what were the biggest and the smallest venues he’s ever played, Kev said:
“The smallest was a restaurant and weekend music venue in Llangollen, North Wales called Jonkers. It was tiny with only space for an audience of twenty. The biggest was at the Rama Lila Ground in Delhi to an audience of two hundred and fifty thousand – but of course I wasn’t playing solo on that one!”
In 2000 Kevin had a call from Joe Broughton asking if he would like to meet up for a play.
“I remember meeting Joe at a Whippersnapper gig at Burnley Mechanics – I think he was 14 then. At the end I was talking to him and his older brother (guitarist) Ben, and Joe said that he had been playing violin since he was five years old. I borrowed Chris Leslie’s fiddle and asked Joe to play something for us. I couldn’t believe it, he was truly amazing!”
In 2000, as Dempsey / Broughton, Kevin and Joe made an album, Every Other World, but it wasn’t until Joe left the Albion Band in 2003 that they started touring full time, taking Folk / World music around UK, USA and Europe. The second album, Freehand, was released in 2004. Although over subsequent years they have followed different paths, they still slip easily back into working together. They have released their third album Off By Heart and have established an annual tour each February.
Whilst working with Joe, Kev also joined forces with two long term friends Tom Leary (Little Johnny England, Humble Pie) and Peter Knight (Steeleye Span) to form the trio Tanna. Kevin had done some writing and recording for Tom in the past but had never worked with Peter.
“Three old blokes together – it was great fun!”
In the first half of 2000, Martin Wyndham Reid (Song Links Project) was running residential music courses at his house in France, engaging different musicians to teach each week. By then Kevin was a well established summer school tutor and Joe Broughton was teaching at Birmingham Conservatoire. When Martin retired, Kevin and Joe moved on to Creative Vacances in the delightful La Moreau, where they continue to teach for a week each summer.
Throughout Kevin’s career musicians have called him to join them knowing that his exceptional musical versatility enables him to fit into and enhance their sound. Mary Black was another of those who phoned Kevin out of the blue in 2004. Her regular guitarist was temporarily working elsewhere so, as a one tour deal, Kevin stepped in for a series of gigs in America.
“Mary had heard a track called Once I Loved that I’d recorded with Joe Broughton on our second album Freehand. She wanted to sing it as a duet, so every night of the tour I had the pleasure of singing that song with Mary.”
Whilst teaching at Folkworks in 2005, Kevin met young fiddle player Anna Esslemont who had recently started working with Irish percussionist Cormac Byrne in a duo they called Uiscedwr. As ever, eager to support young musicians, Kevin agreed to play a few gigs, but actually stayed for four years and went on to make an album called Circle.
