Singing guitarist

Dabs

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(5.0)Read all 49 reviews
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About Daniel

World, Jazz, Pop, Soul, Reggae, Latin, Calypso and the rest. I’m Dabs, Singer, songwriter, guitarist, DJ & frontman of the New Town Kings.
Singing guitarist
Cardiff
Public liability insurance of £10 million
Verified profile

Dabs is a Cardiff based musician from London. A songwriter, guitarist and loop artist in his own rights Dabs fronts ska, reggae band New Town Kings and has played venues and festivals across the UK, Germany, France, Holland, Croatia, Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland. Their DIY ethic and extensive touring schedule has seen them perform at Boomtown Fair, Secret Garden Party, The Electric Ballroom, Nottingham Rock City, The HMV Forum Cardiff Tramshed and a whole host more. Previous releases include ska stomper ‘Luna Rosa’, featuring sound system veteran YT, and reggae anthem ‘BurnBabylon’, featuring reggae legend Sylford Walker recorded with Grammy nominated producer Daniel Boyle (Max Romeo/Lee Scratch Perry). Their fresh approach has gained attention and received airplay from BBC 1Xtra’s reggae hotshot David Rodigan, and led to features on Fred Perry Subculture, WorldAReggae and Punktastic. “Hey, New Town Kings, I like what you’re doing. You’re doing good!” – Toots Hibbert (Toots and the Maytals) “New Town Kings are great crowd pleasers and are made to play live shows” – Colin Murray, Radio 1. Brought up on the fringes of London on reggae, motown, hip hop and RnB, Dabs went on to live in 7 countries collecting music and stories, language and rhythms. A proficient bossa nova guitarist with a good grasp of various latin rhythms and languages, Dabs sings jazz, blues and soul as comftably as he does hip hop and grime. His cover sets range through a multitude of genres. Pop, rock, party classics, background jazz/bossa nova, soul and motown using a loop pedal for harmony and bass he prides himself on appreciating the entire sphere of musical connection. As such he is one of the top booked artists nationwide on the Encoremusicians booking platform and has performed countless festivals, tours, venues, pubs, restaurants, weddings over a 20 year career spanning the globe. Since landing in Cardiff Dabs has been a regular on the pub and bar circuit in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport and worked with various organisations such as Black history Wales, Race council Cymru and the Windrush elders council. Through this work with NGOs he recently collaborated with several young Welsh artists on a song to support the NHS which featured on Heno on C4 Wales and on the ITV evening news. A veteran of 100 weddings and over 1000 shows Dabs repertoire caters for most musical tastes.

Encore badges
Top 10 booked musician of 2022
Lightning fast responses
Average response time under 2 hours
100 gigs
Legendary: 100 bookings through Encore!
Saved the day!
Booked for an Encore gig with less than 24 hours’ notice
6th Anniversary
This act has been working with Encore for over 6 years
Encore expert
Demonstrated expertise by completing the Encore Academy
Member of the Encore community forum
Musicianship
Genres:
1990s era music, 1980s era music, 1970s era music, 1960s era music, 1950s era music, Jazz, Blues, Gypsy jazz, Latin jazz, World music, Argentinian, Bossa nova, Brazilian music, Calypso, Caribbean music, Cuban music, Flamenco, French music, Latin, Reggae, Ska, Samba, Spanish music, Pop, Acoustic, Soul, R&B, Motown, Hip Hop, Australian music, Salsa
See all genres
Instruments:
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Event types:
New Year's Eve, Wedding, Wedding proposal, Funeral / Memorial service, Hotel / Restaurant event, Bar / Club / Venue event, Private event, Corporate event, Charity event, Concert, Recording session, Theatre / Show, Cruise, Burns night, Birthday party, Christmas party
See all event types
Other skills:
Lyricist, Songwriter, MC, Community music worker
See all skills

Daniel's Song list

Hi guys, this in no way an exhaustive list. I study every day and any time I’m booked I endeavour to learn songs for my clients so feel free to let me know what you’re after and I’ll get them learned.
Songs organised in loose genres:
60s/70s/80s/90s
(The Beatles):
Money can’t buy me love
Yesterday
Hard days night
(Rolling Stones):
Paint it Black
satisfaction
Sympathy for the devil
(Janis Joplin):
Summertime
Mercedes Benz
(The Who): My Generation
(The Kinks): Sunny afternoon
(Sting): English man in NY
(Steppenwolfe): Born to be wild
(Wham/George Michael):
Faith
Wake me up
(Culture club):
Karma chameleon
(Michael Jackson):
Beat it
Bad
Thriller
Billie Jean
Liberian girl
Man in the mirror
(Oasis):
Wonderwall
(Blur):
Parklife
Song 2
(Green day):Basket case
(Nirvana):
Polly
Smells like teen spirit
SOUL, MOTOWN,
RHYTHM & BLUES
(Al Green): So in love with you
(Otis Reading):
Sitting on the dock...
Satisfaction
(Lionel Richie): Hello
(Stevie Wonder):
Isn’t she lovely
You are the sunshine of my life
Masterblaster
(Ray Charles):
Hit the road jack
Mess around
Georgia
(Marvin Gaye):
Heard it through the grapevine
Sexual healing
(Curtis Mayfield):
Super fly
Pusher man
(Aretha Franklin): Respect
Tina Turner:
(Bill Withers): Lovely day
00s-CURRENT POP
(Ed Sheeran):
Thinking out loud
Shape of you
(Luis fonzi): Despacito
(George Ezra): Shotgun
(Jack Johnson):
Upside down
Better together
(Pharrell Williams): Happy
(Bruno Mars): Uptown Funk
(Amy Winehouse): Valerie
(Paulo Nutini):
Pencil full of lead
Daydream
(Blackstreet): No diggity
(TLC): Waterfalls
(Eminem): Stan
(Arrested development):
People everyday
REGGAE, SKA,
ROCKSTEADY & CALYPSO
(Bob Marley):
Redemption Song
One love
Burning and a looting
(Gregory Issacs):
Night nurse
Loving Pauper
Hush Darling
(Denis Brown):
Have you ever been in love
(Jimmy Cliff):
Many river to cross
I can see clearly
(UB40):
Food for thought
Kingston town
Rat in ma kitchen
Madness):
Nightboat to Cairo
(Sizzla): Dry cry
(Barrington Levy); Too experienced
(Lord Burgess): Jamaica farewell
(Harry Belafonte):
Senora
Banana boat song
Coconut woman
(Lord Flea):
Where did the naughty little flea go
(Lord Kitchener):
Take your meat out mi rice
(Lord invader): Rum and coco cola
(King Radio): Matilda
(Mighty Sparrow): Big Bamboo 🤗
JAZZ, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
(Louis & Ella):
Cheek to Cheek
Autumn leaves
St James Infirmary
What a wonderful world
(Peggy lee):
He’s a tramp
Mañana
Why don’t you do right
(Gershwin):
A foggy day in London Town
Summertime
Let’s call the whole thing off
(Chet Baker):
My funny Valentine
But not for me
(Buena Vista Social Club):
El cuarto de Tula
El carretero
Viente Años
Chan Chan
Dos Gardenias
Candela
Lágrimas negra
(Fania Allstars):
(Celia Cruz): Quimbara
(Chao Feliciano): El Raton
(Chico Trujillo): Loca
(Orquesta Tabaca y Ron):
Guajira son te llamas
(Eddie Palmineri):
Vamonos Pal Monte
(Manu Chao):
Clandestino
Desaparecido
Bongo Bon
Mr Bobby
Je ne t’aime plus
(Mattiew Chedid):
Les triplettes de Belleville
(Sanseverino):
Je Mal o mains
Swing du nul
(Antônio Carlos Jobin/
Jõao Gilberto):
Girl from Ipanaema
Corcovado
Izaura
Estate
Samba de uma nota
Chega de Saudade
(Consuelo Velázquez):
Besame mucho
Customer questions

What if my timings change after I've booked you?

I’m totally flexible in the event of unexpected changes. In a nutshell let me know as early as possible if you need to change dates or times and provided I have no attachments the bookings I’m happy to accommodate.

Can you provide an iPod/DJ service before and between your sets?

I’m happy to DJ between sets and can bring a full sound system, mix desk and the like for between £100-£300 depending on how long is required. I actually run several live/DJ nights and get really really good feedback.

How much time do you need to set up?

Ideally I like to be set up an hour ahead of performance time. Am happy to provide a free playlist to help create the desired atmosphere.

Can I pick the songs you play from the set list?

I’m totally open to discussion regarding setlist and always happy to take requests. Client satisfaction is really my motivating factor here so I always appreciate a more detailed gig spec. Once booked I’m inclined to study for every show so feel free to get them requests in early and within reason I’m happy to learn them free of charge.

Do you bring all the equipment you need to perform?

Yes, I’ve a variety of PA options depending on the gig.

Can you learn song requests before the event?

I will always happily learn ceremony and first dance songs for your wedding free of charge. I’ll even send you a Demo before you book (just shortlist me and I’ll get you a video sent over the next day)

Add-ons

DJ set
+£200
Daniel
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5 out of 5
47 verified reviews
Satisfaction
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5.0
Professionalism
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5.0
Communication
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5.0
Punctuality
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5.0

Daniel's Reviews

From Encore customers:

EC
Elizabeth C
28 days ago
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5 out of 5

Great, Daniel was very friendly and professional. Took everything on board that I explained about the party we were holding. Very happy lots of positive feedback and a good time had by all

SH
Stephanie H
1 month ago
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4 out of 5

My reports said the sound was distorted and sometimes too loud. He was singing and playing guitar alongside his pre recorded music and the sound wasn’t good.

RH
Rachel H
3 months ago
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5 out of 5

Loved Daniel he was Perfect for the event that we had. I would Book Him again for sure! Thank you Daniel.

Reply from Daniel
3 months ago

Thanks Rachel! I had a lovely time mate!

SA
Saif A
3 months ago
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4.8 out of 5

Great singer and all our guests thought he was brilliant! Highly recommended

Reply from Daniel
3 months ago

Thanks Saif! Had an amazing night! Loved the Santa visit!

Read all 47 reviews

From other customers:

DR
David E
7 years ago

Best of UK Reggae

WC
Welsh I
6 years ago

Bea World Music