Dana Cooper is a poetic songwriter, an insightful storyteller, and a rousing musician whose performances engage and inspire audiences around the world.
New Digital Releases!
"Traveler Too" Full Band & Solo Acoustic Versions
Available on all digital platforms
Traveler Too blew into my ear along the rocky coast of the Irish Sea in a forlorn place called Kilmore Quay. The wind was so strong that I could barely stand up against it and seagulls were flopping around in the sky. Two haunting monuments stand there dedicated to all the souls who never returned from the sea. I thought of all us vulnerable human beings traveling through space and time together just trying to find a way to get along.
I wanted to record a raw, edgy acoustic version as I perform the song live in concert. I also wanted more of a rocky band performance to reach a wider listening audience. So, I enlisted Dave Coleman as a one man band playing electric guitar, bass and drums.
​
Americana Highways says "In the full band version, the song instantly connects with the audience — we’re all travelers, we’re all trying to connect."
PRESS
Praise for I Can Face the Truth
PROMOTIONAL
MATERIAL
​
"Few artists can claim to make music for 50 years and still do so with the same eagerness and enthusiasm that marked their initial efforts. Dana Cooper experienced the mechanisms of the major labels early on, but as a solo independent artist, he’s maintained a full flourish on his own. His new album, I Can Face the Truth, not only boasts a telling title, but more importantly, reflects an unimpeded joy and exuberance that are exactly what’s needed during this pessimistic period of modern history. Songs such as “Always Old Friends,” “Upside Down Day,”“Laughing and Crying,” “Summer In America,” and the title tune are flush with an upbeat optimism that makes every offering genuinely striking in both sentiment and execution. So too, Cooper’s cover of the Hank Williams classic “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” further reflects his ability to consistently ply a tasteful touch. Coproduced by Cooper and veteran multi-instrumentalist Dave Coleman, I Can Face the Truth is an unmitigated triumph, an album that should finally garner Cooper the credit he so decidedly deserves."
Lee Zimmerman - American Songwriter Magazine
"Dana Cooper’s new album I Can Face the Truth is radio ready, honest, vulnerable and an incredibly formidable effort. It is Cooper at the top of his songwriting form and creative expression, with arrangements so strong it allows each listener to feel he wrote the song specifically for them."
— M Music & Musicians magazine / Mmusicmag.com
Link to entire CD Review and Interview: https://mmusicmag.com/m/2022/03/20560/
A Missouri native who made his debut nearly 50 years ago while living in California, Dana Cooper retains a strong following in these parts thanks to his longtime collaboration with fellow singer-songwriter Shake Russell in the ’70s and ’80s. Five years after his last album, Cooper returns with “I Can Face the Truth.” The new album is a great introduction to Cooper for those who don’t know his work. And longtime fans will find a generous supply of the attributes that have made him a distinctive stylist: lovely vocals, wonderfully written tales and impeccable instrumentation.
Andrew Dansby
Houston Chronicle
March 03, 2022
"Nothing, absolutely nothing in this Dana Cooper country-torrent is hokey or novelty-oriented. I guess I have to re-establish Mr. Cooper closer to my Townes van Zandt, Guy Clark & Billy Joe Shaver shelves."
John Apice - Americana Highways
Link to review - https://americanahighways.org/2022/02/17/review-dana-cooper-i-can-face-the-truth/
"Dana Cooper brings both joy and honesty, collaborating with multi-instrumentalist and co-producer Dave Coleman on I Can Face the Truth...He leaves us thinking, as only the best songwriters do."
Jim Hines - Glide Magazine
"The one track he neither wrote nor cowrote — a taut blues-rock take on Hank Williams's “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry” — is among the best covers of the classic I've ever heard."
Bruce Sylvester - Goldmine
Link to Review: https://www.goldminemag.com/columns/american-back-roads-reviews-the-latest-from-jamestown-revival-dana-cooper-terry-klein-eric-sommer-and-more
"Modern country that doesn't feel the need to sound like 70s rock He may be weathered and seasoned but it all serves a grand end. Well done throughout."
Midwest Record
Link to review: http://midwestrecord.com/MWR1854.html
"Cooper is a dues-paying road-weary musician of the highest order. And, on his latest, I Can Face The Truth, the truth is out there."
Rock is the New Roll
Link to Review: https://rockisthenewroll.com
SUMMER IN AMERICA
“This is one terrific song Dana”
-Lee Zimmerman, Writer/Reviewer
"Damn! Dana Cooper's song "Summer In America" is about the best thing I've heard so far this summer."
- Gurf Morlix, Singer/Songwriter
"Dana has given us a tender, touching song that is not preachy, not dismissive, but instead taps into the emotions that we are all feeling during this time, weaved around a beautiful love song. "Summer in America" can be right at home on Pop, Country, or Triple-A formats. And I think it's a "one-listen" song--it grabs the listener with its melody and lyrics the very first time. It's a great song from a voice that we should all be hearing more of right now. Add it, play it, and share it."
--Cruze, President, RFC Media and SuiteRadio
Radio Programmer, Houston, TX
"In his sublimely-written, perfectly-timed release, "Summer In America", Dana Cooper deftly frames the tumult of 2020 with both sentimentality and optimism. He is one of my guiding stars when I sit down to write a song."
-David Starr, Singer Songwriter
​
"Dana, you knocked it out of the park. Great song!"
-Terri Hendrix, Singer songwriter
​
​
PRAISE FOR INCENDIARY KID
​
​
​
"This record is a beacon. A shining North Star. If you're looking for a brief respite from this crazy spinning circus of world and a unique lyrical and musical spin from the mind of a real songwriter, this record is for you. (If not, may I politely invite you to step off.)"
​
RECORD REVIEW BY CHRIS KEATON
for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show
​