Dean Friedman Embarks on 40+ City 2024 UK/Ireland Tour accompanying release of a new compilation album, “More Words & Music”

Dean Friedman, one of the pre-eminent songwriters of his generation, announces a 40+City UK/Ireland concert tour, to accompany the release of his new compilation album, “More Words & Music.” The tour runs from January 12th thru August 21st, 2024, including stops in London, Manchester, Leeds, Cambridge, Belfast, Dublin, Cardiff, Bridgwater, Penzance, Rayleigh, Glasgow, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and more, winding up at Dean Friedman’s SongFest, a 2-day micro-music-festival, hosted by Friedman, held at the Draycote Hotel in Rugby, featuring some of the UK’s finest singer-songwriters.

“More Words & Music” is Friedman’s second compilation album (following the previous “Words & Music”) and contains hand-picked tracks from Friedman’s last eight studio albums, including work from his critically acclaimed albums “American Lullaby,” “12 Songs,” “Submarine Races,” “Squirrels in the Attic,” “The Treehouse Journals,” “Songs for Grownups,” “Rumpled Romeo,” and the classic “’Well, Well,’ Said the Rocking Chair.”  “More Words & Music” is a double CD containing thirty tracks, in all, that confirm Friedman’s status as a master songsmith and one of the finest recording artists working today. Fans can order the physical CD set or stream and download the album at deanfriedman.bandcamp.com/album/more-words-music.

Friedman, best known to UK and Ireland audiences for his string of chart hits: “Lucky Star,” “Lydia,” “Woman of Mine,” “McDonald’s Girl,” and “’Well, Well,’ Said the Rocking Chair,” will be performing solo, on guitar and keyboard, featuring songs from throughout his four-decade career, including familiar, radio hits and fan favorites, drawn from his nine studio albums.

 "Soundtrack of our lives!" – NYTimes; "Songsmith extraordinaire!” – MusicWeek; “Dean Friedman is entirely unique and utterly brilliant” – ThreeWeeks; “Stunning Musicianship!” - Hot Press

Invite family and friends and join Friedman for an evening of powerful, poignant and hilarious songs about the ordinary and extraordinary lives we share.

Tickets to all of Friedman’s concerts, as well as his new album, can be purchased via his website: www.DeanFriedman.com 

Dean Friedman 2024 UK/Ireland Tour

https://www.deanfriedman.com/gigs/gigs_home.html

January 2024

12         Hull  Wrecking Ball Press

13         Doncaster  The Little Theatre

14         UK West Coast Folk Festival – Blackpool Winter Gardens [feat. Dean (on Sunday); Eddie Reader, Steve Harley, Kiki Dee, Tom Robinson, and more]

16         Barnoldswick  Barnoldswick Arts Centre

17         Manchester  Matt and Phreds  

18         Milton Keynes  Stantonbury Campus Theatre    

19         London            The Pheasantry (Pizza Express)  

20         London            The Pheasantry (Pizza Express)  

21         London            The Pheasantry (Pizza Express)  

April 2024

30         Runcorn  The Brindley 

May  2024

2          Farsley (Leeds)   Old Woolen  

3          Stamford  Stamford Arts Centre

4          Havant  The Spring      

5          Rayleigh  The Mill Arts Centre  

7          Cheltenham  Cheltenham Town Hall     

8          Cambridge  Junction / J2         

9          Stourbridge  Katie's Secret Garden      

10         Bridgwater  Bridgwater Arts Centre       

12         Poole  Lighthouse        

14         Penzance  Acorn Theatre          

15         St Austell  St Austell Arts Centre          

16         Torquay  Babbacombe Theatre 

17         Cardiff (Pentrych)  Acapela Studios      

18         Oxford  JDP

19         Shrewsbury The Buttermarket

                                     

August 2024

2          Arbroath  Webster Memorial Theatre    

3          Aberdeen   Aberdeen Arts Centre

8          Findhorn    Universal Hall                     

10         Glasgow   Websters Theatre

11         Kinross  Green Hotel / Backstage

13         Belfast  Oh Yeah Music Centre

14         Dublin  Aras Chronain

15         Nottingham   The Running Horse

16           Shropshire   Camp Bestival    

17 & 18   Rugby   SongFest     

21         EdFringe   Prestonfield Fringe  

 

Songs on “More Words & Music”
1. Your Pretty Face  
2. The Hummingbird Effect
3 Too Much Stuff  
4. I Could Fall for You  
5. The Deli Song (Corned Beef on Wry)  
6. Lydia  
7. S & M  
8. Halfway Normal World  
9. Just Another Birthday Song  
10. You're Invisible  
11. Smartest Man in the Whole Wide World
12. The Ducks of St Stephen's Green  
13. This Guitar  
14. Summer Days  
15. Malala  
16. I Will Never Leave You  
17. I'm a Clone  
18. The Saddest Girl in the Whole Wide World  
19. I Didn't Mean to Make You Cry  
20. The Lakelands  
21. Welcome to the World  
22. Baby Sitting Song
23. Let Down Your Hair  
24. Typical Town  
25. American Lullaby  
26. Welcome to Stupid Town  
27. I Wish You Joy 
28. Something Right 
29. Maybe in a Million Years 
30. On a Summer's Night  

DEAN FRIEDMAN ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF NEW ALBUM: “AMERICAN LULLABY” AUGUST 27TH, 2021

Six night “virtual” show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – Aug 13,14,15,20,21,20, 2021

 

Dean Friedman, one of the pre-eminent songwriters of his generation, announces the release of his ninth studio album, “American Lullaby” – on August 27^th 2021 on Friedman’s Real Life Records label.

Friedman will be premiering the album with a six-night “virtual” show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival titled, “Dean Friedman’s American Lullaby,” running August 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 2021  [8pm London / 3pm New York] 

The crowdfunded album, touches on a broad range of topics, including: the calamitous pandemic, looming environmental disaster, racism, sexism, our fractured politics, and an intractable culture war.  The title track “American Lullaby,” a moving account of America’s original sins and 400 year love affair with guns, and will be on Spotify on August 13.  “Halfway Normal World” is a poignant yearning for release from perpetual lockdown; “The Russians Are Coming!,” a 100% factual narrative based on the “Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election.” Other song titles: “Welcome to Stupid Town” and “On a Summer’s Night.” The album also offers up “Just Another Birthday Song,” Friedman’s hilarious contender to replace the ubiquitous “Happy Birthday: song, written 125 years ago by the Hill sisters.

“The new album, ‘American Lullaby’,” Friedman explains, “reflects my personal take on all the crazy stuff that’s been happening, in America – and around the world - for the last six years. Like all lullabies, it’s filled with tales of dark deeds and disaster, but couched in soft, gentle tones, meant to soothe and comfort the listener, while gently bracing them for the potential terrors that await.”

The album will be available in stores and digitally on all the main streaming/download outlets. Friedman will be promoting the album during his “virtual” Fringe run, via his regular “DeanZine ‘LiveStream’” webcasts, plus a 40-city “live” concert tour which kicks off April 2022.

DeanFriedman.com

Friedman’s recent tours and recordings continue to garner rave reviews: “Every song in this show is a classic.” (London Theatre Guide), “Songsmith Extraordinaire” – (Music Week), “Stunning Musicianship” (HotPress), “Dean Friedman is entirely unique and utterly brilliant!” – (ThreeWeeks)… are just a few of the superlatives used to describe his unique and original talent.

In addition to his familiar radio hits, most notably his top 20 Billboard hit, “Ariel,” and album releases and touring, he composes and produces music soundtracks for TV and film, including the music to NBC’s Eerie Indiana, Nickelodeon’s Nick Arcade, and the hit Central TV series BOON. Recently his song, “A Million Matzoh Balls: was featured in an award winning indie film by acclaimed new director, Janizca Bravo, titled, LEMON. He’s also published a respected tome on the art and craft of songwriting titled, “The Songwriter’s Handbook (The Artists League),” based on the Songwriting Workshops and Masterclasses that he’s conducted at universities and music conservatories around the world, including L.I.P.A. (The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts).

Friedman has faced his share of controversy in recent years: The Merseyside band, Half Man Half Biscuit released a best-selling EP containing a track entitled, “The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman,” which went to #1 on the UK Indie chart; a claim which Friedman vehemently denies, “I’ve never even met Nigel Blackwell’s mum!” Friedman extracts his revenge on his recent CD, SUBMARINE RACES, in the song, “A Baker’s Tale,” the hitherto untold story of Nigel Blackwell’s dubious origins. 

Though Friedman’s single, “McDonald’s Girl,” was officially banned by the BBC for mentioning the name of the well known fast food restaurant in its chorus, the irrepressible pop song has been covered by a number of contemporary bands including top-selling, Canadian group, Barenaked Ladies (WEA), and The Blenders (Universal), whose version soared to #1 on the national airplay charts in Norway. With the advent of YouTube, video versions have gone viral and finally, thirty five years after the song was banned by the BBC, the McDonald’s corporation officially licensed the song for a national TV/Radio campaign, confirming the song as a pure pop phenomenon.