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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 prairie boy living in fast-paced southern Ontario Ð 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 Cafe. 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.
Awards and Nominations
2008 Finalist in the Great American Song Contest
2008 Honor Award Winner, Great American Song Contest
2002 SOCAN Outstanding Songwriter Nomination, Prairie Music Awards
(Nickelback, Dale Nikkel, Remy Shand, Christine Fellows, Wyrd Sisters)
2002, Outstanding Roots Recording Nomination, Prairie Music Awards
(James Keelaghan, Dale Nikkel, The Wyrd Sisters, Maria Dunn, Das Macht Show)
2002, Outstanding Graphic Art Nomination, Prairie Music Awards
2003 Finalist in the UK Songwriting Contest, Folk Category
2003 2nd Place Winner In The National "Communities In Bloom" Songwriting Contest
2003 Honor Award Winner, The Great American Song Contest
2002 Prairie Regional Finalist, CBC Great Canadian Music Dream
Dale has shared stages with ...
Eliza Gilkyson
Emm Gryner
David Wilcox
David Ross MacDonald
Sheri Ulrich
Twilight Hotel
Stephen Fearing
Dan Bern
The Barenaked Ladies' Steven Page
The Wailin' Jennys
Stringband
Tom Wilson (Blackie And The Rodeo Kings)
Luke Doucett
Eileen Laverty
Christine Fellows
Joel Kroeker
Maria Dunn
Karla Anderson
Dan Frechette
Jaylene Johnson
Wendy McNeil
Dale has opened for many acts including...
Nathan
Murray McLaughlin
Garnett Rogers
The Wailin' Jennys
Tom Wilson (Junkhouse, Blackie and The Rodeo Kings)
Mike McDonald (Jr. Gone Wild)
Pete Morton (Wales, UK)
Ann Vriend
Samantha King
Cara Luft
Live in Winnipeg...
Connect with Dale on the web...
