Dan McKinnon, Performance Review
Black Swan, York, England
By David Kidman, June 29th, 2006

The Black Swan's seen some splendid nights of late, but this was one of the very best, with a fantastic atmosphere. Dan's a warm-hearted, warm-voiced, singer-songwriter from the Canadian Maritimes who's yet to attain wider acclaim in this country – but he received a rapturous welcome at the Black Swan! Quite simply he's one of the most genuinely engaging performers I know. He put the near-capacity audience in thrall the moment he took to the stage with his customary opener Wandering Days immediately winning over the curious into converts. Dan has a gorgeous baritone voice with an exceptional command of phrasing, light and shade – perfect for conveying the nuances and narratives of his finely-crafted songs.

He's been compared with Stan Rogers, and while he's very much his own man the comparison is not inappropriate, for Dan shares that beguiling quality of total artistic and emotional honesty. Dan's two well-filled York sets, dove-tailing with some perfectly well-timed floor spots, served as an excellent introduction to his world, with songs expressing a broad range of emotions and experiences all set to memorable melodies and many containing intriguing (if slightly challenging) choruses for us to sing (and we did…!).

During the course of the first set alone Dan gave us a heartfelt tribute to Canada's 'War Brides' (Kith and Kin), a heart-warming exploration of long-term relationships (The Same Pillow), two covers – a fun anti-shanty by Jim Stewart and Stan Rogers' White Squall and, to finish, a lovely nostalgic essay conveying the essence of Aesop's Fables.

Dan almost sold out of CDs before embarking on the longer second set, where he supplemented five more of his own fine songs with Archie Fisher's poignant Every Man's Heart, Stan's sublime Lockkeeper and the traditional Farewell to Nova Scotia. And what more could you wish for? – an encore! A blistering rendition of Mary Ellen Carter to bring the house down, naturally!

Yes, Dan's a lovely guy who really cares about humanity; his music is lovingly presented and accessible (and so what if these are old fashioned virtues!), and you owe it to yourself to discover his talent at the earliest opportunity (and he'll be touring the UK again next summer I believe


and he's back this June