DAVID STARR

With a name like Starr, is it any wonder? The Arkansas native has honed his decades-long career releasing over eleven albums, touring internationally, sharing the stage with esteemed artists such as John Oates and John McEuen, and opening for acts like America, John Oates (Hall & Oates), Jim Messina, Travis Tritt, Restless Heart, Karla Bonoff, The Steel Wheels, Survivor, and more. 

His unique mix of soulful vocals and honest lyrics create an Americana sound all his own; garnering prestigious showcase performances at Folk Alliance International, AMERICANAFEST, and Southwest Regional Folk Alliance. Starr consistently performs over 50 shows per year, including dates in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, where he has continued to grow recurring audiences year after year. He frequently tops the Colorado Music Chart and is one of the most downloaded artists on Airplay Direct. 

In 2025 he released his critically acclaimed Blues album, Must Be Blue, out on GRAMMY®-winning label Quarto Valley Records. Starr melded his Blues background of growing up playing drums and electric guitar in Southern Arkansas clubs with his time spent in Nashville exploring Americana and Folk. What he arrived at was his own brand of “Bluesicana” - a melding of the two genres with iconic Blues covers and his own originals with interesting acoustic accents such as mandolin. Goldmine Magazine included it in their “20 Unique and Diverse Americana Albums You Ought To Know” and The Bluegrass Situation selected it for their "You Gotta Hear This” series. Blues Blast Magazine raves, “Music of this quality deserves to be heard.” and Blues Rock Review affirms, “I rarely cross paths with an album that I enjoy from start to finish, but this one was enjoyable to listen to throughout.” Starr is a member of the Blues Foundation, The Colorado Blues Society, and the Pikes Peak Blues Society.

Released in 2024, Starr & Stucky, is an acoustic project with longtime accompanist and mandolin player Erik Stucky. The record is a nod to Starr’s dynamic live show with reimagined acoustic versions of setlist favorites. With each song recorded in one take at Addiction Sound Studios in Nashville, TN there are virtually no edits, showcasing both of their raw talents. 

Previous projects include Better Me, which includes high energy acoustic-driven songs such as the title track and the feisty blues-rock “Poison The Water,” as well as Starr’s 2020-21 album Touchstones, where he released a single per month for a year. A crowd favorite, Starr went back to his roots covering the music that shaped his own, from "I've Got To Use My Imagination" (Gladys Knight), which was featured on Spotify’s editorial Got Blues playlist, to “Drive” (The Cars), and "These Days" (Jackson Browne).

His critically acclaimed album Beauty & Ruin is a collection of songs inspired by Of What Was, Nothing Is Left, a novel written by Starr’s grandfather in 1972. Produced and arranged by John Oates, it is a southern gothic tale beautifully told through Starr’s own musical lens, with the help of favorite Nashville collaborators ​​Dana Cooper, John Oates, Irene Kelley, Doug and Telisha Williams, Shelley Rae Korntved, and Jim Lauderdale.

Starr’s prestige extends beyond the stage as well, having launched Starr’s Guitars in Little Rock, before relocating to Cedaredge, CO in 2001, where it is now a beloved institution. He is a founding member of the board for the Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center in Cedaredge, an intimate event space aimed at attracting musicians and visual artists to Colorado’s Western Slope. In addition, he produces the sold-out Grand Mesa Songwriter Festival, which brings over 15 songwriters from the US & UK to perform across five venues in Cedaredge. In 2025 Colorado Governor Jared Polis announced Starr and his wife Cindy Starr as the recipients of the Governor’s Creative Leadership Award, recognizing their profound impact on the arts and cultural development in Colorado.

An early riser by nature, Starr is often found up before 5am, and applies that same work ethic to his music. A prolific artist, he is constantly touring, writing, and recording; and continues to affirm himself as a mainstay in the Americana/Folk genre.