Folk Thief

Folk Thief is the latest incarnation of Canadian singer /songwriter Dave Hadgkiss. Folk Thief is back in Vancouver to write and record his new album after playing more than 70 shows across Canada from Vancouver to St. John's to Whitehorse, promoting his critically-acclaimed Love, Heartache and Oblivion.

Born and raised in Kamloops B.C., Dave began playing guitar at the age of 14. He spent some time screaming into a microphone and stomping on distortion pedals in the Kamloops-based geek rock band, the Gelcaps, and his own punk rock recording project, Weapons Will Kill. But a borrowed copy of the Townes Van Zandt Biopic Be Here to Love Me inspired him to blow the dust off his acoustic guitar and re-examine music's ability to tell stories and express the full range of human emotion…. Folk Thief was born.

With influences ranging from folk to punk, from country to rock’ n’ roll, Dave has developed his own unique style. Sharpening his song-writing and guitar-playing skills playing local gigs in Vancouver led to an invitation to open for Blind God at the Railway Club. It’s been non-stop ever since.

Love, Heartache and Oblivion, Folk Thief’s first album, is a heartfelt and sometimes haunting collection of acoustic folk-pop. As Hadgkiss explained in an interview with the Golden Star, the inspiration for the title of his album came from his new-found understanding that “these themes are universal and important to our understanding of each other and ourselves.” When asked where his inspiration comes from, Hadgkiss says he plays the way the song feels like it needs to be... “There’s a rock opera in me somewhere!”

Love, Heartache and Oblivion is receiving rave reviews in music magazines and blogs and has been picked up on local radio stations across Canada, making the top 10 on folk/roots/blues charts, as well as the top 30.

“Undeniably intimate and likable...like a young Leonard Cohen.” Tom Harrison, The Vancouver Province

“A definite example of less is more...Folk Thief stole my heart with this lovely debut” – les siemieniuk, Penguin Eggs

“A less angry but no less earnest early Bob Dylan” - BC Musician Magazine

Watch for Folk Thief’s new album, Then the West was Lost, next spring...

For more reviews, check out the Press section