If you’ve never heard of Dave McCann, you are probably not alone. He should be famous. The problem is, he's never been fuelled by fame or the rad stage veneer so essential to catching light in the superficial cloud of today's music world. He’s pushed it all aside to work on songs, well-honed songs.
Raised in Peterborough, Ontario, singer-songwriter Dave McCann rolled west and landed in Calgary, Alberta during the first Alt-Country inclination of the late 1990’s. He founded Dave McCann and the Ten Toed Frogs and released a string of critically acclaimed projects - “Woodland Tea”, “Country Medicine”, and “Shoot the Horse” (a live capture at the historic Sidetrack Cafe, one of Alberta’s fondest and long gone venues). In 2009, he followed the road south to East Nashville to record with Lij Shaw and Americana guitar icon and producer Will Kimbrough (Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Shemekia Copeland, Todd Snider). The resulting work “Dixiebluebird” brought a name change and was an inspiring benchmark release for Dave McCann and the Firehearts. He made a move South from Calgary to Lethbridge, Alberta to get married and raise a family and, in 2014, conspired with fellow Southern Albertan Leeroy Stagger at his Rebeltone Ranch to build the “Circle of Light” release. After close to two decades, Dave McCann has locked himself firmly into hearts and minds of the Alberta music scene as one of the best untold singer-songwriters working in contemporary roots music.
His newest effort “Westbound ’til Light” is no exception. This is an unyielding collection of songs - story songs, train songs, disaster songs, and message songs - all informed by some aspect of North American folklore. It’s definitive roots music, steeped in Dave’s unique vision and story based narrative.
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