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"The easy cadence of Paul Simon colors the voice of Canada's Dale Nikkel...Contemporary folk fans, this ones a must-have."
-Performing Songwriter Magazine (USA)
"... An engagingly personal performer..."
-The Toronto Star
"... all heart without any cheese or self absorbed filler..."
-Penguin Eggs Magazine (Canada's Folk Music Magazine)
"...Captivating images in streams of poetic beauty."
-Peter North, Edmonton Journal Music Writer/CKUA Music Director
"...Dale Nikkel has a special gift for lyrics that can raise the hairs on your neck..."
-Uptown Magazine Winnipeg
Biography
Raised in Winnipeg, now living just outside of Toronto in Kitchener, Dale’s been writing well-crafted songs for almost 20 years drawing comparisons to James Taylor, Mark Erelli, and Paul Simon. His songs are compelling musical portraits inspired by his own experiences.
A father of two, a simple-living advocate, a former school-teacher, a minister’s son, a devoted husband, a coffee- shop philosopher, a copy writer in the ad world, a prairie boy living in fast-paced southern Ontario – Dale writes about what he observes, covering themes of love, work, faith and politics. And as Canada’s premiere folk magazine
described, his writing is: “...all heart without any cheese.” (Penguin Eggs)
A gifted storyteller, as well as a performer, Dale’s performed at major folk festivals, including Canada’s biggest – the Edmonton Folk Festival, and garnered official showcases at major music industry events including Toronto’s prestigious NXNE.
Dale’s shared concert billings with some of the world’s best songwriters including The Wailin’ Jennys, Welsh songwriting legend Pete Morton, Canadian folk hero Garnett Rogers, Juno-award winning Nathan and Murray McLaughlin to name just a few. In addition to concert billings, Dale’s shared folk festival workshop stages with the likes of Grammy-nominated songwriter Eliza Gilkyson, Dan Bern, Canadian troubadour Stephen Fearing, and American folk legend David Wilcox among others.
Dale’s songs have been featured on radio stations from coast to coast, including CBC’s Sounds Like Canada and The Vinyl Café. His music has garnered 3 Prairie Music Award nominations, and acclaim through numerous songwriting contests including the UK Songwriting Contest where he was named a finalist in the Folk category.
The 2009 release of Second Hand is Dale’s 4th studio recording, a stunning follow-up to Dale’s 2006 release of Passages that garnered praise as a “...a must have” by Performing Songwriter, and “...a folk fanatic’s dream” by AcousticMusic.com. Second Hand is a gem of a recording featuring 11 songwriting masterpieces produced by longtime collaborator Steve Abma and musical guests including True North Records’ Joel Kroeker.
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