Darren Holden is one of today’s most talented and popular young performers. Born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, Darren is not only a prolific songwriter but a master interpreter of lyrics as well, and audiences around the world continue to praise his exceptional vocal talents. At the age of 16, he put together his first band, "Wanted", which developed an excellent reputation for its country-rock sensibilities, and toured extensively in the UK, Europe, and the US. After Wanted disbanded, Darren concentrated on songwriting, winning several prizes in the “Irish Song for Europe†competitions, as well as composing awards in various competitions in Finland, Sweden, Greece, Los Angeles, Kiev and Kazakhstan and Cairo. One of his tracks, “After Tonightâ€, was released domestically and peaked in the top ten of the Irish national charts.
Darren has just finished performing piano and lead vocals in the U.S. national tour of the Tony Award-winning hit Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp musical Movin’ Out which he also performed in the Broadway production. The tour broke all previous box office records in 11 of the cities it played in during the first year.
Darren was the original and main pianoman for the US tour from Jan 2004 to Jan 2007, gaining hundred's of thousand's of fan's along the way.
He became a staple on American Prime Time TV during this time, clocking up more than 500 appearances on CBS, FOX,NBC and ABC and charming presenter's and the millions tuned in with his funny stories, and amazing rendition's of Joel classic's.
Darren’s latest CD, Roadworks, released in August, 2006, is the result of two years of writing and recording while touring the USA and Canada with Movin’ Out. In November, 2005 Darren released a single, “Through Hell and High Water†dedicated to the Katrina victims. It fast became one of the most downloaded songs of the year in the USA , with fan's of all ages and walks of life praising its lyrical and heartfelt message.
In 1995, Darren was asked to support Boyzone on their first major tour of Ireland and the UK. Darren also toured on the "Smash Hit's" roadshow alongside "The Backstreet Boy's, and East 17. During this period, Darren worked with producer Ray Hedges (Take That,Boyzone, B*Witched,Towers Of London), and had top ten hits in Ireland with his own composition “After Tonight†and cover's of Leo Sayer’s “More Than I Can Say" and David Soul's "Don't Give Up On Usâ€. In the summer of 1998, he toured as a guest artist on various tour's with artists such as Paul Young, Bonnie Tyler,Peter Andre, and Belinda Carlisle. Around this time he also co-wrote with country music legend Rodney Crowell on a track called “Wendy’s Worldâ€, as part of the Celtic Harmony Festival, a joint songwriting venture between the US and Ireland held in the Aran Island's. He also collaborated with R’n’B artist Montell Jordan on “It Will Always Be Youâ€, and Lindy Robbins on "Still Dancing with the memory of You"
Darren’s debut solo album, “Suddenly,†was released in Ireland at the end of 1998. The album contained three top 20 hits, and the national Irish music radio station, 2FM, gave it “Album of the Week†status. A few months later, Darren was cast as a lead singer in Riverdance, which he performed on Broadway and on tour for more than three years. While in New York, Darren recorded a CD of original traditional/contemporary country songs. The recording sessions took place in New York and Nashville. His album Live & Learn was released in 2002 in the US and produced three top 40 airplay hits, with "Wherever You Are",released on Myles Copeland's ARK21/Universal Records, hitting the Top 20. The Industry took notice and Darren was nominated for the 2004 New Music Weekly Awards in Los Angeles, in the category of “Best Country Male Artist.
Darren has appeared in concert at The Cutting Room in New York City and the famed Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles, performing original songs and backed by members of the “Movin’ Out†band. He has become a favorite of sports teams and other events for his phenomenal rendition of the US National Anthem. He has performed the Anthem for an estimated 1.5 million people,the largest audience being 90,000 at the "San Diego Charger's V Pittsburgh Steeler's" NFL game in October 2006. He also became the first singer to perform both the US and Canadian Anthems in Toronto, before the Maple Leaf's took on Sacramento. His performance was broadcast to a tv audience in exess of 12 million viewers. Darren has also performed for President and Mrs. Bush, other dignitaries at the Annual White House Christmas Pageant of Peace and Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, DC.
Darren regularly performs with "The New York State of Mind" band which features The Billy Joel band with Darren taking the place of the main man on piano and lead vocals. The group perform at major corporate events in the USA and features guest appearances from Nills Lofgren from the E Street Band, Will Lee from the David Letterman band,Jeff Kazee from Bon Jovi, and members of Meatloaf's touring band.
In June 2007, Darren was invited to be a member of brand new Irish group "The High Kings". The group features some well known Irish singers/musicians and after a lengthy rehearsal period, recorded their debut album with producer David Downes (Riverdance, Celtic Woman) and their debut concert dvd, directed by Declan Lowney (Celtic Woman) and produced by Ned O Hanlon (U2).
Both were released on the EMI MANHATTAN record label on Febuary 28th 2008, following their debut US tv appearance in Chicago on Jan 12th. The group also recently made appearances on The KTLA morning show, The Today Show on NBC and The View on ABC, along with countless PBS stations across the US.
After 3 weeks of release the debut album broke into the Billboard Top 200 at number 154, went to number 2 on Billboard World Chart, abd number 2 on Billboard Heatseekers becoming this weeks highest gainer!
They toured the USA with Celtic Woman in April and May of this year, gaining several thousand fans along the way. In June they played to over 30,000 people on a sold out Irish tour, that unified critics and fans alike in their praise for the group.
The High Kings kicked off their first headlining tour of the USA on Sept 9th in Baltimore and stopped off in such cities as Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Orlando.
They then leapfrogged the Atlantic on Sept 7th to perform "Fields of Glory" at the All Ireland hurling final, in front of 82,000 sports fanatics.
They embarked on a sold out 23 date Irish tour in October, which left audience's in a frenzy at each show.
At the end of their 3rd sold out Dublin date at the Olympia Theatre, they were presented with Platinum disc's to mark sales of over 20,000 for both their cd and dvd.
Log onto thehighkings.com for more details.
www.darrenholden.com
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