THROUGH THE KEYHOLE...
A closer look at the band
'Music that has meaning alongside atmospheric content. Four members, the fifth being the Emerald Dawn itself. A musical shadow composed to touch the hearts and minds of its listeners. Tapestries of sound interwoven with threads of contrasting colours, hidden shades layered beneath a carpet of sounds. Its influences fractal, as all members can turn their hands to differing styles, in rhythm, in solos, and in feel. Techniques are hidden within the mood created; it is the complete sound that prevails. Modern living appears to have bypassed the journey in favour of reaching the destination in the fastest possible time, an obsession with efficiency. This is not the case with The Emerald Dawn's music. It rewards the time taken to listen, taking as long to listen to as it does to play. It has human qualities, changing moods and changing direction. It can intoxicate reason and organise chaos, create a mood, carry a tune, or drift into the abyss. It is dreams turned into sound. It reminds us to take pleasure in the journey, to consider and indulge.' David Greenaway
TREE STEWART - Keyboards, vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, percussion
Tree, as well as being a musician, is a professional circus performer, trapeze teacher, and artist. She can often be found at events in strange make-up and costumes, where she might be seen making crystal balls appear to float, or hanging upside down by her feet! Tree started performing in musicals when she was 8 years old, and from that young age also began studying organ. She first performed publicly on keyboards in her early teens in a duet with her music teacher. Since then she has added percussion, flute and guitar to her musical obsessions. Tree has performed music and circus across the UK and continental Europe in various groups, including The Weird Attractors, tePOOKa, T.E.S.S, and The Processional Drummers. Tree was voted runner up in the Best Female Vocalist of 2023 category by the listeners of Progphonic and Game of Prog on progrock.com. In addition, Tree has featured in The Prog Mind's top 10 keyboard performances of the year for The Emerald Dawn's past four albums, and in 2023 was ranked 4th. Click here to see the full list for 2023.
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TOM JACKSON - Drums
Tom has been a full-time professional musician and drum teacher for the past 14 years. Since obtaining his BA Hons in Contemporary World Jazz, he has performed across the country and abroad, often playing a variety of different styles. These have included performing at Jazz à Vienne in France with a jazz orchestra, as well as performing with artists such as Alan Barnes and Lillian Boutté. Alongside The Emerald Dawn, Tom is involved with various other acts, including The Dowling Thing, Nuclear Blues, Dirty Livin’ Rhythm Band, Elementary Penguin and Nighthawks. In 2023 Tom was ranked Number One in The Prog Mind's top 10 drum performances of the year. Click here to see the full list for 2023.
DAVID GREENAWAY - Fretless and fretted 6-string bass guitars
David is a full-time professional musician, and has been performing and teaching music for over 35 years. He plays upright, acoustic, electric and fretless basses, as well as guitar and keyboards. His live work covers all musical genres from classical to contemporary. He has also been involved in all aspects of music production, such as recording, session work and composition. As a musician, David has toured extensively, including Canada, the USA, China, Japan and continental Europe, as well as throughout the United Kingdom, having performed with a variety of different acts from progressive (with Magic Theatre) through jazz and rock to dance, comedy and theatre. At present, David plays original progressive music with The Emerald Dawn and Zigaratz, and like most progressive musicians earns a living performing in a tribute band (Bottled Blondie) and playing covers (with M.I.T.). He was rated 2nd in the top 10 bass guitar performances of 2023 by The Prog Mind. Click here to see the full list.
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ALLY CARTER - Guitar, sax, keyboards, vocals
Ally has been playing guitar and sax for over 40 years. He has played at various festivals and events throughout the years as a singer-songwriter and in a guitar duo. In order to concentrate full-time on music, Ally took early retirement from the historic Chair in Moral Philosophy at The University of Glasgow, where he specialized in political, moral and environmental philosophy. As well as lecturing and researching, he has published widely, with over 90 single-author publications (including three books and many scholarly articles in top peer-reviewed journals). He is also a passionate environmental activist and was on the Board of Directors of Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) for nearly a decade, as well as having taken part in many direct actions with Earth First! and Greenpeace. Ally now performs exclusively with The Emerald Dawn. He has featured in The Prog Mind's top 10 guitar performances of the year for 'Visions', 'Nocturne' and 'In Time'. In 2023 he was ranked 2nd. Click here to see the full list for 2023.
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