Dave Murphy Band

Amazing musicianship, stylistic versatility and infectious entertainment are the name of the game for the Dave Murphy Band. Led by keyboardist and singer Dave Murphy, the band draws upon its eclectic musical experiences to create a show that is fun, lively and full of great music for dancing. Not only are they a band of a thousand songs, but singer Dave has often been called “the man of a thousand voices” for his amazing ability to mimic such a wide range of singers, and the band is renowned for performing all your favourite songs just the way you remember them.

Before putting his band together, Dave recorded and performed worldwide for a wide variety of Canadian acts, beginning his career as a young musician with a five-year stint as keyboardist for Canadian rock legend “Romping” Ronnie Hawkins. Since forming the band in 1993, the Dave Murphy Band has performed over 3000 times. The band’s mastery of a wide range of styles earned them opening spots for diverse acts like James Brown and The Bare Naked Ladies. The band was the house band for four years running at the Collingwood Elvis Festival, and was enlisted by the Canadian government to perform separate shows for both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.

The band has released two independent CDs of all original material, showcasing their wide range of musical interests. Dave also performed with the late, great Canadian guitar virtuoso Jeff Healey during the last five years of his tragically short life. Dave worked as the bandleader of Jeff’s house band for his weekly shows at the club, a band Jeff affectionately called “the best damned bar band in Canada!” Dave also toured worldwide with Jeff and performed on Jeff’s two final record releases, the award-winning Mess of Blues and Songs From The Road. Dave was also the musical director for the NHL awards show broadcast nationally in 2004.

The Dave Murphy Band has been a top draw in local clubs for years, including weekly appearances for eleven years running at the Orbit Room in downtown Toronto. The band is especially beloved by fellow musicians, and Dave has had the good fortune to perform with some of the great musicians of our time, including Randy Bachman (B.T.O.; The Guess Who), Colin James, Edgar Winter, Alex Lifeson (Rush), Ron Sexsmith, Kim Wilson (The Fabulous Thunderbirds), Levon Helm (The Band), Billy Ray Cyrus, Ian Gillan (Deep Purple), Long John Baldry, Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel), Alannah Myles, Steve Lukather (Toto) and many, many others.