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Industry News
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Darren Holden
Darren performed piano and lead vocals in the first 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. He performed some 1,000 performances as The Piano Man and won unanimous rave reviews throughout the US, Canada and Japan (see Press section). Darren’s latest CD, Roadworks 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. In 1995, Darren was asked to support Boyzone on their first major tour of Ireland and the UK. During this period, Darren worked with producer Ray Hedges (Boyzone, B*Witched), and had top ten hits in Ireland with “After Tonight” and a cover of Leo Sayer’s “More Than I Can Say.” In the summer of 1998, he toured as a guest artist to various festivals with artists such as Paul Young, Peter Andre, and Belinda Carlisle. He collaborated with country artist Rodney Crowell on a track, “Wendy’s World”, as part of the Celtic Harmony Festival. He also collaborated with R’n’B artist Montell Jordan on “It Will Always Be 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. Darren was nominated for the 2004 New Music Weekly Award in the category of “Best Country Male Artist.” Darren has appeared in concert at The Cutting Room in New York City, Crawdaddy's in Tokyo 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, and has performed for President and Mrs. Bush, other dignitaries at the Annual White House Christmas Pageant of Peace and Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, DC.
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