“Hull is something of a guitar god in his native midwest, where he's been dazzling audiences for over 30 years with his lush finger-picking and quicksilver flat-picking. He is also a sly raconteur with an encyclopedic knowledge of vintage American music.” -Scott Alarik, Boston Globe
“There's a million good things I could say about Dave Hull but I'll narrow it down to two: He's an excellent picker, both flatpick and fingerstyle, he collects some fine instruments, and we've been at a lot of good places to eat together.” -Norman Blake
“One of the best guitarists in the world.” -Dave Van Ronk
“Dakota Dave brings a modesty and tenderness to the old classics he plays - qualities that are rare among guitarists of his stature and experience.” -Sarah Craig, Manager, Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs, NY
“Hey Dave, thanks for sending me your Loyalty Waltz album. I just put it on to use as background music for something I was reading. Damn you, I never read a thing. Listened to the whole album straight through. Nice album, my good man. Keep on.” -Geoff Muldaur
“Dakota Dave Hull gave an outstanding performance in Sligo, Ireland. Unknown in Ireland he quickly had the audience enthralled with some beautiful compositions and several stunning arrangements of old classic tunes. An engaging storyteller he entertained and astounded in equal measure. A Beautiful night” -Aoife Flynn, General Manager, The Model / Niland, The Mall, Sligo, Ireland
“Dakota Dave Hull wears many hats: KFAI Radio DJ. Record-company founder. CD producer. Hawaiian-shirt and vintage-guitar collector. Yet he's best as a purveyor of old-school Americana on acoustic guitar. Catholic in his tastes, he dips fruitfully into early jazz and blues, Tin Pan Alley, ragtime, country, Stephen Foster, Duke Ellington and even Harry Belafonte. -Tom Surowicz, Twin Cities StarTribune
“A masterful flat-picker and increasingly out-of-the-closet fingerstyle player, Hull is not only a magician on the strings, his distinctive arrangements of the vintage material he loves manage to be wry, spry, maybe even fly... his interpretations always find a fresh angle on well-traveled material. ” -Rick Mason, City Pages, Minneapolis
Putting It All Together: The Art of the Arrangement
A Workshop with Dakota Dave Hull · Sunday, February 16 · 1 PM
We’ll discuss choosing which key to play a tune in, octaves, modulations, voicings, drop D tuning, walking bass lines, the importance of melodies, set pacing and more. Plus a free for all Q&A that Dave calls “Ask me Anything!”
Spots are limited, please book early. 50 bucks per person (still cheap).
Fret Central · 1081 21st Avenue SE, Minneapolis
New CD! The Graveyard Shift
Once again I’m doing quite a bit of traditional folk music. As I get older I’m drawn more and more to the stuff that piqued my interest in the first place. I used a few cool instruments on this recording. A National Reso-Phonic Style 1 guitar, a Hoffman Baritone, a Fairbanks Nick Lucas, a New Era Prairie State Big Boy, a Brentrup Grand Concert, a National Style N piccolo guitar, and a circa 1890s Fairbanks Electric guitar-banjo with a neck by Hoffman guitars.