With a suitcase of songs, Maine folk troubadour Dan Blakeslee ventured into the smoke laden subways of Boston in 1995 to practice his craft. His songs of true life adventures combine the essence of early folk music with a dose of country grit. He has toured the U.S. and abroad performing with Josh Ritter, Sean Rowe, The Lumineers, Old 97's, The Black Lillies, and Kimya Dawson among others. In 2015 his dream of playing Newport Folk Festival became a reality, the location where Bob Dylan went electric 50 years earlier. Dan Blakeslee delivers his songs with that same heart of a young, lyric scribbling troubadour, who knows because he’s tried it, can out sing a passing train.
"Not since Dick Curless left Fort Fairfield, Maine for Nashville and beyond has the Pine Tree State produced a native son with the same potential for success in country music until now."
- Stacy's Music Row Report
Footings is an American rock band formed in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in 2012. Footings is a vehicle for the songs of Eric Gagne, often in performance with Elisabeth Fuchsia on viola; the band also featured members of Pile, Bunny's a Swine, Dweller on the Threshold, and Rick Rude.
Blending elements of slowcore ala Songs: Ohia, experimental post-rock ala Godspeed You! Black Emperor and chamber folk ala Great Lake Swimmers, Footings offers up their own unique tapestry of darkness and hope. The band has been featured on Paste Magazine’s Daytrotter Sessions and has shared the stage with the likes of Mount Eerie, J Mascis, Diane Cluck, Waxahatchee, Califone, Steve Gunn, Mirah, Dredd Foole, and many more.
To fully appreciate Footings is to get to know founder Eric Gagne, a long-time champion of the local arts and experimental folk scene in New England. After years of playing in the progressive hardcore staple Death to Tyrants and freak-folk duo Redwing Blackbird, Gagne turned his focus towards providing a platform for others. In 2007 Gagne formed The Thing In The Spring, an annual music and arts festival with an aesthetic-tilt toward all things experimental and avant-garde. Curating bands and musicians from around the country to play in the quaint town of Peterborough has provided exposure and inspiration to an ever-growing local arts community. In many ways, the yearly event is a physical manifestation of the Footings ethos - providing a sturdy base for creatives on which to build and prosper.