David Starr plays Backstage at the Green Hotel Kinross on Sunday 19th May 2019 at  8.00pm for Mundell Music.

Tickets £15.

Buy David Starr Tickets HERE.

Americana artist David Starr is embarking on a new musical and literary adventure with a collection of songs inspired by Of What Was, Nothing Is Left, a novel written by his grandfather in 1972, which Starr plans to re-publish. Beauty And Ruin, recorded in Nashville, is produced and arranged by John Oates, and co-produced by David Starr and David Kalmusky.

The final book Fred Starr published before his death, Of What Was, Nothing Is Left is a story of tragedy, family dysfunction, and denial set in rural southwest Arkansas.

After working with John Oates (Hall & Oates) on his 2017 The Head And Heart EP, David approached him with the idea: what if we gave several of our favorite songwriters a copy of the book and asked them to write for a concept album based on the story? The concept was not so much for them to re-tell the story, but to write songs inspired by the places, characters and situations found in the book. Contributors to Beauty And Ruininclude John Oates, Jim Lauderdale, Wood Newton, Dana Cooper, Doug and Telisha Williams (Wild Ponies), Irene Kelley, and Shelley Rae Korntved.

“It is like watching a movie,” says Oates. “The cinematic aural landscape visually evokes a classic tale of tragedy, love gone wrong and an exploration of human nature and all its flaws.”

Set in late nineteenth-century Arkansas, the original novel inspired these artists to mine their own history and life experience. This album hammers home the importance of storytelling through our country’s oral traditions, reimagined through the spirit of Fred Starr’s original book and now musically brought to life by his grandson’s unmistakable and emotional vocal performance.

The re-publishing of the book along with the compilation of 11 songs has an anticipated release of summer 2019. The book will contain a forward with creative input from the songwriters involved, including interviews with each songwriter featuring insights into process and inspiration from the book.

David Starr possesses “a compelling voice, something truly special, both accessible and passionate” (​Elmore)​ , that has been honed releasing nine albums, touring internationally, and opening shows for esteemed artists such as John Oates (Hall & Oates), The Steel Wheels, Survivor, and more.

Starr’s latest project is a musical and literary adventure, ​Beauty And Ruin​, produced and arranged by John Oates and co-produced by David Starr and David Kalmusky. It is a collection of songs inspired by ​Of What Was, Nothing Is Left,​ a novel written by his grandfather in 1972, which Starr plans to re-publish.​ ​“It is like watching a movie,” says Oates. “The cinematic aural landscape visually evokes a classic tale of tragedy, love gone wrong and an exploration of human nature and all its flaws.” ​Beauty and Ruin ​is set for release summer 2019.

“​A collection of beautiful, poetic and somewhat sad songs with a warm and organic production that draws you in and wraps around your heart,” writes Americana Highways of Starr’s 2018 record, ​South and West.​ The record follows an acclaimed EP, ​The Head and Heart,​ also produced by John Oates.

His prestige extends beyond the stage as well, having launched Starr’s Guitars in Little Rock in 1998, then relocating to Cedaredge in 2001. Today, the store is such an institution that Cedaredge proclaimed the musician’s birthday as David Starr Day in 2016. He also recently opened the Grand Mesa Arts Center, an intimate event space brought to fruition through strong community support in Cedaredge, CO. Starr helped design the space in order to attract musicians and visual artists to Southwestern Colorado.