Official Blog of Darren Holden

Music, Young Voices O2, Paddy's Day, and more!!

2012-03-11T13:20:00.002Z

Hi Everyone

It is a little while since we blogged as The High Kings have been taking a bit of a break during most of February. But we've still been busy and have lots to share with you now to bring you up to date.

A few status updates from Darren

“Looking forward to being back on the road tonight with a sold out show in The Mount Errigal Hotel in Letterkenny. Should be a right craic. Missing Utd v Liverpool though! : (“

“Letterkenny!! One of the best and biggest crowds we have played to in Ireland ever!

An absolute stormer from start to finish with a raucous crowd so fired up they all but exploded!! Love nights like this. Thanks Donegal.”

“Shocked to hear of Whitney Houstons passing. What a tragic loss. RIP

Its a beautiful sunny Sunday morning here in Dublin. Hope you are all well.”

“What a great morning. Sun shining, blue sky and the air full of possibilities.
Have a great day folks.”

“Looking forward to 'Createyournight.com's 3rd Birthday Party tonight in Lillies.....should be fun!”

“And the winner is........Jedward. Unless something crazy happens.
Sorry, but the other song's and performances were more than a tad yawnfest. Donna's could have been great but shite performance factor let it down. Una and David were actually very good, but for me the Eurovision is built for Jedward.

I'm looking forward to Eurovision already!! Should be Jedtastic!”

“7 hours pruning and cleaning the garden with herself, makes for a happy Saturday.
And a bad back : p”

“Fantastic 8 point victory for Kilkenny v Tipp in the league opener. Probably should have been put away long before the end, but here's hoping the bad misses were down to just being rusty.”

“Mad workout this morning! Feeling ready for anything now! Within reason....: )”

“Absolutely floored to learn of Davy Jones sad and very sudden passing. All my memories of Saturday mornings having breakfast, while watching The Monkees just came flooding back! Only saw him a few years ago in Mohegan Sun Casino, Connecticut. We were doing separate shows there and he was such a lovely man and one of the very few all rounders left in the business. He will be very missed. RIP.”

“Just saw an amazing accoustic show by a country music hero of mine Colin Raye. What a singer, what memories! Plus, I was very proud of my boy Ollie who made him sound even better than the record! Nobody does sound like the Ollmeister. Great to meet so many familiar faces too.”

“On route to Lillies Bordello where I am live in the Library at 11.30pm!
Wonder who'll pop in tonight??? Should be fun.”

“Mental gig at Lillies. Hopping crowd all night!
Loved it. Dublin is absolutely buzzing tonight.”

New photo videos for Darren's Roadworks Album

We hope you will enjoy the two videos of Darren's Roadworks tracks with photos set to the music. You will also find The Breath You Took Away and The Real Me in the player below them, along with other videos of Darren's original music.

New Darren Music Websites

We work hard to ensure that Darren is represented on all the most high profile music sites so fans can find him and listen to his music wherever they look for him. We are pleased to now have Darren Holden channels on 3 more major music websites.

Soundcloud

soundcloud.com/darrenholden

TwitMusic

You can log in and become a fan via your twitter account. Please show Darren your support and re-tweet his Roadworks tracks.

twitmusic.com/artists/darren-holden

PureVolume

www.purevolume.com/DarrenHolden

Special High Kings Fundraiser Night

“Hey everyone. on April 14th, The High Kings will perform a very special concert at The Park Hotel Clonmel in aid of Autism.
It is an event very close to my heart and I would like to thank the guys for coming in board to help out.
Details for purchasing tickets etc will be announced very soon. Stay tuned and hope to see many of you at the show.”

Young Voices Tour - O2 Arena

“Just spent a really nice day at home in Mooncoin with the gang. Sunshine all day and just totally chilled out.
Heading to London tomorrow to kick off 4 nights at The O2 with The High Kings and Young Voices. Should be a blast!!”

“Just arrived at the O2. Holy Moly! 4 nights in a row kicking off tonight with 19,000 tickets sold! Bring it on!
Plus my wifey and little boy are here to see it! : )”

Guest appearance from Beverley Knight

“Show number 2 at the O2. Last night was simply incredible! One to remember for sure. Ready to do it all over again and finally the Irish media have begun to take notice! Never heard of an Irish folk band playing to this amount of people in one week before. Thanks to The Daily Star for being first out of the hurdles for an exclusive story that will run in the coming days.”

Connie Talbot officially broke the World record for the most backing singers when she sang 'Run'. As The High Kings had the same backing for their songs, they sort of 'unofficially' broke the record too!

“Gearing up for the 3rd of 4 nights here at The O2 London. A very exciting special guest will join the show tonight!!
Just back from the tube station, as Michelle and little Joshy are traveling home this evening. Lots of little tears....: (“

“Amazing 3rd O2 show last night, 20,000 people rocked it out for 2 hours.
The amazing Alexandra Burke was last nights special guest, and she performed a beautiful tribute to Whitney Houston.
Tonights the last show here in London until we play an outdoor concert in Trafalgar Square on March 18th.
We have had a blast and take away very special memories that will last forever.”

"Rocking it out with Alexandra Burke and Randolph Matthews at London's O2"

It was certainly an amazing week at the O2 in London and the perfect way to end the Young Voices Tour. We hope you will enjoy the photos and videos that follow as we captured the memories.

“Well, Goodnight London. We have reached the end of an amazing tour and tomorrow we head home. We have played to 80,000 people in 4 nights at the O2.
Incredible memory to take back with us. Thanks UK. "

The videos of the final night!

The videos were filmed closer than previously. For the Queen Medley we followed Darren up in to the crowd as he made contact with his audience. He just made it back to the stage in time for the final 'Don't stop me now!' bringing the tour to a close.

Photos of the O2 Arena concerts

This slideshow features photos and screen shots taken across all four nights of the O2 Arena Young Voices concerts.

“Ahhh home again. : )”

Back in the UK for St Paddy's Day!!

The High Kings will be back in the UK on 18th March to headline the Lord Mayor of London's St Patrick's Day celebrations in Trafalgar Square! Last year 100,000 people attended the official London celebrations!

Check out all the information, schedules and parade routes on...

Official Mayor of London Website

These are photos of the official brochure issued in a number of UK Irish publications

That's all for now, we hope to be able to bring you all the news from St Paddy's Day in Trafalgar Square next weekend. Until then...

Thanks for your continued support

Darren & the DH Team

Royal Albert Hall DVD Video Preview and Update

2012-02-10T21:23:00.007Z

Would you like a DVD of the High Kings performing at the Royal Albert Hall, including the fabulous Queen Medley?

The event was being recorded for an official DVD which is available now in aid of the children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent.

The video is in PAL format, region free, costing just £13.75 incl. P&P for UK shipping. Overseas shipping is available with an additional postal charge by agreement. They are also able to produce an NTSC version for the US at a premium cost of £22.00 including P&P by request.

For overseas orders, including Rep. of Ireland, please phone of email Pembrokeshire Video Productions. UK orders can be made by email, phone or directly on their website.

www.pembrokeshirevideo.co.uk

clicsargent@pembrokeshirevideo.co.uk

Tel +44 (0) 1646 651 555

www.clicsargent.org.uk

Pembrokeshire Video Productions have very kindly made the following clips of the High Kings available on YouTube for us to share with you.

The second video has their first set of Rocky Road To Dublin and Whiskey In The Jar followed by and Darren and the lads putting their own stamp on a rocky performance of the Queen Medley.

The following slideshow is screenshots from the official video which we have produced with the kind permission of Pembrokeshire Video Productions.

The videos and photography are all copyright of Pembrokeshire Video Productions
www.pembrokeshirevideo.co.uk

We hope you enjoyed the videos and will consider buying the DVD to support this very worthwhile children's cancer charity. The DVD is the full show, including the performances of Connie Talbot.

Thanks for your continued support

Darren and the DH Team

Darren Archives - Movin' Out Tokyo

2012-01-19T20:23:00.003Z

Darren performed 1300 shows as Pianoman in Movin' Out, for the most part in the USA and Canada. But one of the highlights was taking the tour to Japan for a 6 week run from 27 July to 2 September 2006. They performed to great reviews and enthusiastic audiences at the Tokyo Koseinenkin Kaikan throughout.

"Darren Holden truly holds Movin' Out together and pumps out song after song with great passion. He's not imitating Joel, he's a star in his own right. He's sexy, breathy and really rocks."

-Amy Matsuoka, The Daily Yomiuri , Tokyo August 2, 2006

This photo slide has a full cast and crew photo from opening night, photos from the show, as well as some other personal performances from Darren with some of the Movin' Out band at Shinjunku station and Crawdaddy's Bar.

Darren, along with other members of the Movin' Out cast, were interviewed for a Japanese television station.

We have just added two videos of unseen footage of Darren's two interviews. Please note that these were actually filmed in Boston.

The first video shows Darren at the theatre with an opportunity to see him back stage and climbing his 30ft ladder to his piano up on the platform above the stage! The second interview is a rare opportunity to see Darren relaxing with his wife Michelle and their young son Josh, who were with him throughout the tour.

Screenshots from the videos

Darren's solo album Roadworks was released while he was in Japan and received an amazing reaction from the Japanese fans, selling over 20,000 copies. Here he is with a group of fans happy to have met Darren and got their copies signed!

We hope you have enjoyed sharing Darren's experiences of Japan in what was a very special and memorable time in his career.

STOP PRESS!!!!!!

The High Kings have just announced US festival dates!

Check the Tour Dates page for details

Darren is about to head of back to the UK with the High Kings to rejoin the Young Voices tour at the MEN Arena in Manchester.

Thanks for your continued support

Darren and the DH Team

Happy New Year and Irish Tour

2012-01-02T19:36:00.003Z

“Had a really nice Christmas spent with family in Dublin and yesterday in Kilkenny. Kids had a ball with all their cousins and both nana's and grandad's.
Just about to head to Newry to kick off 4 nights in the north. Last 4 shows of a great year.”

“There are nights I'm reminded of why I love to do what I do. Being onstage in front of an incredible audience tonight, was a massive reminder. Holy baby Jesus, they rocked hard and never let up from start to finish. Loved it.”

“Gym done, coffee on. Ready to hit the road to Derry to play a sold out concert at The Millenium Forum. If it's anything like last night, we are in for a treat.”

“Derry....Thanks so much. Another incredible night. What a way to finish off this year! A sold out Millennium Forum and a brilliant crowd.
2 more shows to go before we appear on RTE 1 for the New Years Eve show on Saturday night!”

“Castleblaney! Loudest audience of 2011!
600 strong and very much part of making tonight one to remember for a long time.
What a night. What a week. Last concert of the year tomorrow night at The Strule Theatre in Omagh.”

"Well, the final concert of this tour and 2011 is over. What a year for HK. Incredible crowds and support throughout. We are always grateful. Tomorrow night we will ring in 2012 alongside Jedward, Declan O' Rourke etc on RTE 1. Should be an absolute blast.”

Happy New Year

“Hey everyone. I mightn't get a chance later, so let me now wish you all a very Happy 2012, filled with health, happiness and lots of luck! Hope it's a good one for us all. See ya'll on the flip side. D”

Darren says a few words from the RTE rehearsal.

The High Kings were proud to be invited to perform on RTE 1's New Year's Eve Live show, hosted by Miriam O'Callaghan. The show launched TV50 as Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE) celebrates 50 years of Irish television. They performed Finnegan's Wake early in the show and were then joined on stage by Miriam and many of the other performers and guests as they gave a rousing performance of Whiskey in the Jar to close the show. Their first live performance of 2012.

Watch both performances below.

Fantastic New Year's night here with family. Lot's of fun had as usual. Hope you all have a brilliant 2012. So far so good."

Young Voices

The High Kings with Connie Talbot at the Royal Albert Hall

That's all the news for now, the Darren and the lads are taking a much needed break before they rejoin the UK Young Voices Tour in Manchester later this month.

Thanks for your continued support

Happy New Year to you all

Darren and the DH Team

Merry Christmas, Royal Albert Hall and more....

2011-12-19T13:34:00.003Z

Hi everyone

Well with Christmas almost upon us once again, let me first of all wish you all the happiest season of all!

The last few weeks, and indeed months, have been crazy to say the least, with constant touring in Ireland and the UK. The UK tour with Young Voices, will go down as one of the very best we have done so far. Massive crowds every night, in some of the biggest arenas over there. The YV Team have been incredible, as have the crew and fellow performers. It's a memory to last forever, and there is still more to come, as next month we hook up with the tour once more for dates in Manchester.

2012 is still in the planning stages at the moment, so I can't comment too much about what we have up our sleeve, but on a personal level, I hope to perform a few solo dates during the year.

It's been one year since darrenholden.net was launched, and I would like to thank you all for stopping by regularly and keeping in touch with all things HK and DH through the regular blog's and newsletter.

All the best

Darren was proud to be invited to perform at the 2004 Christmas Pageant at The White House. The pageant marked the 81st lighting of the national Christmas tree in the company of President George Bush and Mrs Laura Bush.

Check out the player on www.darrenholden.net to listen to two Christmas songs, written by Darren with Bryan Steele, as well as a recording of The High Kings singing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen live from Grafton Street Dublin on RTE Radio 1's Joe Duffy show Christmas Eve 2008.

Click Here for a free download of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

The Royal Albert Hall

Following fantastic shows with Young Voices at the LG Arena Birmingham and the Motorpoint Arena Sheffield, the High Kings were heading down to London with the show to the Royal Albert Hall for a special Christmas Celebration in aid of the Children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent.

“Just finished soundcheck at the Albert Hall. Walking out on that stage again took my breath away. Incredible place. One to savour tonight.”

“Well, All rehearsals are complete, and now it's get ready time for tonight's performance at the Royal Albert Hall. It's complete for me because my beloved Michelle is here with me to share the occasion. Just hope she hasn't melted my credit card on Oxford St!!!!!!”

“Just landed back in Dublin after a sensational tour, ending with a very memorable Albert Hall show last night!
Quick clothes swap and then on to the RDS for the first of 4 shows there kicking off at 7pm.
Can't wait to see me kiddies!!!”

Would you like a DVD of the High Kings performing at the Royal Albert Hall, including the fabulous Queen Medley?

There was no video recording allowed on the night as the event was being recorded for an official DVD to be sold in aid of the charity CLIC Sargent. Copies can be pre-ordered now and will be available Feb/March next year.

The video will be in PAL format, region free, costing just £13.75 incl. P&P for UK shipping. Overseas shipping is available but this will incur additional postal charges by agreement.

They are also able to produce an NTSC version for US shipping at a premium cost of £22.00 including P&P by request.

For overseas orders, including Rep. of Ireland, please phone of email Pembrokeshire Video. UK orders can be made by email, phone or directly on their website.

www.pembrokeshirevideo.co.uk

clicsargent@pembrokeshirevideo.co.uk

Tel +44 (0) 1646 651 555

The Norbury

Between their Young Voices concerts in Birmingham and Sheffield, The High Kings popped down to London to perform their only full UK show during the tour.

“London baby!”

“Thanks to everyone for coming out to see us at The Norbury tonight. Good to play London again. Tomorrow we take the train to Sheffield for 3 nights at The Sheffield Arena, then back to London for The Albert Hall on Friday!!”

Home Sweet Home....

After a very successful couple of weeks, performing with over 30,000 children to packed arenas with audiences totalling close to 100,000 people, Darren and the lads are now back in Ireland. They performed 4 Hallelujah concerts with the Young Voices choirs of Ireland at Dublin's RDS over the weekend and are now embarking on the second leg of their Irish Winter tour with only a short break over Christmas ahead of them.

“First of the RDS shows went down a treat. Roll on tomorrow.... and another.....”

“Great crowd this afternoon at the RDS. Very very LOUD! Roll on tomorrow night.”

“Brilliant Night at the RDS. Massive and very loud crowd. One more to go.”

“Wrapping up 4 amazing nights at the RDS. It's been a blast. Tomorrow it's Enniskillen and Thursday Armagh.”

It's been a very busy few weeks, with more ahead as the High Kings see out the rest of 2011 with their home crowd!

We'll be back with more news just as soon as we have it!

Thanks for your continued support

Merry Christmas one and all!

Darren & The DH Team

Young Voices and Irish Tour

2011-12-09T00:31:00.003Z

The High Kings were thrilled to be joining the Young Voices choir on their tour of the UK and Ireland. The tour was to start off in Birmingham and would take in all of the UK's largest arenas, the RDS in Dublin, and a charity Gala show in aid of CLIC Sargent at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Before they started off on the tour, they stopped off in Manchester for a corporate function that proved to be a very special night for Darren!

“Heading to the UK with the lads tomorrow for 2 weeks of arena dates with Young Voices, which includes a gala performance at The Royal Albert Hall on December 9th!
This Friday though, we play a private show for The red Devils at the Hilton in Manchester. Woo Hoo”

“On the train from Manchester to London after one of the most memorable nights ever. Fantastic event celebrating the "Irish Abroad". It was also a personal milestone, as the legendary Phil Coulter asked to join us for a version of his classic, "The Town I Loved So Well" where he and I swapped verses. A memory to last a lifetime.”

LG Arena Birmingham

“In the middle of rehearsals here at the LG Arena in Birmingham. Looking forward to performing in front of 14,000 people tonight, and having 6,000 kids sings along with us. Plus, we get to sing some of Queen's Greatest Hits in the finale. I finally get my chance to scream out "One Vision"!!!! ROCK ON!”

“Holy crap! 14,000 very loud Brummies tonight at the LG Arena! What an amazing feeling. Loved every minute of it! Hope we did Freddie and Queen proud. Haven't had a chance to rock it since Movin' Out!
Roll on tomorrow night!!!”

Check out the videos of the High Kings sets over the 3 Birmingham shows, including 3 recordings from different perspectives of them performing the Queen Finale with featuring vocals from Darren and Brian.

Not to be missed!!

“Another amazing capacity crowd here in Birmingham's LG Arena tonight!
Incredible to hear such volume coming back at us from the audience!
Happy days!”

“Third and final sold out night here in Birmingham. Incredible volume from the crowd again. On to London tomorrow in preparation for Saturday Nights show at The Norbury in Croydon.
Thanks Birmingham!”

Motorpoint Arena Sheffield

"Tomorrow we take the train to Sheffield for 3 nights at The Sheffield Arena, then back to London for The Albert Hall on Friday!!”

“Kicking off 3 night's at The Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield tonight! Looks like 12,000 seats full so should be a blast!!”

“Sheffield! Holy moly. Seriously great crowd. Deafening during the Queen finale. Loved it. Can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow night!”

“About to get onstage again in Sheffield for the second of 3 nights at The Motorpoint Arena. The volume coming from the backstage area is deafening. Should be a blast!”

“What can I say. Another mind blowing show in Sheffield. These people know how to make a lot of noise! Way too much fun.”

“Half an hour to the final show in Sheffield tonight. It's been a great week so far, and there's a terrific atmosphere building. Ready to rock the house again. Tomorrow it's back to London and I can't wait to see someone very special.”

“Sheffield saved the biggest and loudest for last! Wow! Incredible audience. Loving this tour a lot. Roll on The Royal Albert Hall on Friday.”

Rewind - Irish Winter Tour First Leg....

“Kicking off the 2011 winter tour tonight in Whites Hotel Wexford, then on to The Olympia on Sunday night! See you all out there.”

“Fantastic first night of the tour tonight in Wexford. Really great crowd who made our job rather easy! Roll on The Olympia on Sunday night!”

“The High Kings are back in Dublin's Olympia Theatre tonight! Can't wait.
Should be a great gig. Are you ready to bring it Dublin????”

“Olympia!!! Amazing night. Loudest crowd ever!”

“Gotta drag myself to the gym, then busy day topped off with tonights HK show in Cavan!!”

“700 very loud Cavan people tonight! What a vibe. Loudest crowd in yonks!!! Thanks Cavan”

“Leaving Dublin soon. Heading to Birr for tonights show. Offaly are you ready??”

“OMG Offaly!!! What a night. What a huge crowd! Loved it”

“Wrecked.com, but at least its a beautiful sunny Sunday morning.”

“Will be on KCLR FM with Sue Nunn after 10am news.”

Click Here to Listen

“Heading to the launch of The Coronas new album in the city. Should be a great night!”

“Coronas! Fantastic. The new songs sound great. Really cool hang and great to see so many folks I've missed for a while. Hope it gets to number 1 guys!”

“About to take the stage at The Royal Theatre Castlebar. Should be a good one.”

“Brilliant night and fantastic crowd in Castlebar. Great vibe all through the show. The West knows how to party!!”

“Thanks again to Castlebar for a great night. We are about to leave here and travel to Belfast where we are onstage at The Waterfront hall at 8pm.
Happy Sunday everyone.”

“Belfast!! What a night! What a crowd. Brilliant audience and a very memorable show.”

“Hey folks, I will be chatting to Geoff Harris on WLR FM after 7pm tonight, in advance of Wednesday Nights concert at The Theatre Royal in Waterford.”

Click Here to Listen

“5 High Kings concerts in a row kick off tonight at The Theatre Royal, Waterford. It's kinda home turf for me so looking forward to seeing everyone.”

“Waterford!! Absolutely great night! Good to be back on the aul turf. Loads of the Mooncoin gang in too. Home with the folks for tonight then on to Galway tomorrow.”

“Good evening from a wet and windy Ballinasloe. Ready to do it all over again in 50 minutes.”

“Another great audience. Even the wind and rain didn't dampen their spirits. Brilliant fun all the way. On to Tyrone tomorrow.”

“All remaining shows on this tour will have to measure up to Cookstown Co Tyrone. Sensational audience. Brilliant night!!
On to the INEC Killarney tomorrow.”

“Great sleep in creepy ass hotel. Guess it doesn't help when we watch "Salems Lot" on the journey here. : ) Brians ghost radar must have been on overdrive! lol On to Killarney later.”

“INEC Fantastic crowd yet again. Brought it to a whole new level. Thanks Killarney.
Tomorrow its home.........Kilkenny.”

“So great to be back home in Kilkenny tonight! Great crowd and brilliant fun the whole way through. Caught up with loads of friends and family. Love KK. Heading home tonight.”

“About to play a solo pianoman show for the Chanel Christmas party! Ooh la la”

“Must admit, it felt a tad early singing "It's beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas" tonight! Really fun show in a very cool venue.”

That's all for now, we will be back very soon with news of the only full UK High Kings show at The Norbury in London, and the Gala night at the Royal Albert Hall.

Thanks for your continued support

Darrren & The DH Team

HK Heading For The UK!!!

2011-10-28T18:01:00.002+01:00

The High Kings unfortunately had to cancel their scheduled Malvern Show due to an unforseen change in the Young Voices Tour schedule in Birmingham.

But UK fans needn't be disappointed, they are now thrilled to announce that they will be performing their show at The Norbury in South West London on 3rd December. Advanced tickets can be purchased from the venue at £15 and will also be available on the door for £17. ticketsales@thenorbury.com Tel. +44 (020) 8679 0632

www.thenorbury.com

Darren and the lads are really excited to be joining the Young Voices UK tour, between their Irish Christmas Tour dates and in to the early part of 2012.

Young Voices is the world's largest organiser of school choirs and the High Kings will be performing with between 5000 and 8000 children in some of the UK's biggest arenas in Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester and London.

Also performing will be 10 year old Connie Talbot who many will remember from the 2007 series of Britain's Got Talent when she blew Simon Cowell and everyone away singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow, then aged 6. Her YouTube videos have collectively had over 360 million views worldwide.

Please note the the Young Voices concerts ARE NOT High Kings events and they will only be singing a few songs, and a Queen Finale, at each show.

This is predominantly a schools event with most tickets being sold to parents and families through schools. A limited amount of tickets have been made available to the venues to sell in response to enquiries from the public.

28 & 29 November, 1st December 2011
Young Voices Tour
LG Arena Birmingham

+44 (0) 8443 388000

5th, 6th & 7th December 2011
Young Voices Tour
Sheffield Arena, Sheffield Yorks

+44 (0) 1142 565656

23rd, 24th & 25th January 2012
Young Voices Tour
MEN Arena Manchester

+44 (0) 8448 478000

5th, 6th, 7th & 8th March 2012
Young Voices Tour
O2 Arena, London

+44 (0) 2884 633250

www.youngvoices.co.uk

The school children of the UK won't be the only one's enjoying getting to perform with the High Kings. After the success of last year's concerts, the High kings are thrilled to once again be performing with Ireland's school choirs at the series of Hallelujah Concerts at Dublin's RDS from the 10th - 13th December.

Tickets from www.ticketmaster.ie

Watch them performing at last year's RDS concerts

Click Here

New Official HK Website

The High Kings have just launched a brand new look Official website. Check it out and drop by info@thehighkings.com and let them know what you think

www.thehighkings.com

That's all the news for now, we'll be back with more just as soon as we have it.

Thanks for your continued support

Darren and the DH Team

Darren & Brian Dunphy 'High' on 4FM

2011-10-24T20:49:00.000+01:00

Darren and Brian were in the studios of 4FM chatting and performing on the Guaranteed Irish show to promote the forthcoming High Kings Irish Winter Tour. They did a great interview, talking about the tour and their forthcoming Young Voices tour in the UK. They performed a medley of their big ballads from the show, Town I Loved So Well and Rare Old Times as well as Leaving of Liverpool.

But, these weren't the only treats they had in store. They also gave as a wonderful first ever performance of their own Holden/Dunphy composition 'High' as a taster of the original music they have been working on for the new show. The song got a huge reaction both in the studio and with the fans online.

You can listen to the full half hour interview and performances, including the new song, on the latest news page of Darren's Official Website.

www.darrenholden.net

Just as a further treat for you all, Darren has made the recording of 'High' available for download so that you may all enjoy it at your leisure. You can download the song on the following link with Darren's compliments.

Click Here to download High

A little video blog from Darren

A few words from the studios of 4FM a few minutes before they went on air to preview the new song!

Work in progress!!

Darren and Brian hard at work inside the The Egg at Albany as they get busy writing their brand new song 'High' played live for the first time in the studio at 4FM.

We hope you have enjoyed listening to Darren and Brian's interview and in studio performance. Please drop by Darren's official Facebook page and let us know what you think of 'High'.

Darren's Official Facebook

The High Kings Irish Tour kicks of in Wexford on Friday night where they will be starting to take the new show with more original songs on the road. Catch a show on the tour if you can, you won't be disappointed.

Back with news from the tour soon.

Thanks for your continued support

Darren and the DH Team

New Darren Promo Video - The Story So Far...

2011-10-17T20:49:00.001+01:00

Darren is a very versatile and talented performer. As well as being an accomplished musician, with an exceptional vocal range, he is also a prolific songwriter. His wonderful interpretation of lyrics, together with an ability to perform in so many genres of music, continues to win him praise from audiences wherever he performs around the world. This video has been put together as a showcase of his talent and to tell the story of the highlights of his career so far.

The High Kings Radio Interviews

The High Kings were interviewed and performed live in the studios, of Sunshine Radio and East Coast FM to promote their forthcoming Irish Tour. You can listen to both the interviews on the Latest News Page of Darren's Official Website.

www.darrenholden.net

The East Coast FM interview includes an inpromptu performance of the Crowded House classic 'Always Take The Weather With You'.

An update on what's been happening.......

The High Kings have only had one show since Holland and have taken the opportunity to start working on new material for the next tour.

“Kicking off in the studio today with Brian and Martin. Slowly compiling new material. It's another roasting day here on Dublin!!
More importantly though, I heard on the radio this morning that "Steps" are back together!!!
That's just brilliant!!! : )”

“Definitely 2 massive HK originals already in the early stages!”

“Gym done. Onto the studio for the day!”

While they are working on new material, there was good news for the last studio album when Memory Lane secured the number 12 position in the Hot Press album chart for 2010.

“Cahir...Are You Ready???
Heading down shortly. Hope it's a good night.”

“Thanks for a brilliant night Cahir. Loved it!
On the road to Dublin.”

The High Kings are continuing to work on new and original material ready to take it on the road for the new Irish Tour, which kicks of at White's Hotel Wexford October 28.

Thanks for your continued support.

Darren and the DH Team

Full Irish Focus Interview and High Kings In Hoogeveen

2011-09-28T23:12:00.003+01:00

We recently published the interview Darren did with Pete Maher for Irish Focus. This is the full interview from which the article was taken.

Q: When did you first discover you could sing?

A: I was singing in church back home in Mooncoin when I was 3 years old. I would go up to the choir with my mam and sing along with all the hymns they were doing. My aunt remembers me trying to sing in church as early as 9 months old!

Q: Who inspired you/mentored you in the early days of your career?

A: There was always music in our house when we were young, and my mam would always have the radio on. I would be singing along to Elvis, Glen Campbell etc etc, and even taping myself sing stuff like "How great Thou Art". That recording is actually still at home. I was 4.

Q: Who do you most admire as a singer and who do you most admire as an instrumentalist?

A: My favorite singer is and always will be Elvis. As far as I am concerned,he had a god given gift of not only being an incredible singer, but also having blistering charisma, and an ability to turn even the most mediocre song into something special. He had the whole package, and I don't think the world will ever see his likes again.

I admire Vince Gill, not only for his amazing vocal ability, but he has to be one the greatest guitarists, and mandolin players ever. Sublime in his approach, and never overplays. he has performed on literally thousands of albums down through the years, and its easy to see and hear why. The man is gifted.

Q: Everyone knows about your early years traveling as the featured vocalist with the Riverdance troupe. But, while you were touring later with the Billy Joel revue, did you expect to return to more traditional Irish music again?

A: Ironically, I was actually listening to a lot of Irish music during the last 6 months of being in "Movin Out" and was silently planning an album of Irish music. I just wasn't sure how to make the transition from singing rock 'n' roll in a Broadway musical to crooning Celtic ballads. So, it was while I was performing corporate dates around the USA with Billy Joel's band that I got the call to tell me that our management wanted me to come home to Ireland, and discuss being in The High Kings. Some things just sort themselves out.

Q: When you signed on with The High Kings, what was it like to return to such a recognized form of music?

A: I guess having listened to Irish music all my life, and learning it from my family, it was easy enough to sing it and feel it. I love singing these songs, they bring me back to a simpler time, while also teaching me to be a better vocalist. I have a tendency to pick some vocally testing tunes, in order to push myself further and learn more about my art.

Q: Three out of four of The High Kings come from rather legendary Irish music families. As someone from the relatively quiet hometown of Mooncoin who has carved out an impressive career of your own, how did you approach partnering with the lads to develop the group's sound?

A: It was never about approaching the lads initially. It actually happened very naturally, given that the first time we sat down in a studio, we just started singing 4 part harmony without any hesitation. It was kinda scary how it happened. I think we all knew there and then that we could do it and bring it to the masses. The thing about The High Kings is, we do songs that have been around for a very long time, but our main objective is to make them sound like they were written today. So far it's been working for us.

Q: You mentioned moving the family back to Ireland with the impending arrival of your second child. While I utterly respect any desire not to shine a light on them, could I share the fact that you're a family man and that you and your wife have decided to raise your family back home in Ireland? I'd like to mention her and your children’s names and ages in the story if possible.

A: Sure no problem, go ahead. My wifes name is Michelle. My kids are Josh, aged 6, Ava, aged 4, and Sophie aged 3.

Q: When The High Kings first came on to the international music scene, many seemed to think it was yet another incarnation of Celtic Thunder. Could you explain how the group has worked to stay true to another form of musical storytelling and how the two audiences, of Celtic Thunder and The High Kings are different as well as similar.

A: I guess people saw us as being similar to Celtic Thunder at the start, as we were unleashed in America at the exact same time, and we were doing the PBS promo tour, which I loved. Our debut album, and DVD were very different to how we sound now. The DVD was a huge deal, with the cream of the industry onboard to make it great, and the songs, produced by David Downes were amazingly orchestrated. We have stayed true to being an Irish group, in that the songs we sing are all Irish. The CT boys have done really well performing songs from all genres of music, including Broadway, standards and pop music. Their’s is a production show, where we are a band and we are all about keeping it real.

I don't know enough about their audience, but I will tell you this..... We have the most loyal, dedicated and loving fans in the world. We had people travel thousands of miles to see us all over the States this summer. We also have made great friends with a few of our fans, and that makes being on the road easier. I value our fans enormously, and I hope they know how much they mean to me, and how grateful I am that they go to such lengths to see us and support us.

Q: Where do you see The High Kings going next in the evolution of the group? Can we expect the introduction of some self-composed songs as well as the standards?

A: We are currently working on some new original material, which hopefully will be included on the next album we release. The plan is to do 50% standards and 50% original. I am hopeful that we come across a killer song soon, which will take us on to the next level and we can tour even further afield. Folk music has become very popular in the last few years since we were launched. There are folk groups popping up all over Ireland, and tipping the hat to us which is nice. Also, Mumford and Sons are having massive success around the globe and have completely redefined the genre. All in all, I think the next few years will be about finding great original songs.

Q: You mentioned you were working on an independent project which may or may not come to fruition. Comment how the chance to work independently as well as part of The High Kings is a part of maintaining your creative energy. Do any of the other lads have solo work accomplished/planned as well?

A: I am constantly writing and demoing new material while on the road, and I plan to do record another solo album down the road. Whether I release it or not is another thing, but I want to get it done and have it for when the time is right. I am gravitating towards acoustic, melodic breezy folk/pop tunes, almost crossover if you like. The process of creativity is very important when you spend so much time on the road touring. You can get very tired of hotel to hotel so writing songs is a welcome escape. I haven't released a solo record in 5 years, due to being so busy with the boys, which for now is my main thing. Before that I released 4 in 7 years! Martin and Brian have solo album also.

Q: Where would you like to see The High Kings five years from now?

A: I would love to see us successful enough to record whenever we feel the need to do it and tour whenever we feel like it. Honestly, original material is the only way forward in my opinion, while maintaining a healthy array of material from all our albums. I would love to see us touring the globe every few years, but not constantly touring. I am missing my wife and kid's too much lately while on tour, and there is no way I will continue that beyond a certain point.

Q: Ten years?

A: Very hard to see that far down the road, but if I'm being totally honest, I would like to be off the road at that point, and doing the odd solo shows/corporate events. I would love to do another Broadway show too. I never close the door on that one, as I have a massive love for that side of the business. I hope I'm as ambitious though, as I am now. If that subsides then I will be doing something else entirely.

Q: There is clearly a different kind of energy feedback from an audience in a concert hall versus an Irish festival. How would you describe this difference?

A: I absolutely love festival dates, outdoor shows. I am very comfortable live in front of huge audiences. It’s an incredible buzz hearing 7 to ten thousand people singing along at a festival or arena show. Hopefully, The high Kings can build on what we've achieved through all the US shows this summer and come back bigger next time.

Q: The High Kings have some incredibly loyal fans. What has been the most impressive example of fan loyalty you have encountered so far?

A: We have the most incredible fan base, who are willing and able to go to the ends of the earth for us if they have to. We have become friends with quite a few of them, and there is one lady in the UK who set up all my online fan sites a few years ago, and does an incredible job. She makes sure that all info relating to me is out there as it happens.

Okay, that should be more than enough for an article.
How about a little Darren Holden Trivia?

Shoe size:

10

Last CD you purchased:

Wonders of the Younger by Plain White T's.

Favorite film of all time:

Halloween (1978)

Television show you try never to miss, even on the road:

Sons of Anarchy.

Favorite non-alcoholic beverage:

Starbucks Iced coffee.

Your vocal range:

Tenor

Favorite form of exercise:

Lifting weights and running.

Favorite healthy snack:

OH YEAH protein bars.

Special thanks to Pete Maher of the Irish Focus for allowing us to publish the full interview.

www.irish-focus.com

High Kings in Hoogeveen Holland

The High Kings made their debut in Holland performing at the Irish Music Festival at De Tamboer in Hoogeveen, along with The Killkenny's and Keltic Kats.

“Just wrapped up family movie night. Tonight is was E.T.
Almost finished mopping up all the little tears. Awwwww......
Early start in the morning, heading to the Netherlands with THK.”

“Just landed back in Dublin after a fantastic night in Holland! Brilliant crowd and great friends and groups to share it with including The Kilkennys and Keltic Kats. Happy days!”

Tour Dates

The High Kings Irish Winter Tour dates have now been added to our Tour Dates page with ticket link details.

Click Here for Tour Dates

Thanks for your continued support

Darren and the DH Team

Midwest Irish Focus Magazine Interview

2011-09-15T20:44:00.001+01:00

Darren was interviewed by Pete Maher for the Midwest Irish Focus Magazine while he was at the LaCrosse Irish Festival. The article is in the September edition and Darren has been featured on the cover.

Midwest Irish Focus on Facebook

www.irish-focus.com

View readable article full size on the press pages of

www.darrenholden.net

Unlisted video of Darren singing 'Town I Loved So Well'
at the La Crosse festival

Catching up with the Kings!

2011-09-08T22:32:00.003+01:00

Last weekend was very special for Darren, but we still need to bring you up to date with all the news for Darren and the lads from their final show in the US through to last Saturday in Mullingar!

Message from Darren from latest his Newsletter

Hey everybody.

Can it really be newsletter time again?

Well, there has been so much happening for us while playing festivals all summer in the USA and Germany, that I guess I better keep you all updated.

We have been having a blast playing to thousands of HK fans for the last few months, and indeed if Milwaukee is anything to go by, there will be a few new fan's now too. What a great weekend we had there, and what a great festival. Very professional, and upbeat.

Tomorrow night we play The Budweiser Event Center in Loveland Colorado. This will be our biggest arena show to date in the States and I can't wait to get out there!

We then fly home to Ireland, and on landing, we are being picked up and driven to Killarney for the last of our summer shows at the INEC.

Thankfully a few days off after that, as I am sure we will be exhausted.

Hope you enjoy the newsletter.

'Til next time, be well and stay safe.

Last days in the USA

“Morning all from sunny Colorado. Gearing up for soundcheck at the Budweiser Event Centre, where we are live tonight at 8pm. Heading home tomorrow for a show at the INEC on Saturday night. Them....home to my clan. Ahhh”

“Fantastic night at The Budweiser Event Centre. Very cool audience thats rocked it out all the way with us. The Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra were out of this world! and the young choir that joined us for the second half of the show were great. Homeward bound tomorrow. :)”

“About to hit the road for Denver, to fly to Chicago and home.
Best of luck to all my East Coast friends over the coming few days. We'll be thinking of you. God bless.”

Next Stop Killarney via Dublin!!

“Just landed back on the 'aul sod. About to board a sleeper coach for the drive to Killarney where due to massive demand for tix we will perform in the main room of the INEC tonight at 9.30.
Pretty tired but hoping to catch some zzzzz's on the way.
Big thanks to the USA once again for a marvellous summer!!!”

“Killarney!!! What can I say! Yet again it was a milestone for us in the kingdom. What a homecoming. Nobody parties harder than Kerry! Unreal.”

“I am so thankful to be heading home in the morning to my little family, especially as my beautiful, sweet, hilarious little girl is 4 years old. Happy Birthday Ava!!
Can't wait to see everyone! Good to be home.”

Ireland's Call!!

“This coming Friday night The High Kings will rock 50,000 soccer fans ahead of the crunch Euro 2012 qualifier between Ireland and Slovakia at the Aviva Stadium. I for one, cannot wait!!”

“Amazing night so far! Crowd really got behind us, and the all round reaction was superb. Saw loads of friends from home in the crowd, great to catch up. Pity about the result, but hey, we are still there with a shout.
Great fun.”

Greville Arms Hotel Mullingar

“I have to say Mullingar tonight was one of those shows that live long after its over. Over 800 people stuffed into The Greville Arms Hotel and the volume level coming from them was ear splitting. Mad mad night.
We wore the Loughlin Gaels hurling jersey's onstage for the second half and that set the tone for the rest of the night. Mayhem!!”

The Westmeathentertainment.ie photos in this slide are copyright Therese Dunne.

So there you have it, all up to date with the High Kings news. It had been a weekend of pulling on the football shirts, but the following day of course Darren changed sports to pull on the black and amber shirt of Kilkenny!

Finally......

Darren 'Harley' Holden

We have just one more set of photos to bring you from Darren's time in America. While he was in Milwaukee, Darren had some photos taken with the bikes in the Harley Davidson Museum.
These photos are courtesy and copyright of Charlie Brock.

That's all for now! Back soon!

Thanks for your continued support

Darren and the DH Team

Hurling Through Kilkenny!!

2011-09-06T21:31:00.004+01:00

It is no secret to anyone who knows Darren , or closely follows his status updates, that after music his next passion is for hurling and his county team Kilkenny!

A few weeks ago, during a break in the US festivals, Darren was able to return to Ireland to see his beloved Kilkenny Cats secure their place in yet another All Ireland Senior Hurling Final at Croke Park. With the festivals done, and a few Irish gigs under his belt, the High Kings calendar allowed him to return to Croke Park on Sunday and watch Kilkenny take on Tipperary, a repeat of last year's final.

There was a lot of pride at stake as last year Tipp had stopped them securing the first ever '5 in a row'. They desperately wanted to take the Liam McCarthy Cup back home to the Marble City where it had lived for the previous four years!

It was quite a weekend for Darren!

“Well, after winning 7 All Ireland's in 10 years, here we are again. Is there one last hurrah left in this amazing team? I hope so. They will need a massive one to put it up to Tipp today, who are great. This KK team owe us nothing. They've gone beyond the call for their county and made us all very proud of where we are from. Win or lose today, there will never be another team like them. Hopefully its the good, hard, flowing match we are all expecting. COME ON THE CATS!!!!!!!!!!”

“OMG!!!!!!!!!
Without a doubt the greatest team of all time!!!!!!!”

Yes, they had done it, in a fantastic game, it finished
Kilkenny 2-17 Tipperary 1-16.

Liam was going home!!!

“Greatest of all time! What a team. What a performance! I am a very proud Kilkenny man!!”

“It's a beautiful sunny day outside, and The Super Cats are Champions for the 5th time in 6 years! Unreal. What a feeling! Pure brilliance at Croker yesterday from start to finish, from every player! And what about those 2 goals! Fantastic. Ritchie's has to be goal of the year. Come on The Black and Amber!!”

“On route to The Marble City with Josh, Declan and Kevin to welcome home The Cats!!
Should be a blast!”

“What an amazing homecoming for the brilliant Kilkenny team. Over 30.000 fans showed up for a huge party on the streets of the Marble City and not even the rain could dampen the atmosphere!! Josh loved every minute of it and cheered his head off for all the players.
Great to have Liam home again!!”

“Josh was delighted to read todays Daily Star report on last nights homecoming and see his name mentioned for having been there. Great memory for him.”

Kilimanjaro Documentary - Darren's Storyboard

2011-09-01T19:29:00.010+01:00

The Kilimanjaro documentary got a fantastic reaction when it was aired on RTE 1 in a prime time slot on July 18 2011. It was only broadcast within Ireland and for the benefit of the overseas fans, and those of you who would like to re-live the precious memories, we now bring you Darren's documentary storyboard.

This is the story of

The Climb for Kids

A group of Irish climbers set out to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro and raise one quarter of a million Euros for Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin.

First the paperwork needed to be done to allow them in to Africa, that meant attending a medical briefing and having those dreaded shots.

"Great, it wasn't too bad!"

My boy lollipop! He got his reward for being brave!

"Awesome"

"We're here!!!"

"The basic thing is to pace yourself. It's not a race, nobody's out to prove anything you know, we're all here for the common goal, we're all here to help each other."

Before they set off on day one, they did some basic stretches to get the blood moving and help them sleep better.

At the Machame Gate, where they were about to start the climb, Darren couldn't resist a little joke.

"It was a wonderful experience, it wasn't that high after all, have fun!!"

There was a lot of nervous laughter on day one, but how were they really feeling?

"Very good, very good so far.
Happy days, beautiful"

"African Vodka"

"Day 1 over"

Darren Holden has performed on some of the worlds biggest stages but Kilimanjaro is certainly a unique venue.

"As I was going over the Cork and Kerry mountains"
The singing on the mountain was cut with footage of Adam and the High Kings on the Late Late Show the night before Darren set off. They also blended Adam's voice with the live singing on the mountain so that he was 'singing' with them. A touching moment.

"Maybe you love me, but now I'm not so sure"

"That's the wrong words already, see it's way too early for a song"

"In the year of our lord 1806, we set sail from the Coal Quay of Cork
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks
For the Grand City Hall in New York
'We'd an elegant craft
She was rigged fore and aft
And oh, how the wild winds drove her
She had twenty seven masts
and withstood several blasts
And they called her The Irish Rover"

"Yesterday was tough in places, but you know we made it. Unfortunately Karl abandoned ship but he gave it his all, we are all very very proud of him. But at the same time it's at the back of our minds that maybe this is a lot more tougher than any of us anticipated"

"There was a lot of climbing today, by the time I got to lunch I was in a heap. I just went in to the tent there a minute ago and had like a head rush and I'm like... But I'd say I'd be OK"

Yippee!! I can't wait, it's gonna be great.

We should just do it now, a quick cuppa and off we go"

"It's not that big!!! Ha ha!!"

Darren hits the Barranco Wall, a day of serious climbing up a rock face without the aid of ropes and picks.

"Without a doubt the most physically and mentally challenging thing I have ever done in my life, bar none, and probably will ever do"

"We're about to set off on the night trek to the actual summit. It's what we all came to do. We are all very disorientated at the moment and don't know if we are coming of going. Having said that, it's an amazing adventure. Just getting out of the tents and seeing the stars, it's almost within touching distance tonight, absolutely amazing. I think the feeling is optimistic, we are going to do this."

After months of training the Climb for Kids team has reached the top of Africa. It has taken just four and a half days of intense physical and mental strength to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro, the world's tallest free standing mountain.

"Out of breath, unbelievable, I am just so happy to see this"

"It's just an unreal feeling. It just seemed like it was so far away and we pulled it off"

"We did it Adam, we did it!!"

The summit, it had taken 10 hours having left the camp in darkness at 1am.

"Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough, to keep me away from you"

Yes he was still singing!!

There was just time for a group photo before they started the descent. They were facing another 5 hours of walking, adapting to the thickening air, with their aching joints and muscles.

We made it!

The summit of Kilimanjaro rises up 5895 metres above sea level. There is only half the amount of oxygen that there is at sea level.

"I work out quite a bit, but there was plenty of times yesterday when I really really wanted to give up."

"Toto have a great song called Africa, it was a massive hit in the 80's. Great, great song and it suits everybody down to the ground here."

"As wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
As Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti"

The Climb for Kids team returned to Ireland to a fantastic welcome, very proud at what they had achieved. They learned when they arrived that they had indeed already raised over 250,000 Euros for Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin. Hopefully with 365,000 households confirmed as watching this documentary, that figure would have increased significantly helping the sick kids of Ireland in need of their care.

Back In The USA!!

2011-08-22T22:46:00.005+01:00

Hi Everyone

Before we head off back to the USA, we start with a few words from Darren following his beloved Kilkenny Cats win at Croke Park, as well as news of his new profile on Google+

"KK need a huge one for the next day. Let's hope it's in them. Woo hoo"

"Today I took Josh to see Kilkenny play in Croke Park for the first time and he loved every minute of it. He wore the Black and Amber with pride and roared on the Cats with his dad just like I did with my dad all those years ago. And so it begins......"

Google+

Darren has had a Google profile for a while and this has now been upgraded to a Google+ account. They say that Google+ may be bigger than Facebook and is one for the future, although it is currently still under development with sign up by invitation only. If you are on Google+, please add Darren to your circles. If you would like an invite, please email us at

darrenholden@live.co.uk

Darren's Google+ Profile

Stop Press Latest!!

Just in case you missed the 'Stop Press' added to the last blog a couple of days after it was published. With special thanks to Anne and Peter Greb, we now have a recording of the interview they did with the High Kings while they were in Germany. You can listen to the interview and their recording of 3 songs live from the show in 'The Cave' on the player on Darren's official website.

www.darrenholden.net

Heading for America!

"Well, after a long travel day from Dublin to New York, onto Minneapolis, then a 2 hour drive, we are finally here in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Wrecked.com but looking forward to playing the festival tomorrow night!"

"Stuffed.com! Thanks to Casey, our great promoter in Wisconsin, we have had an amazing meal at Piggy's! Totally top class despite the name. Great laugh. Brilliant show tonight, super crowd. On to St Paul tomorrow morning for 2 days. Can it really be a year since we played that festival??"

Irish Festival of Minnesota - St Paul

"Just arrived in St Paul for the Festival. We play tonight at 5pm and tomorrow at 2pm. Weather looks good so bring it on!!!"

"Absolutely massive crowd tonight in St Paul, Minnesota. Loved every second of it. Huge reaction and the weather was amazing. Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow at 2pm!"

Special thanks to Sarah Veverka for sharing her photos of The High Kings in St Paul with us. All photos on the following slide are copyright Sarah Veverka Photography

"Lovely show today under scorching sunshine at the Minnesota fair. Absolutely drained from the sun, but what a super audience again! few days off now to recharge."

"What a great city St Paul is. Thanks to Dave at "Anytime Fitness" for allowing me to work out there this morning. Beautiful weather here, and no better way to chill than grabbing a Starbucks and catching some ray's!"

RIP Elvis August 16 1977

Darren has always been a huge Elvis fan and couldn't let the day go by without a few words for his idol.

"34 years ago today, my mum walked into my bedroom and said to me and Vinnie "You will never guess who has died?" I immediately said Elvis! Even as a young child he played a major part in my life and it continues to this day. The world will never again witness anything like him. There will only ever be one Elvis! Long live the King!"

Back on the road!!

"Getting ready to leave St Paul for the 6 hour drive to Milwaukee. Another beautiful day which kicks off what should be a massive weekend for us."

Milwaukee Irish Fest

"Milwaukee!! What a first night! Amazing crowd, and this was meant to be the quietest night?? Can't wait for the next 3 then! :)
Seriously, great fun and a great vibe all round. Great to see so many HK fan's that travelled so far to be there. You know who you guy's are.
Let's do it all again on the Harley Davidson stage tomorrow night!"

"Milwaukee!!! If last night was crazy, then tonight was off the scale entirely!
Massive audience and the loudest for a long time! Beautiful setting yet again. Loved it big time. We are live again tomorrow night at 8.30pm."

"Milwaukee! once again I have been left speechless. What an amazing, loud, wild, massive audience you were tonight! I didn't want it to end. Thank you! Tomorrow is the final HK show of the festival and you can be sure we will go out with a bang!"

"Went out with a massive bang today. What a crowd!! Under glorious sunshine, it was one of the best days of performing ever. I can never thank Milwaukee enough for the reaction to The town I loved so well. Took me completely by surprise. Can't wait to hopefully do it all over again next year!!"

Darren and the the rest of the lads now have a couple of days off before their final show in the US at the Rocky Mountain Irish Festival in Loveland Denver Co.

We'll be back again soon with more news.

Thanks for your continued support

Darren & The DH Team

Kings in Germany at the Balve Hohle!

2011-08-11T19:14:00.010+01:00

Hi Everyone

The High Kings took a short break from their festivals in the US to make a whistlestop visit to Germany for their first ever performance at the Balve Hohle. The event was an overwhelming success winning them many more new fans as well as finally delivering a dream to those German fans that had been patiently waiting to see them live in their own country.

This photo slide contains official and professional photos taken at the event. Special thanks to the following for sharing them with us.

Christian Paul www.festspiele-balver-hoehle.de

Uta Baumeister www.festspiele-balver-hoehle.de

Marc Dobrick for www.celtic-rock.de

There were a number of videos taken on the night and this player contains a selection for you to help you appreciate the atmosphere and amazing reception they got when they took to the stage. They did their full show, going through without a break, and then returned for the finale to join Na Fianna and the Keltic Kats for Go Lassie Go. You can watch that, and a selection of songs from their set, on the player.

As well as the official photos, some of the German fans lucky enough to be at the show on Saturday night have also generously allowed us to use their photos and share a little of the experience with them.

We would also like to thank Uta Baumeister from www.festspiele-balver-hoehle.de very much for sending us the following press cuttings from the German newspapers covering the event. The text is understandably in German and huge thanks to Thomas Loffel for very kindly giving an over view of the content of the articles for the benefit of the non German fans.

08.08.2011, Süderländer

High Kings let the Cave quake!

10th Irish Folk and Celtic Music Festival at Balve with 3500 visitors.

The High Kings commented that the venue and the mood was brilliant. During the 3 days of the of the10th anniversary festival, there were 3500 visitors to Europe's biggest cave. The highlight and Saturday Night's main event was the High Kings. The group, with all their CD's achieving Platinum status, interrupted their US tour for the performance in Balve. They rocked the cave from the first moment they appeared on stage. They gave us more than 2 hours of excellent entertainment. The article mentions 2 encores, but Thomas corrected that there had been 3. The audience had been 1200 people on Saturday Night, who also got to see, Craic from Germany, Keltic Kats from Kilkenny, and Na Fianna, a young group from Ireland. Between the performances the 1st Sauerland Pipes & Drums filled in with Scottish Music while the stage was re-organised. There were visitors from almost all parts of Germany from Hamburg to Munich and even people from Italy and France. The festival was a great success for all groups and bands.

08.08.2011, Westfalenpost

High Kings release storms of cheering in front of 1200 visitors!

Sean Reeves commented that the 10th birthday of the Irish Folk Festival succeeded much more than expected. A great firework of Irish and scottish music. Sean Reeves, the organizer of the festival, was very proud to get the High Kings for 10th anniversary of the festival. The article mentioned that all members of the High Kings are sons of legends of the Irish folk scene, although we of course know that Darren isn't, and Sean Dunphy was actually known as a Showband singer. It went on to say that they had interrupted their US tour for their first concert in Germany and that their CDs in Ireland and the States are Platinium. They did an excellent more than 2 hours lasting performance without a break. 1200 visitors were thrilled and cheering and the High Kings showed enthusiasm, power, and great expression during the acapella parts like: Red is the Rose, The Old Triangle and the special version of Go Lassie Go/ The Dutchman.
They although mention here the other groups and bands: Craic, Keltic Kats, Na Fianna and The 1st Sauerland Pipes & Drums. There was great praise for everybody.
The article mentioned that many songs were played more than once time, for instance Dirty old Town, Rocky Road to Dublin, Whiskey in the Jar and so on, but that it was very interesting to listen to the different versions of all the groups. At the end of the event, all groups that had performed on Saturday came on stage to perform a last song together and say goodbye to the audience. The festival was a great success and all the people were happy and enthusiastic about the High Kings.

09.08.2011, Westfalenpost

New stage provides a unique atmosphere

Soundproblems because of Bands own mixers. Hopes for a light financial plus

The decision to change the concept for placement of the stage for the festival at club Balve proved to be right. The Club' s bosses decided not to build a stand, because of financial pressures. Sean Reeves, the event organiser, commented that he´d been very sceptical about placing the stage on the dance floor and not in the right hand cave arm, like in former years. But it turned out to be a positive surprise for all. The acoustics were brilliant, cause the bands now played directly into the cave.
A very special and unique ambience was created this way and a special installation of the lighting brought the cave into the right place. The sound was a great point of discussion in the audience. Sometimes ingenious, at other times totally mushy. Technical boss Stephan Haarmann commented: All bands with their own sound mixer sounded bad in the beginning, it´s very difficult for a soundman to work in a cave. Anybody who´s not willing to listen to the advice of the cave pros will have big problems. The High Kings had to fight this point when they started with the performance, but they made it in the end by boundless enthusiasm. It is written in the article that the High Kings actually wanted to do a short gig and go back to the hotel, which was completely untrue, they knew they were booked as Saturday Night main act and they were on fire for their first concert in Germany.

Celtic Rock

Google translation of an article from Celtic Rock Music in Germany. To read the original article in German www.celtic-rock.de/en/archives/11948

The High Kings did an interview for Celtic Rock while they were in Germany. The interview has been transcribed for the Celtic Rock Music website. This article is in German, but if you paste the URL in to a Google search it should bring the page up as the first link with an option to translate the page.

Celtic Rock Interview

That is all we have for you from Germany for the moment, although we will soon have a recording of an interview the High Kings did with Peter Greb for a German community radio "Radio Unerhört Marburg" and for the internet radios www.birdhillradio.com, Ireland and www.earsradio.com, USA soon!

You can listen in live to the interview!!
Saturday 13th August

www.birdhillradio.com

"We will start at 7 pm Irish Time and 2 pm Eastern Standard Time in the USA. You will get an evening with a lot of good music, most of it from the Irish Scene, old and new. There's an interview with the Irish Group "The High Kings" (Finbarr Clancy, Martin Furey, Darren Holden and Brian Dunphy) on their trip to Germany. They did an outstanding concert in Balve. We will talk about it. Please join us for this "Big Irish Night" on www.birdhillradio.com and enjoy the music. We hope to see you all in the Chat of birdhillradio.com."

Stop Press Latest!!

Special thanks to Anne and Peter Greb for giving us a recording of the interview they did with the High Kings while they were in Germany. You can listen to the interview and their recording of 3 songs from the show on the player on www.darrenholden.net

We'll leave Germany with a few words from Darren as he arrived back in Ireland!

"Just landed back in Dublin after an amazing night in Germany!
Massive crowd and on the more memorable shows to date.
Now.....Come on The Cats!!"

The Kilkenny Cats won their All Ireland Senior Championship Semi Final and will be heading for the final again this year! A good weekend all round for Darren!

He is now heading back to the US with the rest of the High Kings to take up where they left off with a series of Irish festivals. We'll be back with more news from the US as soon as we have it.

Thanks for your continued support

Darren and the DH Team

Good News, Utica NY, and Pittsburgh!

2011-08-05T20:45:00.001+01:00

Hi Everyone

The High Kings have just finished their first run of US Irish festivals before a short break and we bring you photos and video from the last few shows. Also, thanks to your support, we are pleased that Darren's various official sites are continuing to flourish. Have you visited all of his sites yet? You can find direct links to them all on the left of this blog!

Good News!!

We have two pieces of good news to celebrate. On the 3rd August, just 7 months after Darren's new official website darrenholden.net was launched, it has reached 25,000 views! If you've not visited the site, why not pop by there now? You'll find everything you need to know about Darren and all the various phases of his career to date.

And that's not all!!

We are also thrilled to report that Darren is currently at Number 1 in the Reverbnation Singer/Songwriter chart for Dublin. He also holds the number 2 slot nationally in Ireland!

Great American Irish Festival Utica NY

After the rain washed out most of the Saturday night shows in Cleveland, they were hoping for better weather in up state NY. It looked as if they were going to be unlucky once again! Fortunately, this time when the rain came, the show could still go on!

"Wow. Spent 5 hours on a beautifully scenic train ride from NYC to Syracuse today. Totally chilled after 4 days of Big Apple mayhem. Great to hook up with everyone there. Tomorrow The High Kings go to The Great American Irish Festival in Utica NY for 2 nights.

Rainy day in upstate New York."

"What a great night tonight at the Great American Irish Festival. Huge crowd who braved yet more torrential rain to come and sing their lungs out with us, and thanks to the festival organizers for having such a well run event happening! Great catching up with so many familiar faces too. Roll on tomorrow!"

"Holy crap. Ridiculously large crowd this evening for our show at the festival, and took LOUD to a whole new level. Great fun. What a night!"

Hartwood Acres Pittsburgh

"7 hours drive to get here to Pittsburgh!! Quick change and now off to soundcheck!! arghhhh"

"Tonight was a night to remember. The most stunning setting that we have played in to date. Hartwood Acre's Pittsburgh. We arrived onstage to a 5,000 strong crowd while the sun was setting, and the atmosphere was just electric. Beautiful night. This leg of the US summer tour is done as we head home tomorrow night for a few days. Can't wait to see my gang!"

Final words from Darren.....

"Back on the home turf again for a few days after a long overnight flight from Atlanta. Off out to the sunshine with the kiddies!"

The High Kings have returned home to Ireland for just a few days. They have a whistlestop visit to Germany to perform at at the Balver Hohle this weekend, then after a few more days in Ireland will be heading back to the US for more festivals. Hopefully Darren will get to see his beloved Kilkenny Cats beat Waterford and book their place in another All Ireland Hurling Final on Sunday!

We'll be back with all the news of Germany and the rest of the US festivals soon.

Until then, thanks for your continued support.

Darren and the DH Team

Killarney, Cork and Cleveland USA!

2011-08-01T22:11:00.000+01:00

Hi Everyone

It been a little while since we have done a news update as the focus was on the Kilimanjaro Climb For Kids Documentary with our last blog. We will start with a little update on that before moving on to the High Kings shows in Ireland and across the pond.

Kilimanjaro, the reaction!

"Absolutely bowled over by the enormous reaction to the documentary tonight. The phone and FB hasn't stopped!! What's most amazing about all this, is not only the lifelong bonds that are formed with everyone who climbed Kilimanjaro, but the awareness for "Our Lady's" in Crumlin thats has been highlighted again throughout the country. Thanks so much for all of your kind comments tonight! Its a proud moment for us all."

"Climb for Kids Director Michael Sheridan has confirmed the official RTE viewership figures from last night's documentary was a whopping 365,000 viewers or 25% of audience market share!!!"

One final newspaper article, received too late for the Kilimanjaro special

Sunday Mirror 17 July 2011

High Kings in Ireland!

"Castlebar!! Time and time again the Royal Theatre just never lets us down! What a night! What a party! What a crowd!"

"Kilross! Amazingly out if control crowd with loads of old friends!! Loved it!!
On to Killarney!!!"

Gleneagle Hotel Killarney, and Neptune Stadium Cork

The High Kings set off for Killarney for the first of their 3 shows scheduled there this summer. They were performing in the Ballroom of the INEC Gleneagle Hotel and the tables in the dance floor area to make way for additional seating. Just as well as the sign above the box office said 'Standing room only for the High Kings' The audience were treated with not just one, but two performances by young wannabee High Kings.

"INEC Killarney! Literally wedged with a sensational audience who wanted it bad! They got it too! Brilliant night. Here's to next Saturday. If it's anything like tonight we are in for a treat!"

"Morning all. About to head to Cork for tonight's show with John Spillane at Neptune Stadium. Should be a blast.

Huge thanks to the 5th High King Adam O' Sullivan for once more tearing the house down with his dazzling vocal skills last night. The man's a legend. Sam Dunphy also showed us how it's really done too, a born entertainer."

"Just met the main man!!"

"Neptune Stadium Cork! Amazing night!! Brilliant crowd. Great vibe."

This player has a number of videos recorded at both the Killarney and Cork shows.

Off to Donegal, then back to Killarney!

"Tomorrow marks a new chapter in The High Kings domestic touring schedule. We fly to our show in Co Donegal! I kid you not."

"The new HK mode of transport."

"Wow! Long long day, but tonight's superb audience made it so worthwhile.

Fantastic crowd here in Ballyliffin, who sang and laughed their way through 2 hours with us tonight. Great fun."

"Up at 6am to fly back to Dublin, and then on to Killarney for another concert at the INEC tomorrow night."

"Massive night a the INEC! Just Massive. Loudest crowd in months. So nice to have the family there too. Makes it extra special to sing the songs my mam and dad taught me, and dedicate it to them. Homebound in the morning."

"We're coming to America......"

Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival

As the High Kings set off for America and their first festival in Cleveland OH they were hearing of soaring temperatures and knew they were going to be melting in the heat. They didn't expect that there would also be a fear of drowning and washed out shows!

"Just ended up a very long but enjoyable day of travel. Spent the day laughing with Tommy Fleming who is also on the festival this weekend.

The heat is unreal here in Cleveland, and tomorrow we kick off the first of 5 shows! Bring it on."

"Wow, did I sleep that long!! Beautiful day outside, Dunphy is at the pool! :)
Gym first though! Need to wake up."

"First gig of the Cleveland Festival done! Great crowd, and after todays massive thunder storm it was actually a lovely night! Thanks to everyone who turned out to see us. Back at it again tomorrow."

"OK Cleveland....What's with these storms!!"

"Well we reached the halfway point in the show today before yet another massive storm disrupted proceeding's. People ran left right and centre for cover. This weather is nuts!

Tonight's show depend's on how the clouds behave so...let's see!"

"Tonight's show has been cancelled due to the rain and storms. Oh well, at least we have tomorrow!"

This player has a number of fan videos of the High Kings performing at the festival over the 3 nights. For the final night, they were moved from the outdoor Gazebo stage to an indoor barn. It wasn't the most glamorous of venues, but at least it was dry, any port in a storm!

"Cleveland! Thanks for a great weekend! Huge crowd tonight for our last performance. Brian and I joined Tommy Fleming tonight in his show, for a performance of "Red is The Rose" and " Raglan Road" Really enjoyed that!

Early start in the morning for me as I am going to favourite city for 4 days! Woo hoo!!"

"Loved being back in the Big Apple. Loads done and the buzz here is electric as always. Heading to Syracuse to hook u with the guys tomorrow night."

Darren did hook up with the guys in Syracuse ready to hit the next festival on their schedule in Frankfort NY, The Great American Irish Festival! We'll be back with news of that soon.

If you don't want to miss anything, sign up for our periodic newsletter and get all the news delivered to your inbox Click Here

Thanks for your continued support

Darren and the DH Team

Climb for Kids – Mount Kilimanjaro Challenge Documentary

2011-07-17T00:21:00.001+01:00

Fantastic national coverage of "The Climb for kids Kilimanjaro documentary" which airs on RTE 1 this coming Monday 18th July at 9.30pm.

Its been great hooking up with the gang again for promo, and I can't wait for people to see the film.

A few words from Darren

The Documentary

Kilimanjaro is the world's highest free standing mountain. It reaches almost six kilometres into the sky. In October 2010 a group of Irish climbers set out to reach the summit in an effort to raise over €250,000 for Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin in Dublin. This is the story of the Climb For Kids. The expedition wad led by expert guides but the twenty eight strong group was made up of novice climbers who would have to push their bodies and minds further than they had ever done before.

Accepting the challenge among the fundraisers were some well known faces like TV presenters Kathryn Thomas, Sile Seoige and Jenny Buckley, comedians Alan Shortt and Karl Spain, singer Darren Holden and fitness guru and former Mister Ireland Paul Byrne - plus keeping the group in touch with Ryan Tubridy's radio show was 2FM DJ Ruth Scott.

In just four and a half days on Africa's highest mountain, the group was scheduled to reach the summit at five thousand eight hundred and ninty five metres above sea level - that's well over nineteen thousand feet. Without the aid of oxygen tanks climbing at this extreme high altitude claims around thirty lives each year on Kilimanjaro.

Directed by Michael Sheridan and narrated by Colin Farrell "Climb For Kids" in aid of Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin airs on RTE One on July 18th at 9:35pm.

Documentary Promo Clip

Local Press

Evening Herald 12 July

Kilkenny People 15 July Edition

Munster Express 15 July Edition

National Press

"Fantastic promo pieces in today's Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, Daily Star etc in advance of RTE 1 screening the Climb for kids documentary this coming Monday 18th July at 9.30pm."

Irish Daily Mirror 13 July

The Star 13 July

Internet Article Links

RTE Climb for Kids Kilimanjaro Challenge Page

www.globalbuzz.net

blog.marketing.ie

www.limerickleader.ie

entertainment.ie

Promo Photo Shoot

"On a rooftop promo shoot in Dublin with Sile, Paul, kathyn, Jenny and co, in advance of the Kilimanjaro documentary being shown on RTE 1 on Mon 18th"

All photos courtesy and copyright of the Children's Medical and Research Foundation.
Please do not use on any website or in any publication without the permission of the copyright owner.

Directed by Michael Sheridan and narrated by Colin Farrell, the "Climb For Kids" documentary, in aid of Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin, airs on RTE One on July 18th at 9:35pm.

Thanks for your continued support

Darren and the DH Team

Cashel and Newtownbutler Photos And More

2011-07-07T22:02:00.000+01:00

Hi Everyone

After the High Kings took a month long break, they were back on the road again at the end of June, starting with a an hour long set at the Cashel Charter event in Co Tipperary. Before that, Darren enjoyed a couple of great night's out!

"Still rocking from Bon Jovi last night! Amazing gig and one of the best crowds ever to be part of. Gotta motivate myself for the gym now, then the wife and I are off to the "Music Through Time" event in the city, celebrating a collaboration between Gucci and The Grammy's. Should be fun."

Cashel Charter

"Getting ready to go see Princess Ava in her first play today, then its off to Cashel for the first High Kings show after our summer break."

"Beautiful night in Cashel.
A perfect way to kick off the second half of this years HK schedule.
Massive crowd that brought it big time."

These photos are courtesy and copyright Caroline Fogarty and John O'Dwyer

Kilimanjaro Documentary

The long awaited documentary of the 'Climb for Kids' Kilimanjaro climb is being aired on RTE1 in the 9:35pm prime time slot after the news on July 18th. Unfortunately, it looks as if it is going to be Ireland Only viewing online, but we will let you know if that changes. In the meantime here is the final cut of the documentary promo video

A Great Night

"Getting offered 2 box seats for The Script tonight at The Aviva does not suck!!
Can't wait.
Then afterwards I'll be doing my thing at Lillies from 12 'til Late."

A few words from Darren

"So proud of the lads on The Script tonight!
Massive show and man did they deliver!!
The party is on it's way to Lillies!!
Onstage in 10 mins."

"Best night ever at Lillies! Late one, but very worth it! Tiny Tempah and The Coronas in the house, and the lads from John Blake's contingent rocking the party!
Loved it. Great craic!
HK show in Fermanagh tonight. Keep us in your thoughts."

Newtownbutler, Fermanagh

The show in Newtownbutler very nearly didn't go ahead. The Irish Independent newspaper had received a coded death threat for the High Kings earlier in the week, but it was decided that with precautions the show could go on. The show was a great success but understandably all the lads were glad to have that one over.

"Great show in Newtownbutler. Massive crowd! On way home now. Phew."

These photos are all courtesy and copyright Donnie Phair.

More Movin' Out

We have added Innocent Man and Goodnight Saigon to the Movin Out LA 2004 playlist

Finally......

Happy Birthday Darren

On the 4th of July it was not only the US celebrating, it was also Darren's birthday and he received hundreds of best wishes from his friends and fans.

"Thanks a million for the amazing amount of birthday wishes everyone! Totally added to a great day!"

That's all the news for the moment, we will be back with more as we have it.

Thanks for your continued support.

Darren and the DH Team

Message From Darren and More Movin' Out

2011-07-01T23:12:00.000+01:00

This is the message from Darren that introduced the latest edition of his newsletter, issued last weekend.

Hey everyone,

Can you believe it's another newsletter aleady!! Well, thats what happens when there's a lot of stuff going on. I actually planned to use the HK vacation period to relax and chill, but it's been a totally different story, with numerous solo shows booked and more turned down for next month and beyond as I can't fit them around our schedule. I have absolutely loved being out there again doing my pianoman shows and not only was the audience reaction mindblowing at each show, the memories that came flooding back to me with every song was amazing.

To get to perform for Howard and Jason from Take That was very cool indeed, and have them sit beside me and sing a few tunes and just hang and chat was brilliant.

Thanks to my old friend Bruce Allen, who manages Bryan Adam's, Michelle and myself were once more invited along to see his show on Thursday night here in Dublin. As always, he rocked big time. What a singer, what a career!

As I write this, I am gearing up for yet another solo show tonight in "Lillies Bordello" in Dublin. I don't know who may show up tonight to sing with me, but you can be sure" Lillies" is the place to be.

'Til next time, take care and stay safe!

Darren's Official Newsletters

As you can see from the above message, Darren is very personally involved with his newsletters and the latest edition, Issue 3, also has Darren answering some questions put to him by the fans. If you sign up now for future issues, you'll get a link to the latest edition and be able to see Darren's Questions & Answers, and have a chance to ask him some questions yourself. You can sign up using the Sign up form on the left of this blog.

To read the previous Issue 2 you can click this link Darren's Newsletter Issue 2

More Movin' Out Video

We have now added two more videos of Darren performing live in Movin' Out at the Pantages Theater in LA back in September 2004 to YouTube

Just The Way You Are

Summer Highland Falls

We will be adding more over the next few weeks.

Kilimanjaro Documentary

The long awaited documentary of the 'Climb for Kids' Kilimanjaro climb has now been edited and finalised and will be aired on RTE1 at 9:35pm on July 18th. This is a much deserved prime time slot after the news and it is sure to be a very emotional time for the 30 strong party who did the climb, and their friends and families sharing the experience with them for the first time.

Unfortunately, it looks as if it is going to be Ireland Only viewing online so fans outside of Ireland are not going to be able to watch. If this changes, we will let you know. Just as a little taster, here is the final version on the promo video.

New Cork Date Added.....

The High Kings have a number of Irish dates before they set off for America, including two shows at the INEC/Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney, and the Royal Theatre Castlebar. But they have now added another date at the Neptune Stadium in Cork where they will be performing on the final night of a 3 night festival of music, with John Spillane.

Tickets for all the events are available from www.ticketmaster.ie

Final Few Words From Darren

The High Kings have been on a break during June and Darren took the opportunity to take a holiday with his family. They are back on stage in Cashel tonight for the first of a few shows in Ireland before they set off for a string of Irish Festivals in America during July and August.

Here are Darren's status updates from the last few days.

"Just received an e-mail from the Take That camp, thanking me for a great show at Lillies on Saturday night last! Now how cool is that!"

"Bryan Adams! Rock 'N' Roll Baby!!!
Brilliant night! Hit after hit after hit after.....
Ryan Sheridan rocked it big time too!!"

"Gearing up for another show tonight at 'Lillie's Bordello'. No 'Take That' this week, so I wonder who will sing with me?.........."

"Lillies!! What a night. Great crowd who brought the party to The Library! Loved it.
A heaving sweaty night with everyone singing with me from start to finish."

"Still rocking from Bon Jovi last night! Amazing gig and one of the best crowds ever to be part of. Gotta motivate myself for the gym now, then the wife and I are off to the "Music Through Time" event in the city, celebrating a collaboration between Gucci and The Grammy's. Should be fun."

"Getting ready to go see Princess Ava in her first play today, then its off to Cashel for the first High Kings show after our summer break."

That's it for now folks

We will be back with more news soon

Darren and the DH Team

Solo Gigs And Movin' Out Live Video

2011-06-20T22:27:00.001+01:00

Hi Everyone

Well the High Kings are still on their break and Darren has been in demand to perform a couple of exclusive solo gigs, not open to the public.

"Hey everyone, I have some solo dates this weekend....Saturday the 18th I will kick off at "The Library in Lillies Bordello" at 12am til late

Monday the 20th at "The K Club" Straffan Co Kildare."

The first on Saturday night was an exclusive 'invited members only' gig with Darren taking to the piano at midnight. It wasn't until he got to the venue that he found out that this exclusive event was even more high profile and exclusive than he thought!

Ok so... Just got to my show to find out I am the official entertainment for the aftershow party of a certain Manchester 5 piece!!!

This was a little video blog he recorded from the venue.

The Manchester 5 piece, which he couldn't name at the time, were of course Take That who had performed at Croke Park to a sell out crowd earlier that evening. The evening was a great success and although Robbie, Gary and Mark weren't there, opting to return to their hotel, Howard and Jason both were. There were plenty of other celebrities on hand ready to be entertained by Darren too. Darren enjoyed the evening and posted this before setting off for home in the early hours.

Wow!!!! Amazing night! Hung out with Howard and his buds after I did my thang. Who's who of Irish celebs there including,BOD and Amy,Rob Kearney,Grainne Seoige,and my old pal Louis. Heading home now for 3 hours sleep.....lol

This is an online version of an article from the A List event in the Evening Herald.

We especially like the bit

"Musician Darren Holden provided the entertainment and both Jason and Howard said they were very impressed with him".

Tonight Darren is doing his second solo show at the prestigious K Klub at the Kildare Hotel in Straffan Co Kildare. He will be performing a 2 hour set for yet another celebrity audience as they attend a Golf Classic corporate event.

Movin' Out Live Video

Darren has shared a very special performance of him performing as the 'Pianoman' in the Billy Joel musical Movin' Out from his private collection. The show is the opening night at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles September 17 2004. Darren was joined up on the platform at the end of the show by none other than Billy Joel himself. The photo on the the left was taken of Darren outside the theater during the 6 week run and featured in a Venice Magazine interview article which you can read on his official website CLICK HERE

We have added the first couple of video clips to YouTube tonight, Shameless, and a medley of River of Dreams and Keeping the Faith. The video has been filmed from the circle of the theater of the whole stage, so there are no close ups of Darren. But his voice and piano skills are there for you to enjoy from up on his 30ft platform with his band.

We will be adding more songs over the coming weeks.

We hope you enjoy watching Darren in Movin' Out, the press at the time certainly did. Here are a few quotes. CLICK HERE to read the rest.

"Keep your eyes and ears tuned into Darren Holden's vocals and piano playing. Whether Holden is belting out 'Keeping The Faith' or crooning 'She's Got A Way,' he pours such life into the melodies that they seize the heart and won't let go!"

-Jan Sjostrom, Palm Beach Daily News January 11, 2007

"Holden oozes charisma; he emotes as he sings and he looks down on the characters from his perch (the band is suspended on the catwalks above the stage) like a storyteller. He brought the audience to their feet."

-Molly Bettiga, Voice of San Diego October 11, 2006

"Darren Holden truly holds Movin' Out together and pumps out song after song with great passion. He's not imitating Joel, he's a star in his own right. He's sexy, breathy and really rocks."

-Amy Matsuoka, The Daily Yomiuri , Tokyo August 2, 2006

"Vocalist Darren Holden rocks the ivories and displays superlative talent. He's clearly destined for bigger fame."

-Ellen Fagg, Salt Lake Tribune June 21, 2006

"Holden leads his high-energy ensemble through more than 20 Billy Joel songs, but he makes no attempt to imitate the master. With his sometimes-raw tenor voice and two-fisted piano style, he gives songs such as "Angry Young Man" and "Captain Jack" an urgency that even Joel doesn't equal."

-Paul Hodgins, Orange Country Register, June 30, 2005

That's it for now, back with more news as we have it!

Thanks for your support

Darren and the DH Team

Strand Hotel photos and new video

2011-06-11T22:53:00.000+01:00

There is very little news at the moment as Darren and the rest of the lads are currently taking a well deserved break before the High Kings hit the road again. In July and August there are a few dates in Ireland and lots of festival appearances in America. Check out the Tour Dates page for details.

While we wait for more news, we will bring you some photos from their last show, the rescheduled Strand Hotel in Limerick, and some new archive video of Darren's career before he joined The High Kings.

Strand Theatre Limerick

"Limerick brought the party yet again!! Super crowd. Good times. On the road home"

Photos courtesy and copyright www.munsterimages.ie 29 May 2011.

New Video on YouTube

Darren performing his own composition Broken Ol' Guitar with his band Wanted. This performance was on the RTE Summer Cabaret with Bibi Baskin show 1994.

Darren performs his own composition Summer Place, written with Movin' Out band mate Bryan Steele, about their experiences in San Francisco. This is from Darren's set at Whiskey a Go Go in LA in 2004.

This is the fourth of 7 parts of a live gig Darren performed with his band Wanted, in Dublin, in 1993. Part 4 has performances of the songs Don't Let Out Love Start Slippin Away, Carrie (Darren original), and The Dance.

Back with more news soon.

Thanks for your continued support.

Darren and the DH Team

Message from Darren and triAthlone Launch

2011-06-02T21:40:00.005+01:00

Message written by Darren for his second newsletter:

Hey everybody

Thanks so much for all the massive support on the road this month, and to the thousands of you who purchased the new album,"Live in Ireland", sending us back into the top 10.

Also, infinite thanks to everyone who was there for Brian during his darkest hour. It was heartwarming to witness such an outpouring of love and sympathy for him and his family. His dad, Sean was there with advice for me ever since Brian and I began working together 11 years ago, and his tips were always noted and put into practice. He is, and will be, sorely missed. RIP

So, due to the phenomenal reaction to the first newsletter, here we are hot on it's heels with the second one. It's been a busy month, so hence the need to do a new one.

HK will be hitting various beaches and resorts around the world during June, as we are on VACATION! Woo hoo...

Some DH stuff coming up soon, including the long awaited RTE screening of the Kilimanjaro Documentary.

Thanks as always for being there.

Enjoy the summer.

Darren

Would you like to read the first Newsletter to see what it's all about? Click the link here to take you to the archive.

Official Newsletter Issue 1

If you sign up now you'll receive Issue 3 direct to your inbox and your subscription confirmation will give you a link to the latest Issue 2 which includes:

* An exclusive link for a FREE download of Darren's The Great Hunger from Rhythm Of The Dance which is no longer available to buy.

* The chance to submit a question to Darren to answer in a future newsletter.

Official Newsletter Sign Up

triAthlone Launch Night

A couple of weeks ago, Darren attended the Launch of TriAthlone 2011 at Lillies Bordello in Dublin and performed a few songs. The Triathlon event to be held in Athlone in July is in aid of RESPECT. RESPECT is an Irish Registered Charity (CHY 11481) – Responsible for Fundraising Projects for People with Intellectual Disabilities of all ages within the Daughters of Charity Service in the Dublin area.

Since 1892, The Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul have worked hard to provide care, education and training for People with an Intellectual Disability. We provide a seamless partnership of care for people from infancy right through to old age. Our work is ultimately about people, their dignity and their quality of life. We have the responsibility of caring for 2,300 people, 800 of whom are in full-time residential care, with 1,500 attending our Specialist Centres on a daily basis.

www.triathlone.com

www.respect.ie

Darren is interviewed at the launch night for Kildare TV

New Video on YouTube

Darren performs his own composition Carrie on Go For It a programe broadcast on RTE1 and BBC1 in 1992.

Darren performing his own composition You Break My Heart at the Midnight Sun Song Festival in Finland in 1994

Back with more news soon.

Thanks for your continued support.

Darren and the DH Team

Moneygall, Donegal, and Very Sad Times

2011-05-24T19:04:00.001+01:00

Hi Everyone

The visit of Barack Obama to Ireland this week has been a very welcome opportunity for The High Kings to turn their thoughts to a happy and historic occasion after what had been a very sad and difficult time, especially for Brian.

We bring you now all the latest news, both happy and sad, from the last few days.

"Fantastic day. Moneygall was buzzing for the visit of President Obama, and we were proud to be part of such a historic event. Ireland is back in the world news headlines, for all the right reasons. I will be chatting to Billy McCarthy on WLR FM tomorrow morning at around 10.15am, and sharing our memories of the day."

Darren did a short telephone interview with Sue Nunn of KCLR just as they were arriving in Moneygall. The following morning he was chatting to Billy McCarthy at WLR and then with again with Sue Nunn on KCLR to share the memories of Moneygall. You can listen to all the interviews on the player on Latest News page of Darren's Official Website by clicking the 'Radio Interviews' link below.

Radio Interviews

Enniskillen

The High Kings performed at the Ardhowen Theatre Enniskillen on 14th May. They were supported by 13 year old Mark Boylan.

"Enniskillen! A sellout crowd brought the love in a big way! Brilliant night! Loved it."

Photos courtesy and copyright Donnie Phair

Donegal Live - Dublin

"We are live at 3pm at The Iveagh Gardens Dublin as headliners for Donegal Live.

That is unless we drown or take off in the wind and rain!!!!"

Darren making friends at Donegal Live in Iveagh Gardens Dublin 22 May 2011

Photos courtesy and copyright William Murphy

"The sun came out for our set today in the Iveagh Gardens and the crowd were loving it! The biggest cheer of the day was lovingly given for Brian, who paid tribute to his dad, before he sang The Rare Auld Times. What a trooper!

Tomorrow we head to Moneygall to play for President Obama! Should be fun!"

Rest In Peace Sean Dunphy

30 November 1937 - 17 May 2011

We were very shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Sean Dunphy and our thoughts and prayers are with Brian and his family at such a sad time.

At the request of the family, Darren, Finbarr, and Martin, went ahead with their planned performance on RTE R1's Pat Kenny show the following morning. They performed a very touching version of Brian's Fields of Athenry, which they dedicated to the Dunphy family, and a lovely version of Green Fields of France. We have recorded both the songs and can share these special moments with you. Click the links to listen to the songs with an option to download and keep these very special performances.

Fields of Athenry

Green Fields of France

A few words from Darren.....

"What a send off for the master. A beautiful ceremony filled with music, memories, smiles and tears. Sean would have been so proud of his family today. Brian bravely joined us for Red is the Rose, and himself and me performed our own "God be with those Days", one of his dad's favourite songs. A massive void has been left, but the memories will live forever."

A few words from Brian.....

"Once again thank you so much for all ur support at this time he was much loved and adored by people around the world as his voice and charisma touched so many. Dad was laid to rest in a celebration of his life his final show, his final standing ovation and his final curtain call"

_____________________________________________________

Back with more news soon.

Thanks for your continued support.

Darren and the DH Team

New Darren Press and Video.....

2011-05-16T22:48:00.001+01:00

Hi Everyone

While in Donegal for the High Kings show, Darren was on hand to help TV3's Noel Cunningham and Donegal Mayor, Cllr Cora Harvey, launch Donegal Live. Here are two articles from the press. The first is the Metro Herald, the other is The Daily Star national.

New official Newsletter launched....

Darren launched his brand new official Newsletter on 7 May which has been very well received. If you haven't signed up to receive a copy yet, why not do it now? Sign up using the form on the left hand side of this page and your subscription confirmation will give you a link to the first edition!

We will be issuing the second edition before the end of May, so sign up now to be assured of receiving your copy!

New video added to YouTube.....

It's All About Ally, another original song written by Darren with Denny Blake, from the 2004 show at LA's Whiskey a Go Go. The song was later released on the Darren's 2006 Roadworks album.

This is the third of 7 parts of a live gig Darren performed with his band Wanted, in Dublin, in 1993. Part 3 has performances of the songs The Race Is On, Rattled, a very energetic Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town, and Rock 'N Me.

Finally from Darren.......

"Kids dropped off, gym done, now it's off to spend the day writing songs.
I love new adventures."

"Very productive day! Really enjoyed working with a new songwriting pal. Much more to come!"

"Gym done, getting ready to head to Belfast for our concert at Mandela Hall tonight at 8pm!"

"Belfast!! Amazing crowd. Loved it. Wildest crowd in ages!"

"Enniskillen! A sellout crowd brought the love in a big way! Brilliant night! Loved it."

"Mullingar!! Pandemonium at it's wildest!! Yet again the Midlands rocked hard!
Judging by the amount of teenagers in and the sheer volume of them all night, HK have a long road ahead!"

Thanks for your continued support.

Darren and the DH Team

Vicar Street, what a night!!!

2011-05-09T22:48:00.002+01:00

Listen to Darren on KCLR

Darren was on KCLR talking to Sue Nunn about Jedward's chances in Eurovision and rumours of a possible high profile appearance for the High Kings. 9 May 2011.

Listen to what he had to say on the audio player on the Latest News Page of his official website!

Darren Interview KCLR

The High Kings at Vicar Street "We have found our Dublin home.
Vicar St rocked harder than the others and totally blew our minds. Loved it.
Great to see so many friends out and about after. Gonna feel it tomorrow but.......it's all good!"

Platinum Kings! Memory Lane

These photos haven't previously posted. The High Kings were presented with their platinum discs for Memory Lane by Sile Seoige at the Newstalk Studios back in December.

Other News from DH World........

Na Fianna

This month's Irish Music Magazine is running a feature on Na Fianna a young up and coming Irish folk group who are soon to be releasing their new live CD and DVD. Darren was very supportive of them when they were competing in the All Ireland Talent Show in 2009 where they reached the finals. The group mentioned Darren during the interview and acknowledged his support by saying that he had given them a lot of help and advice.

The Promise

Some time back, Darren wrote a song called 'The Promise' with Marc Roberts which Marc subsequently released as the title track of his second album in November 2009. To have your song chosen as the title track of an album is an honour, but it hasn't stopped there. The Willoughby Brothers a six piece Irish folk group of six brothers, have just released their new album and have also included 'The Promise' written by Darren and Marc as their title track.

Thanks for your continued support.

Darren and the DH Team

Darren Holden Newsletter coming soon...... and more!!

2011-05-04T22:28:00.002+01:00

Hi Everyone

Since Darren launched this new official website at Christmas, we have been very keen to compliment it with an official blog and a newsletter for the fans who have signed up to our mailing list.

This official blog was launched at the beginning of April, with Darren's wrap up of the US Tour, and we are pleased to announce that we are close to finalising the first 'Darren Holden' Newsletter! This should be issued in the next couple of days. If you have already signed up as a member of www.darrenholden.net or have joined our mailing list on Reverbnation, you will automatically have been added to the newsletter mailing list.

If you haven't signed up and would like to receive our newsletters by email, it's not too late. Just complete and submit you details on the form below. The newsletter will be powered by Mail Chimp.

Listen to Darren & The High Kings on South East Radio

Darren chated on the telephone to Stephen Dee at South East Radio on his morning show 4 May.

The High Kings chated with Alan Corcoran and performed Dirst Old Town, The Auld Triangle and Joe Hill live in the studio 5 May.

You can listen to the interview on the Latest News page of his official website.

www.darrenholden.net

The High Kings at Limerick Live in The Park Riverfest 2011

The High Kings perform an afternoon set at the Limerick Riverfest at Arthur's Quay before setting off to Carlow for their evening show.

All photos are courtesy and copyright Cian McNamara / CMN Images Limerick 30 April 2011
www.cmnimageslimerick.yolasite.com

The weekend summed up in a few words from Darren……

“Just finished a cool outdoor gig on Arthurs Quay in Limerick for HMV. Beautiful weather, brilliant crowd, and now on bus back to Carlow for tonights show. Great to catch Roysevens set before us! What a group! And Paul what a singer!!”

“Carlow! Fantastic night with the loudest crowd yet this year! Amazing fun!

On to Letterkenny for tomorrow nights show!”

“Letterkenny!! Holy sweet mother!!

Unreal, deafening and huge crowd that as always made it so worthwhile!

Brilliant night!!”

Thank you for your continued support

Darren and the DH Team

Darren and Crumlin Children's Hospital

2011-04-28T21:21:00.001+01:00

Hi Everyone

Those of you that have been fans of Darren for a while will be aware that he has been very much involved with supporting the Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Medical Research Centre in Crumlin.

As many of you will know, back in October Darren faced the biggest physical challenge of his life to help the sick kids in Ireland. He joined up with TV Presenters Kathryn Thomas, Sile Seoige, Jenny Buckley, Comedians Alan Shortt and Karl Spain, 2FM DJ, Ruth Scott, Fitness Trainer Paul Byrne and friends of Crumlin children's hospital, to embark on the colossal climb up Mount Kilimanjaro.

Darren chose ‘5th High King’ little Adam O’Sullivan as his ‘hiking buddy’ to help and inspire him during the tough times on the climb.

Shortly after his return from Kilimanjaro, on the 29 October, Darren returned to the hospital to pull out the winning ticket in the Crumlin Annual Draw. We have just received these photos taken on the day.

Coming soon......

The climb for kids Kilimanjaro Challenge was all about raising money for the Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin. As the team faced the mental and physical challenges that were thrown at them, not least the altitude sickness, they were being followed every step of the way by a camera crew from RTE who were filming a documentary.

As Darren sat by the pool in Moshi Tanzaniq just before heading to the airport and home to his family he said that…..

"This has been the most gruelling, painful, physically and mentally torturous, and fulfilling week of my life"

His parting words were that his body felt like it had been hit by a train, but it had been worth it for the cause.

The documentary is due for screening soon, but as a taster a promo for the programme, with footage of the climb, has been added to YouTube.

You've all seen the videos of Darren the performer, now here's a chance to see Darren as you've never seen him before, as he prepares, climbs, and reaches the summit! Emotional times for all!

Just as soon as the details for the broadcasting of the full documentary are known, we will post them for you.

You can see all the videos and photos from the Kilimanjaro climb on Darren's official website.

www.darrenholden.net - Kilimanjaro Climb

Thanks for your continued support.

Darren and the DH Team

Please read to find out how you can help Darren!

2011-04-23T22:52:00.005+01:00

Hi Everyone!

Darren really needs your help!

As some of you may know, Darren is a huge fan of Richard Marx and considers him to be a genius as a songwriter and musician. Richard has just made the following offer on his YouTube profile.

"Hey fans & Youtube community! Which member of the Youtube community would you like to see me co-write a song with? Submit and vote up your favorite unsigned Youtube artist here and I will be choosing the next artist to work with by July 1st.

**Depending on schedules/locations, collaborations will happen either in person or virtually.

Hope to hear from you!"

Although Darren is a member of The High Kings, he is actually unsigned as a solo artist. Darren has worked with a number of songwriters over the years, Rodney Crowell and Tommy Byrnes to name but two. But to get the opportunity to write with Richard Marx would fulfil a dream and would be the ultimate song writing collaboration for him.

Darren has been nominated on Richard's page and now needs your votes to help him be in the running when Richard makes his decision.

If you have a YouTube account, please go to Richard Marx official YouTube channel and place your vote for Darren. If you don't have an account, please consider joining up, it only takes a couple of minutes and you don't need to upload videos. You could use it to save your favorites for Darren and the High Kings to make them easier to find in future.

You'll find Richards channel on the following link

http://www.youtube.com/officialrichardmarx

If you scroll down past the featured video and playlists, you will come to the area where the nominations and voting takes place.

Over on the right, directly under the 'About' where Richard makes the appeal for nominations, you'll find a search box. Type in 'Darren Holden' and search him. His nominations will come up over to the left. Simply click the 'thumbs up' to register your vote.

If you want to give him another nomination, that is fine, But if you attach a video please use one of him performing one of his own songs and not perfoming with the signed The High Kings, or singing other cover songs. You will find his original music on Darren's Official YouTube in a playlist of his original songs.

We need to promote his songwriting skills to Richard Marx.

Darren will very much appreciate your votes to help put him in the running when Richard makes his choice for this dream prize.

Thank you for your support!

Darren & the DH Team

Brilliant night at the Late Late Show!

2011-04-16T02:24:00.000+01:00

Hi Everyone

What a great night! Brilliant hooking up with Josh Groban again and hearing his memories of "Movin' Out" from LA. Amazing singer and the sweetest guy you'll ever meet. What a performance!

Loved singing with Finbar Furey, class act and a true legend!!

HMV Grafton St tomorrow at 1pm. See ya there!

BTW, we had Adam, our 5th High King backstage with us tonight to calm the nerves. Lol

Darren

The High Kings with Finbar Furey and Declan O Rourke after The Late Late Show.

Don't forget the new High Kings 'Live In Ireland' album is now on sale in all good record stores in Ireland, and available on the Irish iTunes store for download.

You can order the CD direct from Celtic Collections for Ireland and International shipping.

Order the High Kings 'Live In Ireland' CD

New High Kings Live album!

2011-04-10T11:20:00.001+01:00

Hi Everyone

We have some exciting news!

As announced by Darren....

"Hey everyone- The High Kings new album "Live in Ireland" will be released on Friday April 15th. Recorded at our November show at The Grand Canal Theatre.We are performing at EAST COAST FM's coffee morning this Friday in Roundwood Co Wicklow."

The High Kings are releasing a brand new Live album of 16 classic tracks.

The album includes some great new songs, as well as some old favorites!

YOU CAN PRE-ORDER ON THE LINK BELOW (incl. international shipping)

Pre-order from Celtic Collections

What are you waiting for?

Enjoy!!

DH TEAM

Track listing....

The High Kings - Live In Ireland

1. Rocky Road To Dublin
2. Finnegan's Wake
3. The Black Velvet Band
4. The Fields Of Athenry
5. Star Of County Down
6. Rare Auld Times
7. Joe Hill
8. Holy Ground
9. The Town I Loved So Well
10. Go Lassie Go / Dutchman
11. The Rising Of The Moon
12. Green Fields Of France
13. Red Is The Rose
14. As I Roved Out
15. Dirty Old Town
16. Leaving Of Liverpool

US Tour Wrap Up!

2011-04-10T11:16:00.001+01:00

Hi Everyone

The US Spring Tour is now at an end, and we thought we would wrap it up with the story of the tour in Darren's own words.

Despite a heavy tour schedule, with 25 shows as well as radio and TV appearances, in 31 days, Darren has been very actively involved in keeping the fans up to date with news direct from the tour. He has personally written 54 status updates and recorded 7 video blogs making a huge contribution to helping his admin team keep his websites up to date with the latest news.

Here's the summary of the tour in Darren's own words..…

"About to board the plane bound for Chicago to kick off the HK US tour.
Milwaukee is the kick off point tomorrow night.
Let's get folked America!!"

"So I forgot how much I missed jetlag! Wide awake since 5am!! Arghh
2 hours in the gym and a fantastic breakfast later, and things look better!"

Tour Bus Video Blog

"In Minneapolis getting ready for tonights concert. Great appearance on NBC this morning. More Chicago tv tomorrow."

"The High Kings interviewed for the Milwaukee Irish Festival where they will be appearing in the summer."

"Amazing night in Minneapolis! What a loud and rowdy audience who braved the cold weather and roasted us with their approval! Loved it.
On to Chicago tonight, where we will have another TV slot tomorrow morning on WGN TV. Tune in after 11.20am.
Tomorrow nights show in the heritage Center is anything like our August appearance there, we should be in for one great night!!"

Chicago Video Blog

"Great night in Chicago. What a city! love it here.
On to Cincinnati tonight for our concert at The Music Hall tomorrow night.
Wonder if I can tune in WKRP when we get there?!
Old school kids...old school. Lol"

"Rainy Cincinnati Morning. Just about to head into the venue to use my new travel Golds Gym! ha ha"

"Great show tonight in Cincinnati! Amazing crowd who were with us all the way. X-Box FIFA on the bus now. Then on to Columbus for tomorrow nights show."

"Good morning from Columbus Ohio. Sitting in Starbucks and chilling with Brian. Raining again. Looking forward to tonights show!"

"Amazing audience tonight in Columbus! Really fantastic vibe. Great to see Anna, Michaela and the gang from Cleveland!!
On to Cleveland soon!"

"Good morning everyone. Cold and snowy here in Columbus. Catching the footie before the 2 hour drive to Cleveland for tonight's show. It usually rocks there, but tonight...."Cleveland Folks""

"Cleveland brought a lump to my throat so many times tonight. The loudest, rowdiest crowd so far on this tour. I loved more than every minute of it! Thank you to all our mid west fans who drove so many miles to be in the front row!! You know who you are! Amazing night!
On the way to Pittsburgh to a hotel and day off!"

"Good morning from Pittsburgh. Just did a cool interview with Jim Reed at The Boston Globe, that will run on the 11th. Heading to gym soon, and then its a whole day of nothing in the city! Ahhhhhhh........."

"Memory Lane is finally released today here in the USA. Exciting stuff coming up!
We are live at 'The Hard Rock Cafe" here in Pittsburgh tonight."

"Pittsburgh! What a night! One to remember for sure. Thanks to everyone who came the folk out tonight to the Hard rock Cafe!"

"Memory Lane" is the #1 World Music album on iTunes in the US!"

"I will be live on WBNY FM Radio here in Buffalo New York at 4pm."

"Thanks Buffalo! We had a blast! On to Scranton PA tonight."

"Good afternoon from Scranton PA. Another rainy day, but lots done already and raring to go for 8pm!!"

"Great night and crowd in Scranton PA. Brilliant night. On to Syracuse NY tonight!!"

"Syracuse! What can I say! Unbelievable audience who rocked hard from start to finish. Loved it!!
Thanks also to Brian for putting me on the spot for an impromptu rendition of "New York State of Mind"!!
Fantastic night!"

"Gym done, hungry now.......hmmm."

"Absolutely brilliant crowd tonight in Watertown NY. Mad for it and raring to go! Great atmosphere. On to Albany tonight!"

"Good morning from Albany New York. We are sold out tonight and ready to rock the Empire State! Bring it on!"

"Albany NY! What can I say! THE concert of the tour so far! An absolutely insane audience who wanted it bad tonight! Nights like this could last forever. Thank you to everyone who helped make this one to remember.
New York City- Here we come!!!!"

Albany Video Blog

Manhatten Video Blog

"Just finished a busy morning of PR for the new album in New York. Recorded the John Murray show from Carnegie Hall for RTE Radio 1 which will air this Thursday morning at 9am. We went straight from there to FOX TV for Live from The Strategy Room, where we met Thio and Kim from my favourite show "Sons Of Anarchy".
Big news is.This Thurs...day morning we will be appearing on The Regis and Kelli Show!!! Check it out!"

"Just back from seeing the legendary actor Steve Martin showcase his new Bluegrass album at the Highline Ballroom. What an incredible display of musicianship and comedy, and insane virtuosity from The Steep Canyon Band who were with him! Plus I got to hang with my dear friend Greg and catch up!
Only in NYC."

"Good morning New York. Its off to work we go. Sirius Radio at 9am, then WMUV FM Radio uptown."

"Getting geared up to perform at the 250th St Patricks Gala Ball at Chelsea Piers tonight. We are sharing the bill with none other than the bould Michael Flatley!"

"Just back from the gym and ready for another NYC day!
Just found out we are number 5 on Billboard World Music Chart!!!"

"Tune in tomorrow morning folks! America's biggest morning TV show....Here we come!!"

"Heading to Sullivan Hall for tonight's concert! NYC are you ready?
Looking forward to a coast to coast live performance with "Regis and Kelli" tomorrow morning on ABC!!"

"Wow! Thats the only way to describe the loudest audience so far on this tour. New York brought the party in style! Loved it. Great to see so many old friends there too. Sad to leave tomorrow, but we will go out with a bang on the Regis and Kelli Show!"

"Happy St Paddys Day everyone!!
We are on the way to ABC TV to appear on the Regis and Kelli Show!
Have a great day wherever you are."

"We rocked it out on Regis and Kelli!! They were way cool.
What a time we had. Amazing reaction from everyone!
On the bus to boston now! Exhausted.com"

Regis & Kelly Video Blog

"Boston!!! Holy Moly! What a crazy, out of this world audience that was. Brilliant night yet again! Hanging out with Boston's Finest after the show was a blast too! This week has been off the scale!"

Yale Video Blog

"Another amazing night at the legendary Toads Place in New Haven! Brilliant crowd who came to party! So many heroes adorned the walls of the venue tonight, from Billy Joel, to the Rolling Stones and The Stray Cats and James Taylor. Very cool night!
On to Providence, Rhode Island tonight!"

"Great crowd again tonight in Providence. Really enjoyed the show and seeing so many new fans/friends return to see us again on this tour!
On our way to Baltimore at the minute for tomorrow nights show, then a much needed day off!!"

"Good morning from sunny Baltimore MD. Ready to do it all over again tonight.

Baltimore rocked it last night! Great crowd and vibe. Enjoying a much needed day off at the King of Prussia Mall. Yikes!!!"

"I don't think I've ever eaten as much, or enjoyed a dining experience as much in years! Very cool night. Happy Birthday Brian!! Lol"

"Busy day, started off with another NBC performance here in Philadelphia, and tonight at 8pm we are live at The World Cafe!"

"Philly! You never let us down. Brilliant crowd yet again in the city of brotherly love. Good times! Brilliant night.
So great to see my good friend and publicist extraordinaire Amy Katz, hubby Jeremy and little Simon there! Brought back so many great "Movin' Out" memories.
We are rolling in to Alexandria Virginia tonight!"

Birchmere Video Blog

"Loved last nights show. Great crowd, great venue, good vibes all round.
But more importantly, my little hero Joshy rang me earlier to tell me he cycled his bike in the park without stableizer wheels!! Love it!!"

"Its almost midnight and we are rolling out of Mclean VA, bound for Roanoke, with a Walmart stop along the way!!! Yikes!! Only in America!"

"Another great night in Roanoke, Virginia. Very loud crowd who were more than part of the show! 5 shows to go, it's on to Norfolk now!"

"Thanks to the great crowd that turned out to see us in Norfolk tonight! It was a blast! On now to Clayton NC.
Tune in to 2FM tomorrow after 3pm, and depending on phone service you may just hear me on with Ruth and Paddy for a sec!"

"One of the best nights on this tour so far! A fantastic and warm audience, who made tonight a lot of fun. Great time! On to Charlotte!!"

"Thanks Charlotte! Beautiful Venue! Great to see our Ruth too!!"

"Beautiful day in Knoxville Tennessee. Just what we needed! 8pm show tonight and then on to Atlanta for the last day off!"

"Thank you Knoxville! Great crowd and great night! Can't believe there is only 1 show left on this tour! On to Atlanta for a day off tomorrow!"

"Got into Atlanta this morning. An hour and a half done in gym! Day off! Wahoo!!!"

"Just spent 2 lovely day's in the company of the amazing Brock's from TX. Very cool.
Well, the last show of the tour after almost 5 weeks on the road. Atlanta...are you ready!!"

"What can I say!! The end of an amazing US tour. I can't use the word "fans" anymore as we have made so many friends over the last 5 weeks! To think that this music can still connect with an American audience is fantastic, but to see it on the level that we have witnessed it, is just unreal!
26 show's in 30 day's! Yes, we are wiped, but thankful for the love and respect that the USA has shown yet again!!"

If you missed any of the tour updates, don't worry!

You can find all the photos from the tour in the US Tour album.

http://www.darrenholden.net/#/hk-us-tour-2011/4549161399

All the videos of the TV performances, as well as many fan videos of the live show, are available on a designated US Tour video page on Darren's official website

http://www.darrenholden.net/#/hk-us-tour-2011/4549424086

Read Darren's Press Interviews:

Boston Globe http://www.darrenholden.net/#/boston-globe/4549401227

Pittsburgh Tribune http://www.darrenholden.net/#/us-tour-press/4549146431

Irish Echo http://www.darrenholden.net/#/us-tour-press/4549146431

Thanks for your continued support

Darren & the DH Team

Official Blog of Darren Holden

Music, Young Voices O2, Paddy's Day, and more!!

Royal Albert Hall DVD Video Preview and Update

Darren Archives - Movin' Out Tokyo

Happy New Year and Irish Tour

Merry Christmas, Royal Albert Hall and more....

Young Voices and Irish Tour

HK Heading For The UK!!!

Darren & Brian Dunphy 'High' on 4FM

New Darren Promo Video - The Story So Far...

Full Irish Focus Interview and High Kings In Hoogeveen

Midwest Irish Focus Magazine Interview

Catching up with the Kings!

Hurling Through Kilkenny!!

Kilimanjaro Documentary - Darren's Storyboard

Back In The USA!!

Kings in Germany at the Balve Hohle!

Good News, Utica NY, and Pittsburgh!

Killarney, Cork and Cleveland USA!

Climb for Kids – Mount Kilimanjaro Challenge Documentary

Cashel and Newtownbutler Photos And More

Message From Darren and More Movin' Out

"Just received an e-mail from the Take That camp, thanking me for a great show at Lillies on Saturday night last! Now how cool is that!"

"Bryan Adams! Rock 'N' Roll Baby!!!Brilliant night! Hit after hit after hit after.....Ryan Sheridan rocked it big time too!!"

"Gearing up for another show tonight at 'Lillie's Bordello'. No 'Take That' this week, so I wonder who will sing with me?.........."

"Lillies!! What a night. Great crowd who brought the party to The Library! Loved it. A heaving sweaty night with everyone singing with me from start to finish."

"Still rocking from Bon Jovi last night! Amazing gig and one of the best crowds ever to be part of. Gotta motivate myself for the gym now, then the wife and I are off to the "Music Through Time" event in the city, celebrating a collaboration between Gucci and The Grammy's. Should be fun."

"Getting ready to go see Princess Ava in her first play today, then its off to Cashel for the first High Kings show after our summer break."

Solo Gigs And Movin' Out Live Video

Strand Hotel photos and new video

Message from Darren and triAthlone Launch

Moneygall, Donegal, and Very Sad Times

New Darren Press and Video.....

Vicar Street, what a night!!!

Darren Holden Newsletter coming soon...... and more!!

Darren and Crumlin Children's Hospital

Please read to find out how you can help Darren!

Brilliant night at the Late Late Show!

New High Kings Live album!

US Tour Wrap Up!

"Bryan Adams! Rock 'N' Roll Baby!!!
Brilliant night! Hit after hit after hit after.....
Ryan Sheridan rocked it big time too!!"

"Lillies!! What a night. Great crowd who brought the party to The Library! Loved it.
A heaving sweaty night with everyone singing with me from start to finish."