Since bursting on to the scene with his band Back Door Slam’s critically acclaimed album ‘Roll Away’ in 2007 (“I heard the spirit of Jimi Hendrix” Patrick McDonald - Seattle Times), Davy’s star has only risen. His sophomore release ‘Coming Up For Air’ was produced by the legendary Peter Frampton (“Davy already has a recognizable style. He’s definitely the gunslinger guitarist of the 21st century,’’- Peter Frampton), with subsequent tours seeing him supporting and sharing the stage with acts such as Jeff Beck, The Who, Joe Bonamassa, Kid Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Thorogood, Brian Setzer, the Sammy Hagar-fronted supergroup Chickenfoot, and guitar hero Joe Satriani who called Davy “My favorite modern Bluesman”.
Knowles has several top-5 Billboard Blues charting albums under his belt, high profile TV appearances (Jimmy Kimmel Live and CBS Good Morning America among others), and has been praised with high accolades from heroes and press alike - but it’s not just the music industry who has taken note. Knowles was also the very first artist in history to perform live to the International Space Station directly from mission control in Houston TX, and has had his music taken to the Space Station by two astronauts, Nicole Stott and Ron Garan, on their respective missions orbiting Earth.
Never one to be satisfied or to sit still, Knowles has explored multiple genres and styles, from the hard-hitting 70’s classic rock influenced album ‘Three Miles From Avalon’, to the haunting acoustic delta blues of ‘1932’, and the sweet, soul-searching folk of 2023’s ‘If I Should Wander’.
Whether spending an evening onstage armed with just an acoustic guitar, or wielding his well worn and trusty Telecaster while fronting his blues/rock trio - and at any point in between the two - Davy Knowles is one of the most versatile and formidable songwriters, vocalists and musicians in the world today. A true artist in every sense of the word.
Davy Proudly endorses Jim Dunlop strings, picks and accessories.
“MY FAVORITE MODERN BLUESMAN” – JOE SATRIANI
“DAVY KNOWLES HAS IMMERSED HIMSELF IN THE STYLES OF MANY GREAT PLAYERS, EMERGING WITH HIS OWN BRAND, AND PLAYING WITH A SMILE ON HIS FACE. ” – BERNIE MARSDEN
THE OUTSIDER – “A LONG AWAITED ALBUM FULL OF GEMS “– BLUESDOODLES.
“#6 DAVY KNOWLES. KNOWLES PLAYS THE BLUES WITH THE SINCERITY OF SOMEONE TWICE HIS AGE” – DANIEL ERIKSSON, GIBSON TOP 10 MODERN BLUES GUITARISTS
FORMER BACK DOOR SLAM FRONTMAN DAVY KNOWLES IS BACK OUT TOURING IN SUPPORT OF HIS LATEST STUDIO ALBUM “THE OUTSIDER”, HIS UPCOMING FILM DOCUMENTARY “ISLAND BOUND” AND A SERIES OF NEW BLUES RECORDINGS SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE FROM Q1 2016. In addition to prolonged radio and digital media campaigns, from May 2015 Knowles will hit clubs and festivals across the USA, including residencies at The Iridium, NYC and in his adopted home-town of Chicago, a string of dates with Brian Setzer and George Thorogood and on Joe Bonamassa’s prestigious ‘Blues Alive At Sea’ cruise in February 2016.
The journey began for Davy Knowles growing up in the Isle of Man, learning to play guitar from listening to the likes of Gallagher, Clapton, Knopfler, Green and Mayall in his father’s record collection, and honing his skills playing the local music circuit. Knowles's professional career started with a bang – arriving in America age 19 with his band Back Door Slam, an acclaimed debut album, and rave reviews at SXSW 2007. (“I heard the spirit of Jimi Hendrix “-- Patrick MacDonald, Seattle Times). From that dynamic introduction, Knowles proceeded to make a significant impact across US media – from memorable TV performances on Jimmy Kimmel and Good Morning America, to a three year run at radio with the singles 'Come Home' from the debut album Roll Away and 'Tear Down the Walls' and 'Coming Up For Air' from the Peter Frampton produced sophomore album – both albums Top 3 Billboard Blues Chart. “Davy already has a recognizable style. He’s definitely the gunslinger guitarist of the 21st century,’’ – Peter Frampton
A relentless 4 year tour regime followed for Knowles in support of his albums, taking in legendary festivals Lollapalooza, Memphis In May, Bonnaroo, and Austin City Limits and headlining shows at The Troubadour, Red Rocks, World Cafe and The Iridium. He also toured with Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, The Who, Warren Haynes, George Thorogood, Peter Frampton, Joe Bonamassa, Kid Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Rhythm Devils, and the Satriani/Hagar inspired supergroup Chickenfoot. “It’s an incredible, inspiring education to play with musicians and artists of that caliber” – DK.
Other highlights from this period include playing live to Astronauts on the ISS from mission control in Houston – one of only a handful of artists to be invited to do so – three tours of the UK and Europe and numerous international festivals including Jakarta, Tokyo, and Perth, Australia.
In 2011 Knowles's song Reach Higher was the official anthem for the Youth Commonwealth Games, and in 2012 his 'birthday' tribute to Woody Guthrie – a stunning electric version of Pastures of Plenty – was released in aid of “WhyHunger?”
In 2014 as Ambassador for the Isle of Man's “Year of Culture” he played the International Celtic Festival in Lorient, France, and that same year began filming the documentary Island Bound – tracking the migration of Celtic and European folk music with the early settlers to the British Colonies. With input from a host oflocal Manx and international artists, including Richard Thompson and Martin Simpson, Davy demonstrates how this music was preserved and passed down through generations, evolving into Bluegrass, Folk, Country and Americana – and ultimately influencing the blues and rock music of today.
From the very start Knowles earned the respect of fans, media and musicians alike, including some of his own musical heroes such as the aforementioned Peter Frampton, Joe Satrianni, and Warren Haynes. British Blues Legend, Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake, Moody Marsden Band) is another fan - “Davy Knowles continues to amaze me – he's still so young and yet he plays, writes and sings with such maturity. He's immersed himself in the styles of many great players and has emerged with his own brand, playing with a smile on his face. He's a rare bird, one I will continue to watch and study”.
Throughout this musical journey, Knowles has kept 'the blues' close to his heart; “I love the guitar as an instrument, it’s so versatile and endlessly challenging, but whilstI will try play any style to meet that challenge, blues is the music I first fell in love with, and I have always connected deeply with it. I enjoy playing the historian, and am fascinated by all facets of the genre, from the earliest field recordings, to the more recent guitar gods that electrified and supercharged this music. It’s from all along this timeline that I like to draw influence from.”
The Summit is a nationally touring rock band from Cincinnati dedicated to quality song-writing and performing. Put together by former Grooveshire members, Chris Scott and Mike Hennel, The Summit is a rock ‘n’ rollsuper group exploding with some of the country’s most decorated musicians. Fresh from both publishing and licensing deals in Nashville, TN and Scott’s collaboration with former Cage the ElephantGuitarist and Talkbox Rodeo producer, Lincoln Parish, the song writing duo made their way back home during the fall of 2015 to begin writing a new batch of tunes with Cincinnati’s own songwriting duo, David Heffron and Micah Hoosier. Magic instantly happened and the quartet quickly began polishing a whole new flare of soul inspired blues rock ‘n’ roll tunes very reminiscent of modern day song-writing genius, JJ Grey, fused with the vintage tones of iconic English rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Faces, and Humble Pie. In early 2016, the band hired accomplished pianist and heavy blues hitter, Chris Bentley, to provide a much needed B3 organ to the group’s unmatched eclectic sound.
The Summit rapidly gained overnight success during the spring of 2016 with their highly energized performances and were asked to tour with bands such as the Los Lonely Boys, The Band of Heathens, Tim Reynolds and TR3, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, Marc Ford, and The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band.
With the evolution of the band’s success came a record deal with Independent Ear (Universal Music Group/ILS). The Summit quickly began acquiring a national fan base and sparked the interest of some of the industry’s most recognizable entertainment companies. It was then that they decided to invite acclaimed soul-singing back-up vocalists, Da’Joy, to join the group on the road. Both Daria Acus and Melonie “Lady Joya” Kennedy were popular fixtures in Scott and Hennel’s previous rock outfit, Grooveshire. It’s a little Black Crowes, a little Humble Pie, and hell of a lot of soul! You may be able to recognize many of this band’s numerous influences in their amazing sound, but one thing’s for sure…you can’t fake soul and this band’s got soul!”
The Summit left Cincinnati once again in November 2016 to begin recording their debut EP with engineer and co-producers Brook Sutton and Michael Rhodes (Tempest Music) at The Studio Nashville. The self-titled EP dropped worldwide under Independent Ear and the Universal Music Group in April of 2017. The EP features tracks by Big Machine (Cheap Trick, Cadillac Three, Taylor Swift) touring artist, Klaus Luchs and amazing multi-instrumentalist, Andrea Whitt (Shania Twain, Zucchero).
After its release, the band’s single entitled “Nicola Jane” quickly hit radio and satellite stations across the country. With its wide spread airplay and placement, the band grabbed the attention of rock legend Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and were invited to join the rockers on their fall 2017 Tonnage tour. The Summit was humbled to realize that BFG had taken a keen interest in the band’s sound while on tour and is set to produce a series of tracks on their upcoming 2018 release.