International musician 'excited but nervous' to play hometown gig
Douglas Dare's done a 44 date European tour, and he's returning to Dorset
From Paris, Milan, and Berlin to Bridport... Douglas Dare returns to Dorset after his European tour.
The famed musician goes back to his hometown of Bridport for the first time since becoming a professional musician, nine years ago.
Douglas told us he’s quite nervous to perform in front of a home crowd, he said: “I've been telling my friends I'm more nervous about doing this gig than any other gig because my family will be in the audience.
“I think any artist will tell you playing in front of 2000 people that you don't know is far easier than playing for your family.”
Douglas is as local as it gets, he attended the Sir John Colfox Academy before heading to the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts to study music. Now, he’s a full-time musician based in London.
He told us: “There was a part of me when I was younger that was like, people can do this where I’m from and truthfully, it's the only thing I wanted to do so I just keep persisted with it.”
The Dorset native has carved a successful career for himself, with his last two albums being named 'albums of the day' on BBC Music.
He’s also just wrapped up a 44 date European and UK tour, ticking off iconic cities like Paris and Berlin along the way.
But since turning professional, he’s yet to play in his hometown, despite the demand. He said: “Every time I go back, people hear about what I've been doing, and they ask me, when are you going to play here?”
On February 3, 2023, Douglas will perform at St Peter's Church for what he thinks will be his “most memorable show”.
Fans from Bristol and Brighton have told Douglas they play to make the journey down to watch his show. He told us he was honoured by the sentiment, saying: “When you tell people you're doing this homecoming show, people seem to see that it's very special and want to be there for it.”
He’s arranged this homecoming show, so his grandparents can finally watch him play live, he said: “If I'm honest, I'm doing it because my grandparents physically couldn't come to my shows, so if they couldn't come, I thought I’ll have to bring it to them.”
He will play hits from his newest album, “MilkTeeth” which is about growing up on a West Dorset farm and hopes “he can put Bridport on the map even more.”