While attending art school in Baltimore, Maryland in the early 90’s Dan Blakeslee, a Maine native discovered that he had an equal and deeply rooted connection to music. He would sneak into the galleries to play his guitar through the late hours of the evening surrounded by easels and oil paintings. After four years in “Charm City,” he returned to his childhood home in the Tatnic Woods of South Berwick, ME. That summer he played street corners in New Hampshire and Maine while working at a lobster restaurant. His employer urged him to sever ties to manual labor for one of a more musical nature. A phone call from a friend offering him a room in Somerville, MA began his journey south in 1995. While settling into this artful community he began to practice his craft in the smoke-laden subways of Boston. His songs of true life adventures combine the essence of early folk music with a dose of country grit influenced by Johnny Cash, Michael Hurley, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Violent Femmes, Tom Waits, Jenny Lewis, Bob Dylan and Jeff Buckley. He has been making music and art in the New England region ever since, leading him to tour the U.S. and abroad. The hills and highways are made for wandering, this is forever rooted in Dan Blakeslee who performs an average of 150+ shows per year. He has performed with Josh Ritter, Lydia Loveless, The Lumineers, Sean Rowe, Old 97’s and Kimya Dawson among others. In 2015 his dream of playing Newport Folk Festival became a reality, where Bob Dylan went electric 50 years earlier.