Belfast singer songwriter Gareth Dunlop, 29, shot to fame after songs from his debut EP were used in big TV shows such as Bones, Nashville, House, One Tree Hill and Switched At Birth among others.
And it didn’t stop there, after his trip to Nashville to pursue his music Gareth bagged himself an American agent and had his music used in commercials for everyone from Subaru and Disney and Discover Ireland Tourism.
We caught up with him ahead of his headline show at the forthcoming Holywood Harmony Festival on June 4.
Get to know more about Gareth:
How did you get started in the industry?
“I started playing guitar when I was about 15 and played mostly cover songs in pubs and clubs all over Ireland. When I started writing my own stuff it felt natural to want to sing those songs live too.
“I’d never thought about being a professional songwriter until I got the chance to go to Nashville TN around eight years ago. I signed my first publishing deal back then and have been working as a staff writer for several different publishers since.
“Performing on stage has always been at the heart of why I love music.”
What genre/style do you mostly create in?
“I listen to a lot of different music and what I do has taken influence from a lot of different genres. The ‘Devil Mocks Me’ project definitely leaned more heavily on a soul vibe with brass section, 3 part female backing vocals etc.
“I was listening to a lot of Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye when I was working on it but the last few projects I’ve put out lean more towards Americana/Roots. I think I’m definitely influenced from what I’m digging at the time.”
What would you be best known for?
“Not sure, I’ve been lucky to have had a lot of my music used in films and TV shows. I had a song used in a big budget movie a few years back called ‘Safe Haven’. The song got a Grammy nomination and the film is still doing the rounds on TV every now and then. I think a lot of people have probably discovered my music through seeing the film.”
What would be your biggest achievement ?
“It’s an odd one… I was asked to play a cameo role in a movie last year. The shoot was in Florida and I reluctantly agreed to try my hand at acting! I’d never acted before in my life so it was a nerve wrecking experience.
“I play myself in the movie and after singing a few songs on stage I have a few lines of dialogue with the lead actress. Learning scripts, cues, rehearsals while nervously shaking like a leaf. I definitely felt a great sense of achievement after the shoot was over. Can’t say for sure if my acting debut is going to be as hard to watch as it was to do but I felt like I achieved something by giving it a shot!”
What would you consider to be the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in your industry?
“Rejection. I write songs almost everyday and they are pitched to artists and TV shows. Most of the time the songs don’t get picked up. Learning to deal with that rejection and keep creative is a lesson I had to learn quickly!
“You feel a sense of attachment to almost everything you write. You want the best for the song and you want someone to feel what you were feeling when you wrote it and in the music industry that can be a rare thing.”
What has been your biggest challenge to date?
“Hands down it’s travelling in and out of the country for half the year while raising a family.
“My time is usually split between Northern Ireland and the States. There’s a lot of Skype and a lot of phone calls! Coming home is always amazing, leaving is always a challenge. We all spent a few months together in America last year! It was amazing to have the family out with me. We took a huge road trip down through the Southern States, made a long overdue holiday out of it and I got to come home to them after work everyday.”
Tell us a little bit about your life, are you married, kids, hobbies etc
“Amy and I have two beautiful children. Joanie, who is two and Wilson, who is nearly one. Our house has been doubling as a studio on and off for the last while so it’s usually pretty crazy! People coming and going, drums, stands, basses, coffee always on! Joanie knows most of the musicians in the Belfast area! Wilson can move pretty fast now and has taken to strumming/beating the many guitars laying around the house.
“Apart from music, I love to cook! I could happily waste an afternoon cooking up a storm.”
Tell us about your most recent work
“In December last year I recorded a full album in my house in Belfast. It was a great week in the run up to Christmas and lovely way to end the year. I have been doing most of my recording in Nashville although I took an urge to track at home last year. Called some friends and we turned the house upside down, locked the doors and went for it!
“It’s close to being finished, and I’m aiming to have it out later this year.”
Plug!! What would you like us to tell people about?
“Aside from the release of my album later in the year, I’m really excited to be playing a long over due full band show as part of the Holywood Harmony Festival. Sunday 4th June!”
If you had to describe your work to someone who has never heard of what you do what would you say?
“I think everyone is pretty familiar with the idea of playing music live. One side of what I do that people might not be as familiar with is co-writing. Most of the time it’s with someone I’ve never met. I have an address, I turn up and we write a song inside of a couple of hours. I’ll usually turn up to the appointment with an idea, sometimes with a title and sometimes with nothing at all. The song gets written and turned over to our publishers. Its then their job to pitch that song to other artists who are looking for songs, or to films and TV shows. The co-writing community in Nashville is huge with most writers booking two appointments a day, 5 days a week.”
What’s the funniest experience you’ve had in your business
“It really wasn’t that funny at the time, but looking back now it’s pretty funny…
“I was working on my own at a studio in Nashville one day and left the building for lunch. When I got back I accidentally set off the silent alarm for a couple of seconds…didn’t think that much of it, just punched in the code and got back to work.
“Five minutes later I walked back into the hallway to grab a coffee but instead found 2 fully armed cops with their shotguns pointed at me, screaming ‘get on the ground mother****er’.
“Trembling Irishman trying to figure out how to get on the ground as innocently as possible… not funny at the time, but friends and family all had a good laugh at that one.”
What advice would you give young people hoping to pursue the same industry?
“A piece of advice that was given to me – Your music won’t please everyone and that’s a good thing. If you write your music to be everyone’s cup of tea it will be a very bland cuppa! Play and write the music you love.”
Who do you look up to and why?
“Musically I’ve always looked up to Tom Waits. To me his music is fearless! He’s reinvented himself time after time and takes on these characters that seem to allow him to go on these crazy musical journeys. Every album is different, and every album breaks another set of rules.”
Gareth Dunlop will play the Holywood Harmony Festival on Sunday June 4. Ulaid & Duke Special on Friday June 2 and Hothouse Flowers on June 3.
For tickets log onto wegottickets.com/location/15677 or check out harmonyfest.co.uk and facebook.com/HolywoodHarmonyFestival for more information.
Find out more about Gareth at garethdunlop.com