Derek Burkins continues to capture praise and new listeners each time he takes the stage. With fluid guitar and banjo work and an authentic and emotive voice, his songs are thoughtful stories about powerful moments in life: love, family, and home. Songs range from the plaintive and determined lament of “Tobacco Farmer’s Daughter” to the joy of a life well-lived in “The Sweetest Girl I Know,” from love lost in “When Morning Comes Around” to forgiveness gained in “Take Me Home.”
Derek was the winner of the 2012 Vermont SolarFest Songwriting Competition and, for the second year in a row, a finalist in the Advance Music Singer/Songwriter Competition. Many of the award-winning songs were written in February 2012 as part of February Album Writing Month (FAWM) when Derek decided to accept the challenge of trying to write 14 songs in 29 days. After a month of intense songwriting, he walked away with eight new songs. These songs, along with the best of others he had written in the previous ten years, are included on his debut album, released in June 2013.. The combination of songs - and the time it took to put them together - inspire the title of the album: “Ten Years and 29 Days.”
"Ten Years and 29 Days" reflects how these songs have been heard time and time again, with Derek as a solo performer. A few simple instrumental parts were added to fill out the sound (including the beautiful fiddle playing of Katie Trautz) along with some vocal harmonies. Ideally, listening to this album should be just like listening to Derek play these songs up close and personal while you sit in your comfortable chair. The album was recorded over eight months with the help and talent of Jim Gilmour at Southview Arts Studio in Middletown Springs, VT.
Derek has been playing guitar for almost 40 years, picking up clawhammer banjo and mandolin in the more recent decades. For much of his life, his primary instrument was trumpet and he spent fours years in the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam playing trumpet, singing, and taking music courses while pursuing a double degree in education and geology. He then spent ten years playing trumpet in orchestras, jazz combos, and small brass ensembles while also continuing to perform as a singer/songwriter.
Derek has enjoyed playing for audiences with hundreds of performances, success in many songwriting competitions, and an ever-growing community of students and wonderful fans, for which he is extremely grateful. With the release of his debut album, he knows it will only get better and better.
Derek was the winner of the 2012 Vermont SolarFest Songwriting Competition and, for the second year in a row, a finalist in the Advance Music Singer/Songwriter Competition. Many of the award-winning songs were written in February 2012 as part of February Album Writing Month (FAWM) when Derek decided to accept the challenge of trying to write 14 songs in 29 days. After a month of intense songwriting, he walked away with eight new songs. These songs, along with the best of others he had written in the previous ten years, are included on his debut album, released in June 2013.. The combination of songs - and the time it took to put them together - inspire the title of the album: “Ten Years and 29 Days.”
"Ten Years and 29 Days" reflects how these songs have been heard time and time again, with Derek as a solo performer. A few simple instrumental parts were added to fill out the sound (including the beautiful fiddle playing of Katie Trautz) along with some vocal harmonies. Ideally, listening to this album should be just like listening to Derek play these songs up close and personal while you sit in your comfortable chair. The album was recorded over eight months with the help and talent of Jim Gilmour at Southview Arts Studio in Middletown Springs, VT.
Derek has been playing guitar for almost 40 years, picking up clawhammer banjo and mandolin in the more recent decades. For much of his life, his primary instrument was trumpet and he spent fours years in the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam playing trumpet, singing, and taking music courses while pursuing a double degree in education and geology. He then spent ten years playing trumpet in orchestras, jazz combos, and small brass ensembles while also continuing to perform as a singer/songwriter.
Derek has enjoyed playing for audiences with hundreds of performances, success in many songwriting competitions, and an ever-growing community of students and wonderful fans, for which he is extremely grateful. With the release of his debut album, he knows it will only get better and better.