Dan Adams

"Dan Adams is a very talented writer. His music evokes a lot of other New Zealand songwriters, people like Don McGlashan and Neil Finn. Without it being derivative, his music just has a 'New Zealandness' about it."
Nick Bollinger—Radio New Zealand National 01/03/2004

"Dan Adams is a very talented writer. His music evokes a lot of other New Zealand songwriters, people like Don McGlashan and Neil Finn. Without it being derivative, his music just has a 'New Zealandness' about it."
Nick Bollinger—Radio New Zealand National 01/03/2004

Dan Adams is a singer, songwriter, composer and multi instrumentalist born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand. His music has many sides and personas: the acoustic folk singer songwriter Dan Adams; the experimental exploration of live looping technology Colossal Colossus ; songwriter/arranger/band leader of 12-piece Sgt Peppers & Polyphonic Spree-esque bonsai rock orchestra We Like Trees ; musical interpreter of Shakespeare This Love Will Undo Us All ; and front man and songwriter of Wellington musical collective Verona, which in recent years has devised theatre shows fusing music with animation, acting and narration touring New Zealand arts and music festivals.

Dan has been commissioned to compose and perform new music and theatre works by the New Zealand International Arts Festival (Geographical Cure), The Wellington International Jazz Festival (Mallet), the Wellington Fringe Festival (Storm), Downstage Theate (Geographical Cure, Romeo And Juliet), Bats Theatre (This Love Will Undo Us All) and Radio New Zealand (In My Father's Den). In 2005 Dan studied under Canadian songwriter and theatre practitioner Meryn Cadell in a four month post graduate Libretto Laboratory at the University Of British Columbia in Vancouver, during which time he devised and performed a semi-staged music theatre work The Slowly Building in collaboration with three other students, wrote and recorded songs in Vancouver, and performed in Washington State, Oregon and Idaho.

Dan and his ensembles have received a Chapman Tripp outstanding composer nomination (Romeo and Juliet, 2004), the Wellington Fringe Festival Golden Horn award for music (2002), recognition and funding from the Performing Arts Foundation Of New Zealand, and warm praise from New Zealand music and theatre writers. Dan won the Open section of the 2008 Pacific Songwriting Competition with the song “There Will Be No Break In This Traffic”.

Since 2008 Dan has headed the Bachelor Of Applied Arts degree programme at the Whitireia School Of Music in Porirua, lecturing in songwriting, composition, creative writing and contextual studies. Big ups to Marino Karena and the whanau.

Dan's latest creative jaunt is a twin album project called Urbia/Supurbia, exploring urban themes and attempting to reconcile his musical split personalities in parallel albums. It was kicked off by a commission from the New Zealand International Arts Festival's binennial Show And Tell in November 2006.

And a mini-album titled Grizzly Bears and Inuit Men is emerging from sessions recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2005. Due for release later in 2009. Check for taster tracks posted here.

Find more videos, bootlegs, album tracks, advance mixes and demos at Dan's Facebook page .

"Dan’s song won because "There will be no break in this traffic" creates a space for the listener to sit, listen and reflect with him...this creation of space was magical."
2008 Pacific Songwriting Competition
"Adams not only responds to Shakespeare's manifold emotions, but commands such a stock of compositional and instrumental skills that there was never a risk of monotony."
Lindis Taylor—The Dominion Post 05/04/2004 read more

"Truly evocative, gorgeously rich and moving... every romantic should own this album." **** (four stars)
Janina Nicoll—Capital Times (Wellington, New Zealand) 01/05/2004

"a superb album... Adams has a great voice which is beautifully captured... the whole album has a timeless translucent quality..."
Nick Batt—New Zealand Musician Aug/Sep 2004 read more

"If Franco Zefferelli were ever to put his mind to another Shakespearean film, I'd imagine he'd love to get his hands on Dan Adams."
William Dart—New Horizons 27/04/2002 Radio New Zealand Concert

"Dan Adams is a very talented writer. His music evokes a lot of other New Zealand songwriters, people like Don McGlashan and Neil Finn. Without it being derivative, his music just has a 'New Zealandness' about it."
Nick Bollinger—Radio New Zealand National 01/03/2004

"Dan Adams's compositions had a majestic tempestuous life of their own."
Mark Amery—Sunday Star Times 24/02/2002

"Dan Adams, composer and leading gentleman of Verona, delighted an appreciative audience with his impressive vocal range and skills on guitar and fife."
P Chapman—Tauranga Times 03/12/2003 read more