David Berkeley

“Berkeley crafts his songs like watercolor paintings. Intimate and introspective, his gentle yet colorful melodies are graceful and resonate long after the last note fades.” – Creative Loafing

Santa Fe based songwriter and storyteller David Berkeley’s has been called a “musical poet,” by the San Francisco Chronicle, and the New York Times praises his “lustrous, melancholy voice with shades of Tim Buckley and Nick Drake.” That voice and his gift with words is what first sets Berkeley apart from all other guitar slinging songwriters. But it is his onstage charisma and unparalleled between-song repartee that truly puts him in a class by himself. Berkeley has released seven studio albums, one live album, and authored two books, each of which pairs with one of his albums. He was a guest on This American Life and has won many songwriting awards and honors including ASCAPs Johnny Mercer Songwriting Award.

“Performing is one of my greatest joys,” Berkeley admits “I have loved singing for people since I was three and my babysitter walked me around the neighborhood in Scotch Plains, NJ, where I grew up. I was her chubby-cheeked assistant whiler she sold her Avon products (something my parents didn't know about and were certainly not paying her for). The door would open, and she’d scoot me out from behind her wide hips. I would belt out a couple verses of "The Titanic song." ("They built the ship Titanic to sail the ocean blue...") They’d give me Oreo cookies or Fig Newtons and squeeze my cheeks. Then she’d seal the deal, working her way slowly up that golden pyramid. That's how it all began. And then the hippie nursery school I went to, taught by beautiful women with guitars around their necks, assured my path once and for all.

It is powerful to share something I wrote and have it resonate with an audience. It testifies to a connection we have, a common struggle, a shared emotion. It’s like the magic of a good conversation. Our shared humanity is affirmed. It's probably why I write songs. To feel that connection, to know that we are not alone.”

David returns to the Tumbleroot stage with Ben Wright, Karina Wilson, and Susan Holmes.