Dan Owen At The Jazz Café - Camden, London

ROUGH ONLINE recently had the pleasure of seeing one of the most impressive performances by a singer and songwriter since the start of the magazine’s music features. Dan Owen, a multi-talented music artist with something to say invited ROUGH to his show at The Jazz Café, in London’s Camden, which kicked off the UK and European   tour to promote his forthcoming debut album “Stay Awake With Me,” an incredible portfolio of songs which explores different social issues, from domestic violence to love and loss.

When listening to piano ballads like “Made To Love You,” which tells the story of a man who is the victim of violence at the hands of a woman he is deeply in love with, a song accompanied by a visually disturbing music video, and mid-tempo soft rock songs like “Moonlight,” you immediately get the impression that you are walking into an intimately intense, acoustic gig. Although the intensity is delivered during some of his set, such as when he performs the album’s title track, the touching “Stay Awake With Me,” one of the highlights of the evening where the singer lyrically puts himself into the shoes of his Grandmother expressing her love for his Grandfather in a heart-wrenching vocal performance which will choke you up because it is quite simply too sad for words, Dan Owen also shows off his authentic, “Rockstar” persona and brilliant musicianship skills when he plays the harmonica, the acoustic guitar and a kick drum all at the same time to the exciting and up-tempo, traditional Folk Rock number “When I Die,” in which the audience danced and clapped along to this uplifting song about the concept of Death, as if they were at a throwback Johnny Cash gig. Both “When I Die” and his cover of Bob Dylan’s classic “The Ballad of Hollis Brown” were ROUGH’s favourite numbers of the evening, because Dan Owen is at his best when he aggressively and relentlessly bashes the hell out of his guitar, while getting lost in the music as if he were in the privacy of his own home, while the audience are captivated by his passion as a performer on stage.

Supported by talented acts Hollie Rogers and Joe Slater, Dan Owen kicked off his set with a beautifully stripped-back version of “What Is A Man” joined by a skilled pianist, who as a duo are in sync nicely. The two bounce off each other well on stage, as whilst Owen’s partner head bangs his long hair frantically at the keyboard, the man himself body bangs with his acoustic guitar in his hands to Blues and Rockabilly-influenced songs such as his Willie Nelson cover of “Little Red Rooster” performed during the Encore, which put an end to this perfectly-rehearsed, tight start to his upcoming tour dates. With a voice reminiscent of indie greats such as the Goo Goo Dolls’ John Rzeznik and one of the greatest Rock N’ Roll voices of all time Joe Cocker, Dan Owen is going to become the next well renowned singer and songwriter for sure.

Check out our PHOTO GALLERY  of Dan Owen’s recent performance at The Jazz Café, and keep your eye out for his debut album “Stay Awake With Me,” this August. An exclusive interview with the singer is to be premiered by ROUGH ONLINE very soon.