Musikfest 2009 Take I: Dan May

It’s good to see there are guys my age that are still cool and hip, because quite frankly, the closest I’ll ever come to hip is breaking one.
Witness Philadelphia singer-songwriter Dan May, who during his performance Saturday at Musikfest 2009 in Bethlehem, revealed to the crowd that he recently turned 50 years old.
The Blonde Accountant and I have been Dan Fans since we saw him open for Crystal Gayle a few years ago at the Sellersville Theater. One of the things we enjoy about the Philadelphia music scene is discovering an artist that we hadn’t previously known.
I really like those “Hey, this guy is pretty good” moments, the ones that make me want to buy the artist’s CD in the lobby after the performance.
Dan is one of those performers, and we’ve followed him across the area at several venues, including Steel City in Phoenixville, the Tin Angel in Philadelphia, at the Upper Merion “Concert Under the Stars” series and most recently at Musikfest 2009, our first exposure to the music festival, now in its 26th year.
As a writer, I appreciate Dan’s songwriting ability, but it’s his words combined with his sound that make him appealing to me. He is described as “a rootsy Americana singer-songwriter whose original work has appealing melodic and lyrical integrity.”
He doesn’t do covers, preferring to perform his own material, with one exception – he did do his version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” at the Musikfest gig, pulling it off quite nicely. I’m not a big Springsteen fan, so I’d go so far as to say that I liked Dan’s version of the song better than the version of The Boss himself.
Dan and his band always put on a highly professional and entertaining show. He gets a lot of support from, and airtime on, WXPN 88.5 FM, the National Public Radio affiliate at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dan’s next local appearance is Sunday, Aug. 30, back at the Sellersville Theater 1894, where he will open for the Richie Furay Band, of Buffalo Springfield and Poco fame. Visit the theater’s Web site at www.st94.com for more information.
Check out Dan’s music at www.myspace.com/danmaycd. I think you’ll agree this guy is pretty good.