Biography
David Newberry sings folk music with rock sensibilities. Or is it the other way around? His increasingly noisy songs provide insights into the complex contemporary social world.
His 2010 CD, "When We Learn The Things We Need To Learn", established him as a legitimate force in Canadian music, catching the eye of several of Canada's roots-elite, including Juno winner David Francey, who calls him "absolutely brilliant...," and EXCLAIM! Magazine, who pegs him as "an artist to watch."
Newberry came to music later than most of his peers, and via a path that is less than typical. At 20 years old, while training as a carpenter, a construction accident left him without the use of his left hand. When his physiotherapist suggested learning an instrument as a means to rebuild his injured appendage, he chose the guitar, and never looked back, emerging quickly as poet with a hankering for noise.
There is a joy in David Newberry's sometimes somber music that is hard to explain, as if he knows that the first step towards a new hopefulness is taking stock of the pessimism that pervades everyday life. His live shows are frequently full of storytelling, humour, and a celebration of life. Not one to waste words, David Newberry packs each phrase with the kind of thought, meaning, and complexity that is most often associated with singer-songwriters of the 1960s. But don't get the wrong idea - Newberry's music is inescapably forward looking, constantly aiming to broaden the understanding of what folk music "sounds like."
In 2011, after featuring at several British Columbia Festivals (ArtsWells/Campbell Bay/Dundarave), Newberry found himself on a small island with a large crowd, eventually returning home to Vancouver with his sophomore effort "No One Will Remember You," produced by Adam Iredale of Fish and Bird, and featuring members of the Deep Dark Woods, The Gruff, O'Mally, DRMHLLR, and more. The record sets a contemporary experimental rock vibe against a backdrop that is firmly rooted in timeless roots music. The record will be released in March 2012 on Vancouver's Northern Electric Label.
"His voice has the ring of truth and there's poetic insight aplenty in these songs. Newberry is an artist to watch."
-Exclaim Magazine
"David's music is delivered with passion and intensity such as I have rarely experienced. Each song is like a masterpiece of concise writing, not one wasted word or thought. Each drives home the fact that I am listening to exquisite insights into the human condition. A brilliant blend of heart and mind that is all but missing in most of his contemporaries writing today. He is a brilliant poet and compelling performer. I will be in the audience again as often as I can. I think he is an outstanding writer. Simply outstanding."
-Three time Juno Award winner David Francey
In his spare time, David co-writes and records educational songs for Ontario public television (some of those are found here). He also produced and performed on a spoken word/comedy record 'Three Paycheque Month', as a part of the comedic 'duo', The Ben Mills Two.
Read the 'one sheet' for David's record here.