Dean Owens

Dean Owens is widely regarded as one of the UK’s finest troubadours, earning admiration from literary heavyweights including Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting) and Ian Rankin—whose iconic detective Rebus famously keeps Dean’s music on his playlist. Legendary BBC broadcaster Bob Harris is also a longtime devotee.

Across 12 official studio albums—many recorded in the United States—Owens has collaborated with an extraordinary range of acclaimed musicians and producers, including Al Perkins, Will Kimbrough, Neilson Hubbard, Grant-Lee Phillips, Gaby Moreno, and Latin rock legends Calexico. His latest album, Spirit Ridge, was recorded in the hills of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, with producer Alejandro Escovedo (Sacri Cuori)—the ancestral land of Owens’ lion-tamer forebear. Following his celebrated collaborations with Calexico, the songs on Spirit Ridge are both monumental and deeply personal, rooted in a compelling liminal landscape that connects the rolling Italian hills, the vast U.S. desert states, and the post-industrial heartlands of Scotland.

FREE EVENT

We are so happy to welcome him to the Island for Music in the Park!