Review: Dan Owen at Omeara

4 STARS. Rich, smouldering vocals paired with a sincere stage presence won folk singer Dan Owen a few new fans at the Omeara last week, says Alice Angeloni

The intimate setting of the Mumford-and-Sons-owned venue Omeara, was ideal for Dan Owen whose humble interactions were received well by the crowd. A self-deprecating humour had him joking “You’re all from Shrewsbury aren’t you” to which one audience member shouted, “I’m not!” leading Owen to dryly retort how wonderful that he had in fact reached out to one fan.

At the final show of his European tour – cosily set under the arches of an old Victorian railway – the artist captured the attention and adoration of his audience through a warm medley of songs, most of which centred on a theme we all know too well – love.

His set ranged from upbeat, fast strumming, heart thrumming bluesy numbers, to poetic but simply tooled ballads.

As Owen took command of the guitar; tone and depth was added by a male vocal accompaniment doubling on keys – the first time in nine years of touring that he has been supported on stage.

While he certainly has musical prowess, I do wonder how Atlantic Records differentiates him from the bountiful streets of equally endowed guitar playing vocalists. The show marked the launch of the video clip for his latest album Hideaway, the likely extreme cost of this a tangible example of the ludicrous quantity of resources poured into the branding of an artist, with Atlantic tightly crossing their metaphorical fingers in hope for another Ed Sheeran style success story.

Nevertheless, when Owen drew the show to a close with Little Red Rooster – a strong rhythmic beat at a quickening pace, harmonica blues evoking something deep within the soul and complemented perfectly by the unfaltering raw strength of Owen's voice – he strummed life out of his guitar and into the crowd. Perhaps he is something beyond ordinary? One to watch for sure.

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